SOLIDS-HANDLING EQUIPMENT

A seat component (17) for solids-handling equipment includes a metal seat body (32) defining an endless hardened metal seat surface (40) for a closure component (16) to seat against with metal-to-metal contact and with a solids flow path extending through the seat body (32). The seat body (32) includes an endless recess (50) spaced radially outwardly from the hardened metal seat surface (40), which has a mouth (52) and an interior (54) communicating with the mouth (52) and extending away from the mouth (52) into the seat body (32). The interior (54) of the recess (50) has at least one region (56) which is wider than the mouth (52) or which is wider than a narrower region of the recess (50) between the wider region (56) and the mouth (52). The wider region (56) is defined by at least one step-wise change in the width of the recess (50). An endless seal (70) of an elastic material defines at least one retention formation (72) caught or located in the wider region (56) behind the step-wise change in the width of the recess (50) to inhibit displacement of the seal (70) out of the recess (50). Sides (78, 80) of a portion of the seal (70) outside the recess (50) are both slanted at an angle to a stroke axis of the seat body (32) or the closure component (16), and the spacing of the endless recess (50) from the hardened metal seat surface (40) provides room for the seal (70) to be compressed into without preventing metal-to-metal seating of the closure component (16) against the hardened metal seat surface (40).