In the past, most of the pump shafts were sealed, leveraging rings of soft packing compressed by a precise packing gland. This category of shaft seal needed a fair amount of leakage to lubricate the explicit packing and make it cooler.
Then came the use of mechanical seals, which confines product leakage across the pump shaft with two extremely flat surfaces. One of the surfaces is stationary, and the other one is rotating. Even though these mechanical seals also need some leakage, they naturally vanish and are not visible.
Challenges Encountered by Mechanical Seals
A seal can be uncovered to extensive diversity of operating scenarios, many times very diverse from scenarios the seal was comprehended for, which can cause challenges down the line.
Seals can even fail quicker than expected, even if it is the right one for the task or the in-hand job. To evade potential pump downtime, it is significant to apply the precise seal for the looked-for and fitting function.
Every time of downtime leads to lost production with sustenance and maintenance expenses. When this occurs, it is significant to swiftly spot the cause behind the leakage. Luckily, leaking face seals often showcase contact patterns that assist in spotting the reason behind the leaks. Amongst the most usual of these scenarios is the full contact pattern.
Key Observation of Mechanical Seals
Full contact is the distinctive and anticipated contact pattern for a mechanical seal. Although there is full contact on the mating ring and primary ring exterior by 360 degrees, there is slight to no assessable wear on any seal ring.
Symptoms of Mechanical Seal Faults
The seal drips progressively whether the shaft is explicitly rotating or stationary and misses the mark of the allocated emission confines.
Possible Causes of Leaks
- Secondary seals are misappropriated on installation
- Secondary seals are scratched in the processÂ
- Dented or leaky secondary seal surfaces
- Solidity set of O-rings
- A chemical outbreak of secondary seals
- Not a low emission seal or prearrangement
- Materials not favourable to low level of emissions
Moving Forward: Corrective Processes and Procedures
You can substitute secondary seals with new ones, cross-check secondary sealing surfaces or connect with seal manufacturers for authentic materials. The precise lead-in chamfers and burrs should even be cross-checked.
The other options are to inclusively alter or change the seal to low emission materials, arrangement, structure or overall design.
Leak-Pack is ISO 9001:2008 certified company and one of the best mechanical seals manufacturers, exporters and suppliers in India, providing solutions to all types of leakages by manufacturing Mechanical Seals and Sealing Components as per customer’s drawings, samples or requirements. To know more about Mechanical Seal call on +91-(2739) 271592 or email at info@leakpack.com.
Also Read:
Three Benefits of Switching from Packing to Mechanical Seals