• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.240-248
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• 2011

Mechanical face seal installed in primary heat transport pump used for heavy water reactor prevents leakage of working fluid using thin working fluid film between primary seal ring and mating ring. If the leakage of working fluid exceeds the allowable volume, serious accident can be happened by the trouble of primary heat transport pump. The thinner fluid film exists between primary seal ring and mating ring, the less working fluid leaks out. On the other hand, if the thickness of fluid film is not enough, the life of mechanical face seal will be reduced by friction and wear. Therefore appropriate design is necessary to maximize the performance and life of mechanical face seal. In this study, numerical analysis using finite volume method was conducted to investigate the performance of mechanical face seals which have same deep straight groove and 11 different net coning values. As results, equilibrium clearance between primary seal ring and mating ring, leakage volume of working fluid, friction torque on sealing surface and stiffness of working fluid film were obtained. With increasing net coning value, equilibrium clearance and leakage volume increase, and friction torque and stiffness of fluid film decrease.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.230-239
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• 2010

Mechanical face seal installed in boiler feedwater pump prevents leakage of working fluid using thin fluid film between stator and rotor. If the leakage of working fluid exceeds the allowable volume, serious malfunction of boiler feedwater pump will be happen. The thinner fluid film exists between stator and rotor, the less working fluid leaks out. However, if the thickness of fluid film is not enough, the wear of seal face will be increased. And it causes the decrease in life of mechanical face seal. Therefore appropriate design is necessary to maximize the performance and life of mechanical face seal. In this study, numerical analysis using finite volume method was conducted to investigate the static characteristics of wavy mechanical face seals which have 4 different wavy surface profiles on rotor. As a result, opening force, leakage volume of working fluid and friction torque were obtained. For the same minimum film thickness, the static characteristics of mechanical face seal were affected by the wavy surface profile which can change the thickness of working fluid film and pressure distribution.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.70-80
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• 2012

Non-contact type mechanical face seals installed in mechanical systems prevent leakage of working fluid using thin working fluid film between stator and rotor. For that purpose, various kinds of surface profiles, grooves and conings have been applied on seal surfaces of stator and rotor to generate hydrodynamic and hydrostatic pressure. The thickness distribution of working fluid film is one of important factors which affect the working performances of mechanical face seal, and it is strongly affected by the surface height profiles of stator and rotor. Therefore, appropriate design of surface height profiles of stator and rotor is necessary to optimize the working performances and life of mechanical face seal. In this study, numerical analysis using finite volume method was conducted to estimate the working performances of wavy mechanical face seals which have 36 coning combinations. As results, minimum thickness of working fluid film, leakage volume of working fluid and friction torque in static equilibrium condition of mechanical face seal, and stiffness of working fluid film were obtained. The results show that the working performances of mechanical face seal were affected by the coning combinations which can change the thickness distribution of working fluid film and pressure distribution in sealing region of mechanical face seal.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.304-313
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• 1999

High-speed rotors set a lot of high vibration and stability problems especially when the speed of rotation is going through the first or the second critical speed. The aim of this paper is to investigate the possibility of an active control of a rigid rotor with squeeze film damper which has a good configuration of easily controlled end seal clearances and/or adjustment of a feed pressure. A theoretical method is presented and some numerical results are compared with test measurements. Both results show that the vibration or bit sizes are decreased when the end seal gap decreases with constant supply pressure, and when the supply oil pressure increases with constant seal gap. The experimental results show also a pleasing similarity on both orbit sizes and their decrement ratio compared with theoretical analysis. The possibility of an active control with the squeeze film damper was verified by adjusting the seal gap and the supply pressure.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.916-922
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• 2001

A mechanical face seal is a tribo-element intended to control leakage of working fluid at the interface between a rotating shaft and its housing. Leakage of working fluid decreases drastically as the clearance of the mating seal faces gets smaller. But the very small seal clearance results in an increased reduction of seal life because of high wear and heat generation. Therefore, in the design of mechanical face seals a compromise between low leakage and acceptable seal life is important, and it presents a difficult and practical design problem. A fluid film or sealing dam geometry of the seal clearance affects seal lubrication performance very much, and thereby it is one of the main design considerations. In this study the Reynolds equation for the sealing dam of mechanical face seals is numerically analyzed, using the Galerkin finite element method, which is readily applied to various seal geometries. Film pressures of the sealing dam are analyzed, including the effects of the seal face coning and tilt. Then, lubrication performances of the seals, such as opening forces, restoring moments, leakage, and dynamic coefficients, are calculated, and they are compared to the results obtained by the narrow seal approximation.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers Conference
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• 1999.06a
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• pp.197-202
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• 1999

A mechanical face seal is a tribe-element intended to control the leakage of working fluid at the interface of a rotating shaft and its housing. The leakage of working fluid decreases as the seal surfaces get closer each other. But a very small seal clearance results in a drastic reduction of seal life because of high wear and heat generation. Therefore, in the design of mechanical face seals the compromise between low leakage and acceptable life is important and presents a difficult design problem. And the gap geometry of seal clearance affects seal performance very much and becomes an important design variable. In this study the Reynolds equation for the sealing dam of mechanical face seals is numerically analyzed using the Galerkin Finite Element Method, which can be readily applied to various seal geometries. The film pressures of the sealing dam are analyzed, including the effects of the seal face coning and tilt. Then, opening forces, restoring moments, leakages, and dynamic coefficients are calculated.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers Conference
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• 2004.11a
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• pp.201-208
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• 2004

In this study a general Galerkin FE lubrication analysis method was utilized to analyze the complex lubrication performance of a spiral groove seal having an additional inner circular groove, which was designed for a chemical process mixer operating at a low speed of the maximum 500 rpm. Equilibrium seal clearance analyses under varying outer pressure revealed that the seal maintains a certain levitation seal clearance under the outer pressure of more than about 1.5 bar, regardless of a rotating speed. Also, under the normal outer pressure of 11 bar, the axial stiffness of the seal was predicted to have a high value of more than 7.0e+07 N/m, regardless of a rotating speed and thereby, the seal is expected to maintain a stable thickness of lubrication film under a certain external excitation acting.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.457-466
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• 2005

Industrial plasticizers such as phthalates can induce peroxisome proliferation. A growing concern among environmental and health groups has arisen because phthalates such as di-2-ethy1hexy1 phthalate (DEHP) and DBP may cause hormonal disorders, reproductive toxicity, hepatocellular tumors, genital disorders owing to a capacity to bind estrogen receptors, and a low-dose toxic action during certain periods of fetal development. Phthalate esters are used extensively as a plasticizer for plastic manufacture such as PVC bags and medical devices. This study investigated the effects of leached components from spring water container's cap and seal film. Phthalates, e.g. dimethy1 phthalate (DMP), diethy1 phthalate (DEP), di-n-buty1 phthalate (DBP), benzy1buty1 phthalate (BBP), di-(2-ethy1hexy1) phthalate (DEHP), and bisphenol A (BPA) were measured in the spring water. The bisphenol A was not detected or below the detection limit on the leaching from cap, sealing or spring water. DEHP were detected 90-116 ppb on the leaching from seal after 2 weeks, and 0.48-0.51 ppb from the spring water after I week. BBP were measured from seal within 1 week 25.4-66 ppb and below 0.12 ppb from spring water within 2 days. DMP were detected from seal within 2 weeks 51-68.5 ppb and 0.12 ppb after 2 weeks. DEP were measured from seal within 2 weeks 48.1-141 ppb and the concentrations were increased by the time from 0.10 to 0.31 ppb at spring water. DBP were detected from the seal within 2 weeks 92.3-5100 ppb and the concentration were decreased by the time from 0.24 to 0.10 ppb at spring water. These results indicate that some phthalate esters contaminated with spring water using the intact cap and seal film. It is concluded that the measured levels of phthalates leaching from these materials might in vivo only be slightly less than 1/10 of the LOAEL.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.183-190
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• 2018

Tilting pad journal bearing is widely used for steam turbines because of its excellent dynamic stability. As the turbine capacity increases, power loss in the bearings becomes a matter of concern. Power loss in tilting pad journal bearings can be reduced by increasing the bearing clearance and reducing the pad arc length. In this study, the tilting pad journal bearing is tested by changing the seal tooth clearance to verify the static characteristics of the bearing. Bearing power loss and bearing metal temperature are evaluated to compare the bearing's performance and reliability for several test cases. The test bearing is a tilting pad journal bearing with 300.62mm inner diameter and 120.00mm active length. The bearing power loss, its metal temperature, and oil film thickness are measured and evaluated based on the rotor's rotational speed, oil flow rate, and bearing load. Test results show that a tilting pad journal bearing with large seal tooth clearance has 40% lower power loss compared with a bearing with a small seal tooth clearance. As the seal tooth clearance is increased, the power loss of the tilting pad journal bearing decreases. However, with respect to the bearing metal temperatures, a detuning point is observed that makes the minimum bearing metal temperature. Moreover, as the seal tooth clearance is increased, the oil film thickness increases due to high viscosity.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.53-62
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• 2005

In this study a general Galerkin FE lubrication analysis method was utilized to analyze the complex lubrication performance of a spiral groove seal having an additional inner circular groove, which was designed for a chemical process mixer operating at a low speed of the maximum 500 rpm. Equilibrium seal clearance analyses under varying outer pressure revealed that the seal maintains a certain levitation seal clearance under the outer pressure of more than about 1.5 bar, regardless of a rotating speed. Also, under the normal outer pressure of 11 bar, the axial stiffness of the seal was predicted to have a high value of more than 7.0 e + 07 N/m, regardless of a rotating speed and thereby, the seal is expected to maintain a stable thickness of lubrication film under a certain external excitation acting. A seal levitation test rig was designed and constructed. Experimental results at 500 rpm agreed well with analytical predictions and the applied lubrication analysis method was verified.