Specification for a Test Procedure for

Packings for Rotary Applications

Publication No. 020/2011

2011 December
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Publication No. 020/2011

Specification for a Test Procedure for Packings for Rotary Applications

This document has been presented by:

This document is the copyright © 2011 of the European Sealing Association (ESA) and Fluid Sealing Association (FSA)

All rights reserved.

Members of the ESA and FSA may copy this document as required.

No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form by non-members

without prior written permission of the ESA or FSA.

Fluid Sealing Association European Sealing Association

994 Old Eagle School Road Tegfryn
Suite 1019 Tregarth
Wayne, PA 19087 Gwynedd LL57 4PL
United States of America United Kingdom
 : +1 610 971 4850  : +44 1248 600 250
Fax: +1 610 971 4859 Fax: +44 1248 600 250
www.fluidsealing.com www.europeansealing.com

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 The European Sealing Association (ESA) is a pan-European organisation, established in 1992 and representing a strong
majority of the fluid sealing market in Europe. Member Companies are involved in the manufacture and supply of sealing
materials, crucial components in the safe containment of fluids during processing and use. The ESA is a non-profit-making
trade association, registered in Neu-Ulm (D) as VR 713.

The Fluid Sealing Association (FSA), established in 1933, is an international trade association. Member companies are
involved in the production and marketing of virtually every kind of fluid sealing device available in the world today. FSA
membership includes a number of companies in Europe and Central and South America but is most heavily concentrated in
North America. FSA members account for almost 90% of the manufacturing capacity for fluid sealing devices in the NAFTA
market.

Acknowledgements
The ESA and FSA are pleased to recognise the co-operation of the following Member Companies in the preparation of this
document. Without their support, this document would not have been possible:

Beldam Crossley Ltd

Burgmann Packings Ltd
Cetim
A W Chesterton Company
Garlock Sealing Technologies
W L Gore and Associates
James Walker
Latty International s.a.
Teadit International Produktions GmbH

Individuals who have made a particularly significant contribution to this publication include:

Henri Azibert
Chris Boss
David Edwin-Scott
Brian S Ellis
Didier Fribourg
Michael Hullik
Cyril X Latty
Thierry Ledauphin
Steve Leopold
Pete Petrunich
Russ Pimblett
Harald Poppke
John Southall
Ralf Vogel
Michael Werner

This publication is intended to provide information for guidance only. The European Sealing Association and Fluid Sealing Association have
made diligent efforts to ensure that recommendations are technically sound, but does not warrant, either expressly or by implication, the
accuracy or completeness of the information, nor does the Association assume any liability resulting from the reliance upon any detail
contained herein. Readers must ensure products and procedures are suitable for their specific application by reference to the manufacturer.
Also, the document does not attempt to address compliance requirements of regulations specific to a particular industrial facility. Readers
should consult appropriate local, regional, state, national or federal authorities for precise compliance issues.

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Contents
Page
Acknowledgements 3
Foreword 4
1.Scope 4
2.References 4
3.Test Apparatus 4
4.Pre-Test Procedure 5
5.Installation 5
6.Test Conditions 6
7.Test Procedure 7
8.Reporting 7
Appendix A - Test Report Form 8
Appendix B – Typical Graphical Representation of Results 10
Appendix C - Figure 1- Typical Test Arrangement (Schematic) 11
Figure 2 – Typical Test Apparatus (Schematic) 12

Foreword

This specification gives details of a test procedure for packings to be used to seal the stuffing boxes of rotary equipment such
as centrifugal pumps, mixers, agitators etc. It has been prepared by the Packings Divisions of the European Sealing
Association (ESA) and Fluid Sealing Association (FSA) and is approved by these organisations as a suitable method of test.

1. Scope
This specification details a dynamic test method for compression packings generally of the types described in FSA/ESA
publication ‘Guidelines For The Use Of Compression Packings’ when used to seal the stuffing boxes of rotary equipment. It
gives guidance on the design of test equipment, standard test parameters and reporting criteria. It does not specify
performance criteria which should be agreed between supplier and customer, but does define 3 leakage classes.

2. References
Attention is drawn to the following documents:
FSA/ESA Publication ‘Guidelines for the Use of Compression Packings’ (hereafter referred to as the Guidelines)

3. Test apparatus

The test apparatus shall be similar to the typical example shown in Figure 1 (see Appendix C) and shall consist of a suitable
housing for retaining the test fluid and either one or more stuffing boxes to house the test packing. Each stuffing box shall be
fitted with a gland spigot and suitable retaining plate capable of controlled axial adjustment. There shall be a test shaft
mounted on suitable bearings and attached to a suitable drive mechanism.

The test apparatus shall also conform to the following additional requirements:
(a) The shaft shall be capable of maintaining the shaft speed to within +/- 5%.
(b) The test head shall be designed and constructed so as to maintain the housing bore alignment relative to the shaft
axis within 0.10 mm.
(c) The design of the test head and support shall ensure minimum vibration.
(d) The surface finish of the housing bore shall be no worse than 1.6µm Ra and of the shaft shall be no worse than 0.4
µm Ra and the shaft shall be free of helical machine marks.
(e) Shaft and housing shall be manufactured from corrosion resistant stainless steel (eg AISI 430, 316L etc) without
surface coating and shaft hardness shall be 40 HRC minimum.
(f) The tolerances on shaft and housing bore shall be h10 and H10 respectively in accordance with EN 20286-2 (ISO
286-2).

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 (g) The test fluid shall be circulated through the test housing at a rate such that the temperature of the test medium
entering the housing remains constant within +/- 5 deg C and the outlet temperature is no more than 5 deg C higher
than the inlet temperature.
(h) Means shall be provided for collecting and measuring the volume of fluid leakage during the test, the leakage from
the shaft and housing bore sides shall be measured separately.
(i) Means shall be provided to measure the temperature of the fluid as it enters and leaves the test housing and the
gland follower within 3 +/- 0.5 mm of the outer packing ring (ie packing temperature – see Note 1).
(j) Where possible means shall be provided to measure frictional power consumption of the packing. Ideally this should
be achieved by continuous torque measurement (see Notes 2 & 3)

Note 1 – The probe shall be positioned in a blind hole drilled axially into the gland spigot.
Note 2- If a watt transducer is used it must be such that it monitors both voltage and current and also accurately determines
the phase relationship between them.
Note 3 – The value shall be reported as Normalised Power Consumption by taking the power in Watts divided by the
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packing contact area in square metres divided by the speed in metres per second – rationalised to Ws/m
.

4. Pre-Test Procedure

4.1 Inspect the packing for conformity to its specification and measure and record its cross-section dimensions.

4.1.1 For pre-formed rings measure the radial cross-section of each ring at two diametrically opposite positions and
record the average section of the whole set and the overall set depth.

4.1.2 For rings cut from length form material the rings shall be cut with a ‘skive’ (diagonal) cut in accordance with the
method stated in the Guidelines and the dimensions shall be recorded as in clause 4.1.1 after cutting the rings to size.

4.2 Measure and record the shaft and housing bore diameters and their surface roughness using a suitable comparator
gauge.

4.3 Weigh each ring and record the weight of the set.

5. Installation

Install 4 rings of packing in each stuffing box following the procedure specified in the Guidelines, Section VIII ‘ Packing the
pump correctly’ ( Clauses 3) to 5) inclusive) as follows:

Install one ring at a time. Make sure it is clean and has not picked up any dirt in handling.
Seat rings firmly (except PTFE filament and graphite yarn packings, which should be snugged up very gently, then tightened
gradually after start up).
Joints of successive rings should be staggered and kept at least 90 degrees apart. Each individual ring should be firmly
seated (no axial gaps between the rings) with a tamping tool, or suitable split bushing fitted to the stuffing box bore. When
enough rings have been fitted so that the nose of the gland will reach them, individual tamping should be supplemented by
the gland.

th
After the 4 ring is installed, take up gland bolts finger tight or very slightly snugged up. Do not jam the packing into place by
excessive gland loading.

Lantern or spacer rings shall not be fitted between packing rings.

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6. Test Conditions

6.1 Temperature
+10
All tests shall be carried out at ambient temperature ie the fluid shall enter the test housing at 20 /-5 ºC.

6.2 Test medium

The test medium shall be clean water.

6.3 Shaft diameter

The shaft diameter shall be between 40 - 65 mm inclusive.

6.4 Packing cross section

The nominal packing cross-section shall be between 9.5 - 12.7 mm inclusive.

6.5 Surface Speed

Packings shall be tested at one standard speed rating:

Standard speed (S1) = between 8 and 9 m/s inclusive

6.6 Pressure
Packings shall be tested at one standard pressure rating, and the pressure shall be monitored within the test housing:

Standard pressure (P6) = 6 bar

6.7 Leakage class

There shall be 3 leakage classes, where the average leakage during the 100 hour test period (that is, excluding the break -in
period) is as follows:
L1 = less than or equal to 5 ml/min
L2 = less than or equal to 15 ml/min
L3 = less than or equal to 30 ml/min

6.8 Additional Tests

Any additional tests carried out under different conditions (eg other media, higher temperature etc) shall be reported
separately.

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7. Test Procedure
7.1 Break-in period

Note – careful adherence to the break-in period procedure is critical to optimum packing performance.
Pressurise the test housing and rotate the shaft at the selected test speed. Adjust the compression on the packing to allow
liberal leakage (around 15 to 30 ml/min) as it beds in and then adjust compression to give the desired leakage class, without
causing excessive or fluctuating packing temperature. Record the total number of any adjustments to compression and the
total compression applied during the break-in period. Record the leakage rate at the end of the break-in period (measure the
leakage over a 5 minute period and record the average).
Typically the total break-in period will be of less than 1 hour duration but this can be extended in order to achieve stable
performance. The actual duration shall be recorded.
7.2 Test duration
At time zero, that is, after the end of the break-in period (ie once the packing is exhibiting stable leak rate and temperature)
record the power consumption (when possible) and temperatures as specified in clause 3.
The packing shall then be tested continuously for a standard duration period of 100 hours

7.3 Result recording

Record the accumulative leakage, power consumption (if applicable) and gland temperature at least twice per 24 hour period
and at the end of the test period (plus, prior to, and after, gland adjustments, see clause 7.4 below).
7.4 Gland adjustments

Excluding the break-in period, a maximum of 3 gland adjustments may be made during the test period itself and the
accumulative leakage, power consumption and gland temperature shall be recorded immediately prior to each adjustment
and 30 minutes thereafter. No gland adjustment shall be made less than one hour before completion of the total test period.
7.5 Number of tests
A minimum of 2 complete tests shall be carried out for each packing type.
7.6 Test completion
At the end of the test period the packing, including any packing residue adhering to the shaft or housing shall be removed.
The packing and residue shall be dried for a minimum of 4 hours at 80 ºC and then allowed to cool naturally to room
temperature and reweighed. The condition of the packing shall be reported including weight loss/increase and compression.
The condition of the shaft shall also be recorded.
One ring of unused packing from the same manufactured batch shall be retained for future reference for a minimum period of
five years.

8. Reporting
8.1 Record all test data on a seal test report form (an example is shown in Appendix A) and graphically (an example is shown
in Appendix B)
8.2 Publishing of results
When publishing results for consumption by potential users the average results for a minimum of two tests shall be reported
and the following data must be included:
Standard reference (ie ESA PD001/2010) and Issue Number
Packing type.
Test duration - the actual duration shall be quoted
Test speed - the actual speed shall be quoted.
Test pressure - the actual pressure shall be quoted.
Leakage class achieved.
Average gland temperature during test duration (excluding the break-in period).

8.3 The complete test report shall be made available to users on request.

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Appendix A
Pump Test report according to ESA PD001/2011

Company:_________________________________ Test Date: / /

Set Information Test Ref: ___________

Packing Name ___________________________

Length form or Die-form Rings____________

Set dimensions (mm) I/D _________ O/D_________ Depth_________

Set weight (g) ______________

Shaft and housing inspected and cleaned

Shaft surface roughness (µm) ____________ Bore surface roughness (µm) ___________

Actual shaft diameter (mm) _____________ Actual bore diameter (µm) ____________

Shaft speed

8-9 m/s; precisely ______m/s Other _____m/s

Test Pressure

6 bar; precisely _____bar Other _______ bar

Test Duration

100 hrs Other _______ hrs

Break-in period results

Total duration Total number Total Leakage rate

(min) of adjustments compression at end
applied (mm) (ml/min)

Record leakage rate at end over 5 minute period and report the average figure

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Test period results

Time Accumulative Accumulative leakage Power (W) Temperature (C) Adjustment

(h) compression (ml) Consumption (X here if the
(mm) after reading is
break-in associated with
a gland
adjustment)

Shaft Gland Gland Inlet Outlet

Start 0 0 0

End

Set weight dry (g): _________ % weight loss: _________

Set height after (mm): _________ % height loss: _________

Average leakage rate (ml/min): ___Shaft leakage (ml/min): ___Gland leakage (ml/min):___

Average gland temperature (°C): _________

Normalised average power consumption (Ws/m3)*: _________

Packing condition at end of test: (please X)

Condition None Slight Heavy

Surface hardening/glazing
Extrusion
Fraying

Shaft condition at end of test: (please X)

Condition None Slight Heavy Rough

Visible wear
Colour change

Comments:
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________

Signature: ______________

* see clause 3(j) Note 3

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Appendix B

Typical Graphical Representation of Results

Inlet Temperature ºC
Outlet Temperature ºC Adjustment
45 Gland Temperature ºC
Pressure bar
40 Shaft leak rate ml/min
Gland leak rate ml/min

35

30

25

20

15

10

0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Test Time (hours)

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Appendix C

Figure 1 Typical Test Arrangement (Schematic)

Alternate
return line
Heat
exchanger

Tank
Inlet
temperature
gauge
Valve
Testing
apparatus
Direction of flow

Pump Water
circulation Outlet temperature
pump gauge
Pressure gauge
Pressure container
Flow measure

Drain

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Figure 2 Typical Test Apparatus (Schematic)

Torque measurement
Gland temperature Water in

Gland
Stuffing box Test packing

Shaft

Motor Shaft leakage

measurement Water out

Gland leakage
measurement

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