Friction Characteristics of Mechanical Seals with Laser-textured Seal Faces

Heat generated by friction between faces of mechanica l seals is a major factor that causes deterioration of the seals and shortens th eir service life. Excessive temperature rise can greatly alter the seal geometry and vaporize the sealing fluid, resulting in friction of boundary lubrication. These effects on face seals usually lead to excessive leakage and ultimately ren der the seal inoperable. In order to maintain the reliability of seals, high fri ction and unwanted wear must be avoided. Using the laser-texturing process to produce regular micro-surface structures is a fast and convenient technique compared to some more conventional etching or erosion technique currently used by the seal industry for various grooved face seals. Indeed, by using a pulse laser, better control is obtained on the geometr y, size and pore ratio of seal rings made of metallic or ceramic materials. In t his study, seal rings are made of silicon carbide and carbon. Mating faces of th e rings are polished and only silicon carbide rings are laser-textured. The las er texturing can be controlled to produce spherical pores at selected diameters, depths and pore ratio. The textured rings are then super-polished to remove th e bulges formed on the pores rims. After this process the average pore diameter, pore depth and pore ratio reach the predetermined parameter. Some untextured ri ngs are also treated to the same surface roughness and served as a reference for comparison of the textured rings. A special test rig is used to simulate a mech anical seal system and to measure the effect of the laser texturing on friction and seal performance. Tests are performed at various rotational speeds and vario us axial loads. Compared with the conventional mechanical seals, temperature rise, friction torq ue and friction coefficient of mechanical seals with laser-textured seal faces are much lower. These preliminary results show the potential of improving fricti on performance and increasing seal life with laser-textured seal faces.

Leakage Prediction Method for Contacting Mechanical Seals with Parallel Faces

Since the beginning of the 20th century, many researches on the sealing characteristic of mechanical seals were carried out broadly and in depth by various methods and some leakage models were built. But due to the lack of the way to characterize the main factors of influence on the leakage, most of the early researches were based on the assumptions that the seal faces topography and the frictional conditions were invariant. In the early built models, the effect of the surface topography change of the seal face on the leakage rate was neglected. Based on the fractal theory, the contact of end faces of the rotary and stationary rings was simplified to be the contact of a rough surface and an ideal rigid smooth surface, and the contact interface＇s cavity size-distribution function as well as the fractal characteristic of the cavity profile curve was discussed. By analyzing the influence of abrasion on the seal face topography and the leakage channel, the time-correlation leakage prediction model of mechanical seals based on the fractal theory was established and the method for predicting the leakage rate of mechanical seals with parallel plane was proposed. The values of the leakage rate predicted theoretically are similar to the measured values of the leakage rate in the model test and in situ test. The experimental results indicate that the leakage rate of mechanical seals is a transient value. The surface topography of the end faces of the seal tings and its change during the frictional wear of mechanical seals can be accurately characterized by the fractal parameters. Under the work conditions of changeless frictional mechanism, the fractal parameters measured or calculated based on the accelerated testing equation can be used to predict the leakage rate of mechanical seal in service. The proposed research provides the basis for determining the leakage state and predicting working life of mechanical seal.

INVESTIGATION INTO EFFECT OF SPRING PRESSURE ON PERFORMANCE OF BALANCED MECHANICAL SEALS

The loads acting on the sealing elements of balanced mechanical seals are analyzed. When the balance factor approaches the back pressure factor, the spring pressure will become main part of the face pressure. The leakage model of balanced mechanical seals is established on the base of M-B model for rough surface. Several GY-70 type balanced mechanical seals are tested. The influences of the spring pressure both on the leakage rate and on the friction characteristic of balanced mechanical seals are investigated. The research results indicate that as spring pressure increases, both the clear-ance between two end faces and the leakage rate will decrease, and the friction will be more serious because lubrication medium between the rotating ring and the stationary ring reduces, though the increase of the spring pressure may not be enough to change the face friction state of mechanical seals. There exists an optimum spring pressure for mechanical seal operation. Under this spring pres-sure, not only leakage rate is small, but also the seal end surfaces have a fine friction characteristic. Under different operating conditions, identical type mechanical seals may possess different spring pressure. Appropriate selection of spring pressure is valuable to realize long-period and small leakage rate operating of balanced mechanical seals.

The effect of surface roughness on thermal-elasto-hydrodynamic model of contact mechanical seals

In this paper, the effect of surface roughness on sealing clearance, pressure distribution, friction torque and leakage is studied by the thermal-elasto-hydrodynamic mixed lubrication model. A convergent nominal clearance is formed by the pressure de- formation and thermal deformation of the seal faces. This causes more serious wear in the inner side than that of the outer side of the contact area. Mass leakage increases with the growing of the surface roughness. The temperature and thermal defor- mation on the seal surface increases substantially if the roughness is reduced. The contact mechanical seals have consistent performance when the standard deviation of surface roughness is approximately 0.2 pm. In order to validate the theoretical analysis model, a method combining the measurement of three-dimensioned profile and Raman spectrum is proposed.

Fluid-solid strong-interaction model of mechanical seals in reactor coolant pumps

The studies on the mechanisms and performances of the mechanical seals in reactor coolant pumps are very important for the safe operations of the pressurized water reactor power plants. Based on the hydrostatic mechanical seal in reactor coolant pumps, an analytical fluid-solid strong-interaction model is proposed in this paper. According to the design features and operafional principles of the seal, an analytical method to calculate the mechanical deformation of the seal assembly is developed based on the ring deformation theory. A strong-interaction algorithm combining the analysis of the mechanical deformation of the seal assembly and flow field between the seal faceplates is utilized, in which the three kinds of equations including the fluid domain, solid domain and coupling action are constituted in the same equations set and all the variables are solved simul- taneously. So the analytical fluid-solid strong-interaction model used for the seal is built. Moreover, the model is verified by the experimental results. Based on the model, the design parameters of the seal are studied. Two different conditions of the general case and fixed seal leakage rate are discussed respectively, and the regularities that the seal behaviors are affected by the parameters of the holding screws on the clamp rings and seal faceplates are obtained. The research results can provide a theoretical basis for performance analysis, design and assemblage of the seal. Compared to the numerical methods, the proposed model has the unique advantages of high efficiency, convenience and easy application of constraints.

Thermal Fluid-Solid Interaction Model and Experimental Validation for Hydrostatic Mechanical Face Seals

Hydrostatic mechanical face seals for reactor coolant pumps are very important for the safety and reliability of pressurized-water reactor power plants.More accurate models on the operating mechanism of the seals are needed to help improve their performance.The thermal fluid–solid interaction（TFSI）mechanism of the hydrostatic seal is investigated in this study.Numerical models of the flow field and seal assembly are developed.Based on the mechanism for the continuity condition of the physical quantities at the fluid–solid interface,an on-line numerical TFSI model for the hydrostatic mechanical seal is proposed using an iterative coupling method.Dynamic mesh technology is adopted to adapt to the changing boundary shape.Experiments were performed on a test rig using a full-size test seal to obtain the leakage rate as a function of the differential pressure.The effectiveness and accuracy of the TFSI model were verified by comparing the simulation results and experimental data.Using the TFSI model,the behavior of the seal is presented,including mechanical and thermal deformation,and the temperature field.The influences of the rotating speed and differential pressure of the sealing device on the temperature field,which occur widely in the actual use of the seal,are studied.This research proposes an on-line and assembly-based TFSI model for hydrostatic mechanical face seals,and the model is validated by full-sized experiments.

Reliability estimation of mechanical seals based on bivariate dependence analysis and considering model uncertainty

The reliability estimation of mechanical seals is of crucial importance due to their wide applications in pumps in various mechanical systems.Failure of mechanical seals might cause leakage,and might lead to system failure and other relevant consequences.In this study,the reliability estimation for mechanical seals based on bivariate dependence analysis and considering model uncertainty is proposed.The friction torque and leakage rate are two degradation performance indicators of mechanical seals that can be described by the Wiener process,Gamma process,and inverse Gaussian process.The dependence between the two indicators can be described by different copula functions.Then the model uncertainty is considered in the reliability estimation using the Bayesian Model Average(BMA)method,while the unknown parameters in the model are estimated by Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo(MCMC)method.A numerical simulation study and fatigue crack study are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the BMA method to capture model uncertainty.A degradation test of mechanical seals is conducted to verify the proposed model.The optimal stochastic process models for two performance indicators and copula function are determined based on the degradation data.The results show the necessity of using the BMA method in degradation modeling.

An Improved Design of Spiral Groove Mechanical Seal

The coupling effect among the flow of fluid film, the frictional heat of fluid film and the thermal deformation of sealing rings is inherent in mechanical seals. The frictional heat transfer analysis was carded out to optimize the geometrical parameters of the sealing rings, such as the length, the inner radius and the outer radius. The geometrical parameters of spiral grooves, such as the spiral angle, the end radius, the groove depth, the ratio of the groove width to the weir width and the number of the grooves, were optimized by regarding the maximum bearing force of fluid film as the optimization objective with the coupling effect considered. The depth of spiral groove was designed to gradually increase from the end radius of spiral groove to the outer radius of end face in order to decrease the weakening effect of thermal deformation on the hydrodynamic effect of spiral grooves. The end faces of sealing rings were machined to form a divergent gap at inner radius, and a parallel gap will form to reduce the leakage rate when the thermal deformation takes place. The improved spiral groove mechanical seal possesses good heat transfer performance and sealing ability.

Influencing factors on hydrodynamic lubrication failure of upstream pumping mechanical seal

Considering the effect of viscosity-temperature relationship and cavitation of micro-scale film,the influencing factors on hydrodynamic lubrication performance of upstream pumping mechanical seal were investigated based on the theory of hydrodynamic lubrication.N-S equation,energy equation,viscosity-temperature equation and vapor transport equation were solved with the finite volume method by using Fluent software,which was performed to analyze the influence of the viscosity-temperature and cavitation effect on hydrodynamic lubrication failure of the film.The research demonstrates that it will lead to the significant difference of the temperature field by considering the coupling of temperature and viscosity.When the film thickness decreases and the rotating speed rises,cavitation regions and viscous friction heat increases,the opening force of the film is also enhanced.However,the growth rate is restricted to the cavitation regions and viscous friction heat,and the opening force begins to decline to a certain extent,and thereby being insufficient to open the surfaces of the seals and leading to the failure of automatic adjustment function and severe wear,lubrication failure occurrs.Through comprehensive research on the influences of viscosity-temperature and cavitation effect on hydrodynamic lubrication performance,the theories of failure and design of upstream pumping mechanical seal are further developed.

CHARACTERISTCS OF FLUID FILM IN OPTIMIZED SPIRAL GROOVE MECHANICAL SEAL

In order to investigate the sealing performance variation resulted from the thermal deformation of the end faces, the equations to calculate the fluid film pressure distribution, the bearing force and the leakage rate are derived, for the fluid film both in parallel gap and in wedgy gap. The geometrical parameters of the sealing members are optimized by means of heat transfer analysis and complex method. The analysis results indicate that the shallow spiral grooves can generate hydrodynamic pressure while the rotating ring rotates and the bearing force of the fluid film in spiral groove end faces is much larger than that in the flat end faces. The deformation increases the bearing force of the fluid film in flat end faces, but it decreases the hydrodynamic pressure of the fluid film in spiral groove end faces. The gap dimensions which determine the characteristics of the fluid film is obtained by coupling analysis of the frictional heat and the thermal deformation in consideration of the equilibrium condition of the bearing force and the closing force. For different gap dimensions, the relation- ship between the closing force and the leakage rate is also investigated, based on which the leakage rate can be controlled by adjusting the closing force.

Sealing Performance and Optimization of a Subsea Pipeline Mechanical Connector

Researchers seldom study the optimum design of a mechanical connector for subsea oil-gas pipeline based upon the sealing performance. An optimal design method of a novel subsea pipeline mechanical connector is presented. By analyzing the static metal sealing mechanism, the critical condition of the sealing performance is established for this connector and the formulation method of the contact pressure on the sealing surface is created. By the method the minimum mean contact pressure of the 8.625 inch connector is calculated as 361 MPa, which is the constraint condition in the optimum design of connector.The finite element model is created in ANSYS Parametric Design Language(APDL) and the structure is optimized by the zero-order method, with variance of contact pressure as the objective function, and mean contact pressures and plastic strains as constraint variables. The optimization shows that variances of contact pressure on two sealing surfaces decrease by 72.41% and 89.33%, respectively, and mean contact pressures increase by 31.18% and 52.84%, respectively. The comparison of the optimal connectors and non-optimal connectors in the water pressure experiments and bending experiments shows that the sealing ability of optimized connectors is much higher than the rated pressure of 4.5 MPa, and the optimal connectors don’t leak under the bending moment of 52.2 kN·m.This research provides the formulation to solve contact pressure on the sealing surface and a structure optimization method to design the connectors with various dimensions.

A Hydrodynamic Model for Dimpled Mechanical Gas Seal Considering Interaction Effect

The mechanical gas seal of aero engine has to face the problems of high wear rate and short lifetime.Surface texture has shown beneficial effects over the tribological characteristics.Here,a hydrodynamic model for dimpled annular area of mechanical gas seal considering the″interaction effect″between adjacent dimples is developed based on the Reynolds equation.Different multi-row columns are chosen and the dimensionless pressure in radial and circumferential directions is calculated.The results indicate that the″interaction effect″is more obvious in the circumferential direction than in the radial direction,even when the area and depth of the dimples are same.Moreover,for the 5×5column,the dimensionless average pressure considering the″interaction effect″increases by45.41% compared with the 1×5column.Further analysis demonstrates that the model with the 5×5column can be more reasonable with the consideration of reducing the calculation error caused by boundary conditions to investigate the hydrodynamic effect for dimpled mechanical gas seal.

Tribological properties of low-temperature time-dependent pretreated graphite for mechanical seal pairs in high-speed turbopump

The friction coefficient and wear rate of pretreated graphite with liquid nitrogen were obtained by using a ball-on-disk tester,and the wear of GCr15–graphite seal pairs with the low-temperature time-dependent pretreatment was discussed by comparing the wear morphology.The results show that liquid nitrogen pretreatment can affect the hardness and interlayer spacing of graphite.The range of the friction coefficients of pretreated graphite changes from 0.17 to 0.22.With the increase of liquid nitrogen pretreatment time,the wear mechanism of graphite would change from dominated three-body wear to adhesion wear.The experimental results of the mechanical seal with liquid nitrogen pretreatment show that the wear rate of stator is less than 0.00165 mm^(3)·N^(−1)·m^(−1),and the graphite shows a good low-temperature compatibility.

Mechanical Deformation of Ship Stern-Shaft Mechanical Face Seals

In ship propeller shaft systems, the shaft seal is a mechanical face seal, which includes a sta-tionary metal seal ring and a rotating ring. The seal faces are deformed with different loads. The deformation of the seal faces affects the performance of mechanical face seals, which leads to water leakage, so the seal face deformation must be analyzed. A mechanics model with deformation equations was developed to describe ship stern-shaft seals. An example was given to verify the deformation equations. The solution of the deformation equations gives a theoretical basis for the analysis of seal leakage and improvements of seal structures.

Investigation and Improvement of the Staggered Labyrinth Seal

Recent studies on staggered labyrinth seals have focused on the effects of different parameters,such as the pressure ratio and rotational speed on the leakage flow rate.However,few investigations pay sufficient attention to flow details and the sealing mechanism,which would be of practical importance in designing seals having higher performance.This paper establishes a theoretical model to study the seal mechanism,thus revealing that leakage is determined by the pressure ratio and geometric structure.Numerical simulation is implemented to illustrate details of the flow field within the seal structure.Viscous dissipation is used to quantitatively investigate the contribution that each location makes to the seal performance,revealing that orifices and stagnation points are the most important positions in the seal structure,generating the most dissipation.The orifice is carefully studied by using the theoretical model.Experiments for different pressure ratios are conducted and the results match well with those of the theoretical model and numerical simulation,verifying the theoretical model and analysis of the seal mechanism.Three new designs,based on a good understanding of the seal mechanism,are presented,with one reducing leakage by 24.5%.

Comprehensive evaluation on hydrocarbon-bearing availability of fault traps in a rift basin: A case study of the Qikou sag in the Bohai Bay Basin, China

An evaluation system of hydrocarbon-bearing availability of fault traps was established based on the comprehensive analysis of fault segment growth history,fine reservoir anatomy and geochemistry tracing,with the Qikou sag in the Bohai Bay Basin as target area.The displacement/separation transform and displacement gradient method were used to prove the interpretation reliability of fault traps.The method of maximum throw subtraction was used to recover the history of fault growth and determine the availability of the forming period of fault traps.Based on the quantitative relationship between shale gouge ratio and cross-fault pressure difference of known reservoirs in southern Qikou sag,the critical shale gouge ratio of fault lateral sealing was calculated at 20%,and the quantitative evaluation chart based on the relationship of"fault throw–sand-formation ratio and hydrocarbon column height"was constructed.Based on the results of reservoir fine anatomy and quantitative fluorescence tracing test shale smear factor method is suitable for evaluating the vertical sealing of faults in the caprock of the middle submember of first member of Paleogene Shahejie Formation,and the shale smear factor critical value is 3.5.The juxtaposition thickness method is suitable for evaluating vertical sealing of faults in the caprock of the second member of Paleogene Dongying Formation,and the critical juxtaposition thickness of fault is 70–80 m.By combining four factors,the availability of fault trap interpretation,the availability of the forming period of fault trap,the availability of fault lateral sealing and the availability of fault vertical sealing,the comprehensive evaluation chart on hydrocarbon-bearing availability of fault traps in Qikou sag has been established,which provides a reasonable basis for risk assessment of fault traps.

Theoretical and experimental study on the rheological properties of WIS grout and the dispersion and sealing mechanism

Recently a new grout material called water inflow sealing(WIS) was invented for sealing water inflow in tunneling and underground constructions. In this study, a special experimental method called intubated counter grouting(ICG) was proposed to investigate the influence of water dispersion on the rheological properties of the grout during the grouting process, and to testify the sealing performance of the grout,such as instant gelling ability(IGA) and anti-dispersion ability(ADA). In the experiment, dispersion was restricted in the downstream of the channel with a high turbulence intensity. The influences of ADA and IGA were therefore decoupled and evaluated separately. Experimental results revealed two distinctive sealing mechanisms of WIS. For a low initial velocity of water, WIS turned the shear flow of water into an overall movement of a plug by absorbing water into the particles. For a high initial velocity and the situation that the particles reached the outlet before sufficiently expanding, WIS modified the rheology of the water in the channel and reduced its velocity till the static state. The distinctive feature of WIS brings a reformation on the sealing mechanism and provides an effective way to control water inflow with high pressure and velocity.

A NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF 3-D INNER FLOW IN UP-STREAM PUMPING MECHANICAL SEAL

Numerical simulation of 3-D inner flow between Up-stream Pumping Mechanical Face Seals （UPMFS） faces was initially done by CFD software, which made the flow visualization come true. Simulation results directly discover the action of hydrodynamic lubrication, and by comparison with that of Conventional Mechanic Face Seals （CMFS）, the advantage over bigger bearing capability, less friction and much less leakage are explained clearly. Otherwise there are also some different ideas and results from precedent analysis and computational research results： dynamic and static pressure profiles can be obtained respectively instead of the analytic total pressure distribution only, pressure distribution is nonlinear, while always be solved as linear, lower pressure is observed at the area of inner diameter caused by the grooves, but its possible cavitations effects to the performance of UPMFS still need further study.

Theory analyses and applications of magnetic fluids in sealing

Magnetic fluids are the suspensions composed of magnetic nanoparticles,surfactants,and non-magnetic carrier liquids.Magnetic fluids are widely used in various fields,especially in sealing,because of their excellent features,including rapid magnetic response,flexible flow ability,tunable magneto-viscous effect,and reliable self-repairing capability.Here,we provide an in-depth,comprehensive insight into the theoretical analyses and diverse applications of magnetic fluids in sealing from three categories:static sealing,rotary sealing,and reciprocating sealing.We summarize the magnetic fluid sealing mechanisms and the development of magnetic fluid seals from 1960s to the present,particularly focusing on the recent progress of magnetic fluid seals.Although magnetic fluid sealing technology has been commercialized and industrialized,many difficulties still exist in its applications.At the end of the review,the present challenges and future prospects in the progress of magnetic fluid seals are also outlined.

Friction and wear behavior of different seal materials under water-lubricated conditions

The shaft mechanical face seal in a high-speed turbopump of a liquid rocket engine often operates under extremely harsh conditions.For example,a low-temperature and low-viscosity fluid(such as liquid oxygen or liquid hydrogen)is used as a lubricant.The performance of the seal rings,especially the friction and wear behavior,directly determines whether the seal functions normal.In this study,the friction and wear behavior of several ring materials are tested using a pin-on-disk tribo-tester,and the wear morphology of the ring is investigated.The friction coefficients(COFs)and mass-wear rates under dry-friction and water-lubricated conditions,which are used to simulate low-viscosity conditions,are obtained.The results show that at a pressure-velocity(PV)value of 2.4 MPa-(m/s),the COF between the copper graphite(stator)and copper-chrome alloy disk(rotor)is low(with a value of 0.18)under the dry-friction conditions,and the 5-min wear mass of the copper graphite is approximately 2 mg.Under the water-lubricated conditions,compared with other materials(such as copper-chrome alloy,S07 steel,alumina ceramic coating,and nickel-based calcium fluoride),the S07 steel with a diamond-like carbon film is preferred for use in a high-speed turbopump under extreme conditions.The results of this study can provide theoretical and experimental guidance in the design of mechanical face seals in liquid rocket engines.