An ultrahigh-pressure fluid system, such as an ultrahigh-pressure fluid
pump, includes an improved dynamic seal assembly that can withstand
pressures above 40,000 psi, and more preferably, pressures up to and
beyond 87,000 psi. The dynamic sealing assembly includes a plastic seal
having a bore through which the plunger reciprocates, and a bearing
positioned adjacent the seal, also having a bore through which the
plunger reciprocates. A seal carrier surrounds the circumference of the
bearing and is subjected to a compressive force that is sufficiently high
to circumferentially collapse the seal carrier in a radial direction
against the bearing. This collapse of the seal carrier against the
bearing causes an inner surface of the bore through the bearing to
achieve substantially uniform contact with an outer surface of the
plunger when the assembly is subjected to ultrahigh-pressure, thereby
eliminating gaps that occur in prior art systems. By eliminating any gap
between the seal carrier and the bearing, and between the bearing and the
plunger, the present invention eliminates any pathway through which the
seal might otherwise extrude, particularly when subjected to high
pressures up to and beyond 40,000 psi, and more particularly, up to and
beyond 87,000 psi.