End face mechanical seal

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Elements d1 and a1 bear and slide on each other, creating a seal at their interface. One
group of parts is connected to the rotating shaft and the other to the machine's case.
The spring keeps the elements tight against each other, maintaining the seal and
allowing for wear.
An end face mechanical seal, also referred to as a mechanical face seal but usually
simply as a mechanical seal, is a type of seal utilised in rotating equipment, such as
pumps and compressors. When a pump operates, the liquid could leak out of the pump
between the rotating shaft and the stationary pump casing. Since the shaft rotates,
preventing this leakage can be difficult. Earlier pump models used mechanical
packing (otherwise known as Gland Packing) to seal the shaft. Since World War II,
mechanical seals have replaced packing in many applications.
An end face mechanical seal uses both rigid and flexible elements that maintain
contact at a sealing interface and slide on each other, allowing a rotating element to
pass through a sealed case. The elements are both hydraulically and mechanically
loaded with a spring or other device to maintain contact. For similar designs using
flexible elements, see Radial shaft seal (a.k.a "lip seal") and o-rings.

Contents
[hide]

1 Mechanical seal fundamentals

2 Seal Categories
3 Seal Piping Plans
4 Component Seals
5 Tandem and Double Seals
6 Origins
7 See also
8 References

9 External links

[edit] Mechanical seal fundamentals

A mechanical seal must contain four functional components: 1) Primary sealing
surfaces, 2) Secondary sealing surfaces, 3) a means of actuation and 4) a means of
drive.
1) The primary sealing surfaces are the heart of the device. A common combination
consists of a hard material, such as silicon carbide, Ceramic or tungsten carbide,
embedded in the pump casing and a softer material, such as carbon in the rotating seal
assembly. Many other materials can be used depending on the liquid's chemical
properties, pressure, and temperature. These two rings are in intimate contact, one
ring rotates with the shaft, the other ring is stationary. These two rings are machined
using a machining process called lapping in order to obtain the necessary degree of
flatness, which is measured in lightbands.
2) The secondary sealing surfaces (there may be a number of them) are those other
points in the seal that require a fluid barrier but are not rotating relative to one another.
Usually the secondary sealing elements are O Rings, PTFE Wedges or a Rubber
Diaphragm.
3) In order to keep the two primary sealing surfaces in intimate contact, a means of
actuation must be provided. This is commonly provided by a spring. In conjunction
with the spring, it may also be provided by the pressure of the sealed fluid.
4) The primary sealing surfaces must be the only parts of the seal that are permitted to
rotate relative to one another, they must not rotate relative to the parts of the seal that
hold them in place. To maintain this non-rotation a method of drive must be provided.

[edit] Seal Categories

All mechanical seals must contain the four elements described above but the way
those functional elements are arranged may be quite varied. The standards of modern
mechanical seals are widely defined by API Standard 682 - Shaft Sealing Systems for
Centrifugal and Rotary Pumps.
Mechanical seals are generally classified into two main categories: "Pusher" or "NonPusher". These distinctions refer to whether or not the secondary seal to the
shaft/sleeve is dynamic or stationary. Pusher seals will employ a dynamic secondary
seal (typically an o-ring) which moves axially with the primary seal face. Non-pusher
seals will employ a static secondary seal (either an o-ring, high temperature graphite
packing, or elastomeric bellows). In this case, the face tracking is independent of the
secondary seal which is always static against the shaft/sleeve.
A "cartridge seal" is a prepackaged seal that is common in more complex applications.
Cartridge seals were originally designed for installation in equipment where a
component type seal was difficult due to the design of the equipment. Examples of

this are horizontally split and vertical pumps. In 1975 the A W Chesterton Company
designed the first cartridge seal that fit pumps with varying stuffing box bore sizes
and gland bolt patterns. To accomplish this the seal utilized internal centering of the
stationary parts and slotted bolt holes. This "generic" cartridge seal could be
manufactured in higher production quantities resulting in a cartridge seal that could be
used in all applications and pumps types. In 2000 Gold Seals, Inc. (acquired by
Chesterton in 2001) invented an iteration of the cartridge seal called a cassette seal.
This seal utilized a replaceable inner "cassette" mounted in the Cartridge end plate or
gland simplifying the repair of the cartridge seal.
Gap seals are generally used in bearings and other constructions highly susceptible to
wear, for example, in the form of an O-ring. A clearance seal is used to close or fill
(and join) spacing between two parts, e.g. in machine housings, to allow for the
vibration of those parts. An example of this type of seal is the so-called floating seal
which can be easily replaced. These seals are mostly manufactured from rubber or
other flexible but durable synthetic materials.

[edit] Seal Piping Plans

Since the rotating seal will create heat, this heat will need to be carried away from the
seal chamber or else the seal will overheat and fail. Typically, a small tube connected
to either the suction or the discharge of the pump will help circulate the liquid. Other
features such as filters or coolers will be added to this tubing arrangement depending
on the properties of the fluid, and its pressure and temperature. Each arrangement has
a number associated with it, as defined by American Petroleum Institute "API"
specifications 610 and 682.

[edit] Component Seals

Usually these are considered as the 'throw away' mechanical seal. Unlike Cartridge
Seals it's usually never viable to consider refurbishing the metal parts and replacing
the wearable items.
Component seals are produced in high volumes so the end price is low in comparison
to cartridge seals.
The majority of mechanical seal manugfacturers offer seals that are dimensionally
interchangeable with each other's versions. The only difference being material quality
and price.

[edit] Tandem and Double Seals

Since almost all seals utilize the process liquid or gas to lubricate the seal faces, they
are designed to leak. Process liquids and gases containing hazardous vapors,
dangerous toxic chemicals or flammable petroleum must not be allowed to leak into
the atmosphere or onto the ground. In these applications a second "containment" seal
is placed after the primary seal along the pump shaft. The space in between these two

seals is filled with a neutral or compatible liquid or gas [Generally nitrogen] called a
"buffer [Unpressurized]" or "barrier [Pressurized]" fluid.
In a tandem seal [Face To Back], the seal will leak into the buffer fluid contained in
the unpressurized cavity commonly known as thermosiphon pot. If the cavity registers
a dramatic increase in pressure or fluid level, operator will know that the primary seal
has failed this can be achieved by using pressure / level switches or transmitters. If the
cavity is drained of liquid, then the secondary seal failed. In both instances,
maintenance will need to be performed. This arrangement is commonly used when
sealing fluids that would create a hazard or change state when contacting open air.
These are detailed in API 682 [Currently 3rd Edition] Piping Plan 52
In a double seal [Generally Back to Back], the barrier liquid in the cavity between the
two seals is pressurized. Thus if the primary seal fails, the neutral liquid will leak into
the pump stream instead of the dangerous pumped fluid escaping into the atmosphere.
This application is usually used in gas, unstable, highly toxic, abrasive, corrosive, and
viscous fluids. These are detailed in API Piping Plan standards #53a, 53b, 53c; or 54.
Plan 74 may also be considered a double seal piping plan, although it is used
exclusively when describing a dry gas barrier seal support system. The barrier fluid
used in a Plan 74 system is simply a gas, not a liquid. Typically, nitrogen is used as its
inert nature makes it advantageous due to mixing with the process stream being sealed.
Tandem and double seal nomenclature historically characterized seals based on
orientation, i.e., tandem seals mounted face to back, double seals mounted back to
back or face to face. The distinction between pressurized and unpressurized support
systems for tandem and double seals has lent itself to a more descriptive notation of
dual pressurized and dual unpressurized mechanical seal. This distinction must be
made as traditional 'tandem seals' can also utilize a pressurized barrier fluid.

[edit] Origins
The mechanical seal was invented by George Cook and was originally called a "Cook
Seal". He also founded the Cook Seal Company. Cook's seal (which actually did not
have a means of drive) was first used in refrigeration compressors. The Cook Seal
company was a sideline product for Cook and he sold the company to Muskegon
Piston Ring Company where it was renamed as The Rotary Seal Division of
Muskegon Piston Ring Co. Muskegon Piston Ring sold the Rotary Seal Division to
EG&G Sealol who in turn was largely acquired by John Crane Industries of Morton
Grove, IL.
In 1990, the world market for Mechanical Seals was estimated at $1 billion.[citation
needed]

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