Method of arranging a seal between a pressure vessel, preferably a reactor vessel, and its lid by means of a torrid ring provided with flanges

Claim 1

A sealing assembly for a pressure vessel including a vessel body having an open end and a lid engaging said vessel body completely about said end to form a preliminary seal for said vessel body, said sealing assembly comprising, in combination, a toroid ring member extending completely about said pressure vessel externally of said preliminary seal, said toroid ring member including integrally formed first and second flanges extending, respectively, radially inwardly and radially outwardly of said ring member, shoulder means formed about said lid and having said first annular flange in abutment therewith, collar means formed about said vessel body and having said second annular flange in abutment therewith, first connecting means releasably affixing said first annular flange against said shoulder means, and second connecting means releasably affixing said second annular flange against said collar means, said first connecting means comprising a support ring extending in abutting relationship about said first annular flange, with said first annular flange being positioned between said support ring and said shoulder means, and support legs extending to apply to said support ring a force clamping said first annular flange between said support ring and said shoulder means, said lid and said vessel body being so configured that the force applied by said support legs to clamp said first annular flange between said support ring and said shoulder means simultaneously operates to press said lid against said vessel body along the engaging portions thereof forming said preliminary seal, and said toroid ring member is formed with an arcuate portion thereof extending between and across a gap between said first and second annular flanges and wherein said assembly includes a spring plate attached to extend across said cap in abutment with both said first and second annular flanges.