Sealing Solutions

Today's Low Emission Mechanical Seal Systems

Today's low emission mechanical sealing systems provide sealing solutions that consider
technology, economics and practicality. The successful application of the technology to your
centrifugal pump applications requires understanding selection considerations, as well as
installation and maintenance procedures.
Four basic areas need to be considered in the selection of a sealing system for a pump. Each
one plays an important part in achieving maximum control and minimum emissions. These are:
 Materials of construction
 Seal design
 Seal arrangement
 Stuffing box or seal chamber design
Materials of Construction
The selection of these materials must be based on the operating environment for the seal. The
effects of temperature, deformation from pressure, and wear from sliding contact, must be
considered. The effects of corrosion must be known for the secondary seal, primary and mating
rings as well as hardware items.
When hardware items of a seal are exposed to a liquid and the corrosion rate is greater than
two mils per year, a double seal arrangement should be considered. This seal arrangement
prevents the metal parts from contacting the corrosive liquid. Then, only the seal faces and the
secondary seal come in contact with the pumpage and can be made of corrosion resistant
materials such as carbon, ceramic and TFE. Some of the more common seal materials are
shown in Table 1.
Temperature is not an issue for a metal bellows seal. This type of secondary seal is specifically
designed for high temperature and cryogenic applications beyond the limits of common
elastomeric materials. However, this type of seal is limited in terms of corrosion resistance due
to the thin construction of the bellows.
An additional consideration in the selection of the primary and mating rings is their pressure-
velocity (PV) limitations. As discussed in Part One (PEM Volume 14, issue 2), PV value can be
determined for each application. This value can then be compared to those listed in Table 3. A
value less than the value given in the table will result in a seal wear life greater than two years.
TABLE 1. Common Construction Materials
Component Materials of Construction
Secondary Seals
O-Ring Nitrate, ethylene propylene, fluoroelastomer, perfluoroelastomer,,
chloroprene
Bellows Nitrate, ethylene propylene, fluoroelastomer, chloroprene
Wedge Fluorocarbon resin, grafoil
Metal Bellows Stainless steel, nickel base alloy
Primary Ring Carbon, metal filled carbon, tungsten carbide, silicon carbide,
siliconized carbon
Hardware 18-8 stainless steel, 316 stainless steel, nickel base alloys, titanium
(Retainer, disc., snap
ring,
set screws, springs)
Mating Ring Ceramic, cast iron, tungsten carbide, silicon carbide
Seal Design
Design features are important and considered in the description of a seal. A seal may be
referred to as:
 Unbalanced or balanced
 Rotating or stationary seal head
 Single or multiple spring construction
 Pusher or non-pusher secondary seal design
 Cartridge or non-cartridge
 Split or non-split
The selection of an unbalanced or balanced seal is determined by the pressure in the seal
chamber and the type of liquid to be sealed. Balance is a way of controlling the contact
pressure at the seal faces and power loss at the seal. When the percentage of balance is 100%
or greater, the seal is referred to as unbalanced, When the percentage of balance is less than
100%, the seal is referred to as balanced. Figure .I illustrates common balanced and
unbalanced seals.
Balanced seals are normally used on applications where the seal chamber pressure is greater
than 200 psig. The exception to this rule is when the liquid sealed is a petroleum product, then
balanced seals are used above 50 psig.
The selection of a rotating or stationary seal is determined by speed of the pump shaft. A seal
that rotates with pump shaft is a rotating assembly. When the mating ring rotates with the
shaft, the seal is stationary. An example is shown in figure –II .When shaft speeds exceed
5,000 ft/min., stationary seals are required. Higher speed applications require a rotating mating
ring to minimize unbalanced forces.
Selection of single or multiple spring construction is determined by the available space, shaft
size, and the sealed liquid. Single spring construction is most often used with elastomeric
bellows seals to load the seal faces. (See fifure-1a) The advantage of this type of construction
is that the openness of the design makes the spring and seal non-clogging. Typically, seals of
this construction are suited to handling fluids with a high percentage of abrasives. Also, coils
are made of a larger diameter spring wire and as a result, can withstand a greater degree of
corrosion.
Multiple spring seals require a shorter axial space. Face loading is accomplished by a
combination of springs placed about the circumference of the shaft. Most multiple spring
designs are used with assemblies having O-ring or wedges as secondary seals.
Pusher-type seals are defined as seal assemblies in which the secondary seal is moved along
the shaft by the mechanical load of the seal and the hydraulic pressure in the seal chamber.
This term applies to seals which use an O-ring, wedge, or V-ring as a secondary seal. Non-
pusher seals are defined as seal assemblies in which the secondary seal is not forced along the
shaft by mechanical and hydraulic load. Instead, all movement is taken up by a bellows
convolution. Seals with an elastomeric bellows or O-ring should be used to process
temperatures of 350ÞF. Above 350ÞF metal bellows seals should be considered.
Cartridge seals are more popular than ever. They consist of the seal head and mating ring
assemblies, plus the adaptive hardware. The structural parts of a seal installation are the shaft
sleeve, gland plate, bushing and collar. They are designed to form one assembly, for ease of
installation. Also, as a cartridge seal they may be pretested at the time of manufacture to
increase reliability. Such design is shown in Figure-II .Non-cartridge seals, those consisting of
just a seal head and mating ring, are used on pumps where space is very limited.
One further consideration is if the installation requires split construction. Figure-III shows a split
seal design where all components are split, allowing for changing of the seal without
dismantling the entire pump. Split seals are normally applied to pumps with larger shafts,
operating at speeds to 1,800 rpm and pressures to 80 psig. The unique feature of floating the
seal faces allows this type of seal to handle large amounts of shaft runout.
Many standard and unique seal designs are available from seal manufacturers. The most
efficient design for a given application can be determined by making all of the operating
conditions available to the seal manufacturer.
TABLE 3. Frequently used seal face materials and their PV limitations
Sliding Materials PV Limit
Primary Mating lb/in2 ft.
Comments
ring Ring min.
Carbon Ni-resist Better thermal shock resistance than ceramic
100,000
graphite
Ceramic Poor thermal shock resistance, better corrosion
(85%AL2O3 100,000 resistance than NI-resist
)
Ceramic Better corrosion resistance than 85% (AL2O3)
(99% 100,000 ceramic
AL2O3)
Tungsten With bronze filled carbon graphite, PV is up to
carbide 500,000 800,000
(6% CO)
Tungsten Ni binder for better corrosion resistance
carbide 500,000
(6% CO)
Siliconized Good wear resistance, thin layer of Si-C makes
350,000
carbon relapping questionable
Silicon Better corrosion resistance than tungsten carbide
carbide 350,000
(solid)
Carbon Low PV, but very good against face blistering
50,000
graphite
Ceramic 10,000 Good service on sealing paint pigments
Tungsten PV is up to 185,000 with grades that have
120,000
carbide different binders
Siliconized Excellent abrasion resistance, more economical
500,000
carbon than solid silicon carbide
Silicon 500,000 Excellent abrasion resistance, good corrosion
carbide resistance, and moderate thermal shock
 resistance

Seal Arrangements
A seal arrangement is used to describe the design of a particular seal system and the number of
seals used on a pump. The most common sealing arrangements may be defined as:

Single seal installations

-internally mounted

Dual seal installation

-tandem seals

double seals

- externally pressurized

- internally pressurized

A single seal mounted inside the seal chamber represents at least 75% of all installations. It is
the most economical sealing system available to industry. This type of seal installation uses the
liquid to be sealed for lubrications. This forms the lubricating film between the sliding seal
faces. Using low emissions seal technology in the design of a single seal, emissions can be
controlled to less than 500 parts per million. In hazardous applications, the atmospheric side of
the seal is vented to a vapor disposal or recovery system. A typical design is shown in Figure-IV
Field tests confirm that on many products, readings approaching zero can be achieved. Single
seal arrangements have the minimum number of parts and are considered very reliable.
Developed seal heat is normally removed by flushing the seal face with a line from the
discharge of the pump to the seal chamber.
When it is necessary to isolate a flammable liquid be pumped from atmosphere, a tandem seal
system may be used. In this case, two seal assemblies form a chamber which will contain a
barrier fluid at pressure less than the liquid being pumped. The inboard seal seals the full
pressure of the liquid being pumped. The outboard seal seals a non-pressurized barrier fluid as
shown in Figure-V..
According to the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers, there are six common barrier
fluids for dual seals: water, propylene glycol, n-propyl alcohol, AFT (automatic transmission
fluid), kerosene, and #2 diesel fuel.
Tandem seal systems are available, which provide essentially zero emissions of the pumped
product to the environment. The inboard seal operates in the same manner as a single seal.
Using low emissions seal technology, contamination of the barrier fluid is minimized or
eliminated. By venting the barrier fluid reservoir to a containment source, emissions to
atmosphere are easily controlled. This type of system is highly reliable and easy to maintain
since a non-pressurized barrier fluid system is used. Typically, the inboard seal of a tandem seal
arrangement is cooled by a seal flush. This is the same method as cooling a single seal.
Outboard seal head is normally removed by circulating the barrier flow with an internal pumping
ring design as shown. As a rule of thumb, the size of the barrier fluid reservoir should be one
gallon per inch of shaft size, two gallon minimum. The larger the reservoir, the more cooling
will be provided. Also, the reservoir should be located as close to the seal chamber as possible.
final sizing of the system should be verified by the seal manufacturer.
When it is necessary to isolate a toxic liquid being pumped from atmosphere, a double seal
system with a barrier liquid at a pressure higher than the liquid pumped should be used.
The system designs meet the zero emission requirements of the liquid pumped to atmosphere.
The differ from tandem seals in that the barrier fluid is pressurized. Double seals are classified
as either externally pressurized or internally pressurized.
An externally pressurized system is shown in Figure-VI .. This type of system requires a
lubrication unit to pressurized the barrier fluid above the liquid pumped and to provide
circulation for cooling. Normally, the pressure is maintained at least 10% above the pressure at
the inboard seal. The amount of heat to be removed from the system is the sum of the heat
generated from both seals, plus the heat soak from the process. The amount of flow and
pressure will determine the size of the system.
An internally pressurized double seal refers to a system which pressurizes the fluid film at the
inboard seal faces as the shaft rotates a seal design referred to as Upstream Pumping. In this
case the barrier fluid in the seal chamber is normally at atmospheric pressure. This is a very
recent development in sealing technology and is also referred to as a self-flushing seal.
To achieve stable operation, any contact seal requires that at least 50% of the fluid film at the
seal faces be liquid. Many process liquids are not good lubricants at seal face temperatures.
They either lack the proper physical properties or have entrained abrasives from the system.
The concept of Upstream Pumping overcomes these problems and ensures a 100% liquid film
at the inboard seal face at a pressure greater than the liquid being pumped. The spiral groove
design of the inboard seal face creates a non-contacting, non-leaking seal, shown in Figure-VII.
A small quantity of barrier fluid is moved from the low pressure side of the seal to the high
pressure side, as the shaft rotates. The rate of flow to the liquid being pumped is in the range
of 1 cc/minute. Since the inboard seal is non-contacting, and the pressure between the seals is
atmospheric, the entire system can normally be cooled by convection. This is a highly reliable
system and one with the least amount of parts for a double seal installation.
Seal Chamber Design
Traditionally, mechanical seals are fitted to pumps which meet American National Standards
Institute (ANSI)/American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Specification B73.1. This
original specification defined the stuffing box cross-section by the size of the packing that could
be used on a given application. The standard sizes of cross-section were 5/16, 3/8 and 7/16.
The original idea behind the specification was that if seals were used and had to be replaced,
they could be replaced by packing, However, in practice, when a seal wore out or failed it was
replaced by another seal. Fitting a seal to packing cross-sections was sometimes difficult,
particularly when multiple seal arrangements were required. In addition, the smaller the space
around the seal, the warmer it would run. Today, pump manufacturers have redesigned the
space for the seal. Since the design is no longer interchangeable with packing, the space is
larger and referred to as a seal chamber.
Figure-VIII shows the original seal chamber and the new revised space which allows over two
times the clearance over the pump shaft. These new dimensions allow current ANSI seals to run
25ÞF cooler than the original design. By opening the back of the seal chamber and providing a
slight taper to the bore, the seal chamber will run approximately 40ÞF cooler than the original
design. Also, seal face wear is substantially reduced. This data was developed by testing
conventional seals, considered standard in the original stuffing box design. This is a significant
improvement in seal reliability. Where possible, the new seal chambers available from the pump
manufacturer should be used.
Installation and Maintenance
Long, trouble-free operation of a pump includes making a correct seal installation. Any
shortcuts taken during seal installation can result in the pump being taken out of service in a
few weeks, days, or even hours from start-up. A pump must operate within the pump
manufacturer's specification. When a pump shaft begins to rotate, the seal parts also begin to
move relative to each other. Not only does sliding occur at the primary and mating rings, but
other parts move as well. The key to successful seal life is to minimize the types of motion
transferred to a seal. The angular and axial motion. These types of motion and dial indicator
checks to be made are illustrated in Figure-IX.
In addition to good maintenance practices during assembly, a pump should be monitored for
vibration during operation. Periodic checks on vibration of the pump can indicated the need for
maintenance prior to any major leakage problem. Increases in vibration may indicate a bearing
problem, misalignment, cavitation, piping strains, choked flow, and unbalanced or structural
problems related to the equipment or its operation. If present, they must be identified and
quickly corrected.
When a seal is removed, a study should be made by maintenance personnel to identify the
cause of leakage. The seal manufacturer should be contacted and allowed to assist in the
analysis. Normally, the manufacturer has the equipment in the laboratory to conduct a
thorough investigation and report on overcoming the problem.
Seal installation begins with a review of the assembly instructions and any available layout
drawings. The proper seal installation dimensions or spacing is required to ensure the seal is at
its proper working height as shown in Figure-X .The installation reference can be determined by
locating the face of the box on the surface of the sleeve and then measuring along the sleeve
after it has been removed from the pump. It is not necessary to use this procedure if a step in
the sleeve or collar has been designed into the sleeve assembly to provide for proper seal
setting. After the seal has been fixed to the sleeve and the mating ring assembly is completed,
other parts of the pump are brought together and the seal will be at its proper setting.
Cartridge seals, as shown in Figures 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, can be assembled with relative ease,
because only the bolts on the gland plate and set screws in the collar need to be fastened to
the pump and shaft. The spacer is then removed. After the piping has been checked and
installed the pump is ready to operate.
Since the seal has precision lapped faces, and secondary seal surfaces are critical, the
installation should be kept as clean as possible. All lead edges on sleeves and gland plates
should have sufficient chamfers to facilitate installation.

(SUDHIR PAREEK)
TCE KATPP JHALAWAR
FIGURE I.
FIGURE II
FIGURE I A
FIGURE II
FIGURE III
FIGURE IV
FIGURE V
FIGURE VI
FIGURE VII
FIGURE VIII
FIGURE IX.
FIGURE X.