7/1/2014 Achieving Clean Mechanical Seal - Mechanical Seals Portal | MechanicalSeals.

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Achieving Clean Mechanical Seal
Written by Administrator
Mechanical seal are commonly used in a wide variety of industrial applications for sealing process fluids in rotating equipment. Often, the presence
of suspended solids or gas bubbles in fluid sealing environments can be detrimental to mechanical seal life and operating efficiency.
Conventional ways to manage or limit the adverse effects of particulates tend to rely on mechanical seal chamber design and clean liquid flush
systems. While such methods can be effective, operating costs may be prohibitive if large volumes of flush fluid are required.
Using CFD, novel new concepts and proven devices are being explored that offer solids control in sealing environments. Recent results show dramatic improvements
as designers provide cleaner fluid environments for mechanical seal without expensive flush systems.
Figure 1 shows process liquid sealed at the interface between contacting seal rings. One ring (orange) rotates with the shaft, while the other ring (green) mounts to the
non-rotating parts of the mechanical seal. The flush (inlet) port above the interface is shown in cross-section. At the impeller end of the seal chamber is an EnviroSeal
SpiralTrac spiral groove bushing (dark blue), which, together with the rotating sleeve of the Chesterton seal (dark gray), helps rid the chamber of solid particles.
Figure 1. A 3D Unigraphics model of a typical mechanical seal installation for a centrifugal pump the seal mounts to the rotating shaft and the drive side of the pump
seal chamberThe FLUENT model (Figure 2) represents the seal chamber, the spiral groove bushing, and the mechanical seal. A hybrid element CFD model consisting
of 1.2 million cells was set up. First, the flow field was solved using the standard k-e turbulence model, requiring about 20 hours on an SGI Octane workstation. The
particle motion was then calculated using the discrete phase model (DPM). Effects of particle size, shape, material, and density were examined for different shaft
speeds, chamber sizes, and flush fluid rates. Using Data Explorer, the DPM results were then converted into time dependent animations revealing solid particle and
fluid element behavior.


Figure 2. The geometric model of the fluid sealing cavity used to study the flow of liquid, and the associated behavior of solid particles the annular seal chamber is
between the spiral groove bushing (left) and the mechanical seal (right)
When flush liquid is used, it enters the system through nine (yellow) circumferentially spaced inlets, circulates through the flow domain, and is discharged through the
(magenta) annular outlet. For the case shown in Figure 2, however, a clean liquid flush was not used. In this mode of operation, with particle-laden water flow in the
seal chamber, the magenta annular outlet of the bushing admits liquid. Even so, solids are expelled from the system via this outlet into the flow behind the impeller.
In Figure 2, spherical solid particles with a specific gravity of 1.15, colored by their velocity magnitude, are shown for a shaft speed of 2700 rpm (Re = 140,000). The
vector arrows, also colored by velocity magnitude, depict the motion of neutrally buoyant fluid elements approximated using the DPM. As shown in the figure, solid
particles migrate along the spiral groove of the bushing to the outlet plane of the system.
Figure 3 shows particles being driven through the grooved bushing, a snapshot of the action well into the 6.2 sec simulation. By this time, only about 11% of the solids
originally present in the chamber remain in the flow. The particles, in this case 15% heavier than the liquid, centrifuge radially outward from the rotating shaft and into
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Home / Article / Mechanical Seals / Achieving Clean Mechanical Seal
7/1/2014 Achieving Clean Mechanical Seal - Mechanical Seals Portal | MechanicalSeals.org
http://mechanicalseals.org/index.php/mechanicalseals-articles/18-mechanical-seals/53-clean-mechanical-seal 2/2
the groove where they are driven to the outlet by the induced flow.

Figure 3. A profile of the spiral groove geometry showing velocity mapped particles and fluid elements
Another view of the fluid/particle motion is shown in Figure 4. Here, the observer is inside the seal chamber looking at the intake of the spiral groove bushing. The
particles and fluid elements are seen moving with the complex pattern of swirling flow in the chamber. In the distance, solids can be seen entering the spiral groove as
they begin their journey to the outlet.
Figure 4. A view from inside the seal chamber, looking along the rotating shaft (below) toward the intake of the spiral groove bushing
Insight from these studies is helping seal analysts and designers provide longer product life and greater operating efficiency, resulting in lower cost solutions to slurry
sealing applications for end users and customers.
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