Methods and devices for preventing temperature and pressure extrusion
failure in o-ring seal assemblies. One embodiment employs a bore in the
plug so that the thin wall of the plug flexes outward at high pressures
to partially fill the gap between the chamber member and the plug where
the o-ring is located, thereby preventing the o-ring from extruding
through the narrowed gap. A second embodiment utilizes a plug of a higher
coefficient of thermal expansion than the chamber member that expands
outward slightly at high temperatures, thus partially filling the gap. A
third embodiment secures the o-ring in the gap between a backup ring and
a retaining ring, and the backup ring has a higher coefficient of thermal
expansion than the plug and chamber member. At high temperatures the
backup ring expands to partially fill the gap. Additional embodiments are
created by combining these three embodiments.