Investigation on Performance of Mechanical Seal with Varying Dimple Depth Along the Radial Face

Title:Investigation on Performance of Mechanical Seal with Varying Dimple Depth Along the Radial Face

Volume: 11 Issue: 1

Author(s): Chenbo Ma, Dongzhi Li, Jianjun Sun*, Qiuping Yu and Yanjun Duan

Affiliation:

• College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210037,China

Keywords: CFD method, leakage rate, mechanical seal with dimples, opening force, sealing performance, varying dimple depth.

Abstract: Background: The dimple distribution has a significant effect on the property of mechanical seal with dimples, as investigated in recent patents and studies. Specifically, dimples with various distributions while with the same size were considered in the previous researches, overlooking that different positions on the seal face have different working conditions. In other words, different positions on the seal face should have different dimple parameters.

Objective: Thus, the performance of mechanical seal with varying dimple depth along the radial face was studied in this paper.

Methods: Based on the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) method, the three-dimensional flow field between seal faces with varying dimple depth along the radial direction was numerically solved using Fluent software. The pressure distribution, opening force and leakage rate under various shaft speeds were also obtained.

Results: The results show a close relationship between the distribution of dimple depth along the radial face and sealing performance. Comparing the seal faces with uniform dimple depth, it showed a better sealing performance when the dimple depth decreased or decreased first, then increased, and at last, decreased along the leaking direction under the given conditions. Specifically, the opening force increased when the dimple with smaller depth was located in the high pressure region, while the leakage rate decreased, when the dimple with smaller depth concentrated in the low pressure region.

Conclusion: It has proved that the seal face with varying dimple parameters should be taken into account in the design of mechanical seal with dimples.

Cite this article as:

Ma Chenbo , Li Dongzhi , Sun Jianjun *, Yu Qiuping and Duan Yanjun , Investigation on Performance of Mechanical Seal with Varying Dimple Depth Along the Radial Face, Recent Patents on Mechanical Engineering 2018; 11 (1) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/2212797611666180130145940