MECHANICAL SEALS

Power Plant Basics

BECHTEL POWER CORPORATION

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
1.0 INTRODUCTION 1
2.0 DESIGN CHARACTERISTICS 2
2.1 Principles of Mechanical Seals 2
2.2 Comparison of Internal and External Seals 4
2.3 Comparison of Balanced and Unbalanced Seals 6
2.4 Double Seals 8
2.5 Seal Designs 9
3.0 GLAND SEAL COOLING 15
4.0 INSTALLATION OF A MECHANICAL SEAL 18
4.1 Installation 18
4.2 Recommendations 22
4.3 Summary 24
1.0 INTRODUCTION

In conventional jam-type packing glands, leakage around the shaft is controlled by

tightening or loosening the gland studs. Although it is commonly believed that a good
gland seal is effected by a firmly tightened gland, controlled leakage can be efficiently
maintained by experienced personnel.

Packing, which is of a semi-plastic nature, forms very closely to the shaft and seals off
leakage. However, the seal is only effective for a short period before leakage continues,
no matter how firmly the gland studs are tightened. As tightening continues, the packing
loses all of its saturant and eventually becomes hard and dry. The resulting frictional
resistance increases rapidly at this point; the heat generated cannot be dissipated fast
enough, and the gland fails to function. The peripheral surface of the shaft becomes
grooved and ridged and does not provide a good gland seal.

With this in mind, an entirely new type of mechanical seal has been designed. Their
wearing faces are different from the normal axial surfaces of the shaft and conventional
packing. These mechanical seals have a rotating face sealing against a stationary face at
right angles to the shaft, thus preventing shaft wear.

Both mechanical seals and conventionally packed glands are subject to wear. Although
neither one is perfect, the mechanical seal has greater reliability under certain operational
conditions. However, each type is capable of providing good service and the decision of
which to use may be dependent on personal preference or simple economics.

The following lesson will deal with design features of mechanical seals, their installation,
and operation.
2.0 DESIGN CHARACTERISTICS

2.1 PRINCIPLES OF MECHANICAL SEALS

Although the designs of mechanical seals vary considerably in physical respects,

fundamentally, all mechanical seals are the same. The sealing surfaces of all mechanical
seals are located in a plane perpendicular to the shaft and consist of two highly lapped
and polished faces running face-to-face with each other. One surface is connected to the
shaft and rotates with it; the other is connected to the stationary part of the pump. See
Figure II-1.

Total sealing is accomplished at the fixed members. Both seal faces are lapped to a fine
finish with highly polished surfaces. The seal components are of dissimilar materials and
are held continually in contact with each other by a spring. This forms a fluid-tight seal
between the stationary and rotating members of the seal with very little friction.

Leakage is negligible when a seal is new and is usually disregarded. Technically

speaking, no seal is capable of absolute zero leakage. To obtain a pressure breakdown
between internal and atmospheric pressures, a flow of liquid past the seal faces is
required.

Mechanical seals are similar to bearings in that close running tolerances are necessary for
the units to function correctly. In order to maintain these tolerances, lubrication and
cooling are provided by the liquid film across the running faces of the seals or bearings.

Seals for centrifugal pumps do not operate very well on air or gases. If they are run dry,
they will fail rapidly.
2.2 COMPARISON OF INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL SEALS

The two basic types of seal arrangements are the internal assembly and the external
assembly. In the internal assembly, the rotating element is located in the pump box and is
in constant contact with the pumped fluid. See Figure II-2a. In the external assembly, the
rotating element is located externally to the pump box. See Figure II-2b.

In the inside assembly, the liquid pressure within the pump helps to force the rotating and
stationary elements' faces together. In the external assembly, they are forced apart.
Regardless of the design of the seals, there are three primary points at which sealing must
be achieved (See Figure II-2b):

1. Between the stationary element and the casing

2. Between the rotating element and the shaft, or the shaft sleeve if
one is used

3. Between the mating surfaces of the rotating and stationary seal

elements.

A conventional gasket or O-ring must be used to accomplish the seal between the
stationary element and the casing,

O-rings are used to prevent leakage between the shaft and the rotating element. Bellows
or flexible wedges are sometimes utilized as seals.

Leakage between the mating surfaces is contained to an absolute minimal flow by

maintaining very close contact between the faces.
2.3 COMPARISON OF BALANCED AND UNBALANCED SEALS

In the unbalanced seal, internal pressure causes the seal faces to close together. If the
liquid being pumped has good lubricating qualities and the pressure is not excessive, the
loading will not be harmful. Figure II-3 illustrates a typical unbalanced seal. Unbalanced
seals are limited to low pressure applications (usually in the range of 100 to 150 psig) and
to liquids with lubricating qualities equal to or better than gasoline.

Consider the following with relation to the unbalanced seal:

Let P = pressure of liquid in the box

P’= average pressure across the seal faces
then:
Closing Force = (P) (area A) + Spring loading
Opening force = (P’ ) (area B)
To provide a balanced seal, the pressure areas are proportioned so as to reduce surface
loading on the contact faces of the seal. Balanced seals, illustrated in Figure II-4, have an
excellent performance record where high internal pressures are involved. However, they
are not very good for low pressure applications (50 psig and under) as the sealing force is
reduced to a point at which contact between the sealing faces may not be sufficient to
provide adequate sealing.

Again,

if P = pressure of liquid in the box

P’ = average pressure across the seal faces
then:
Closing force = (P.) (area A - area C) + Spring loading
Opening force = (P’) (area B)
2.4 DOUBLE SEALS

A double mechanical seal primarily consists of two mechanical seals mounted inside a
stuffing box to provide a double seal assembly. This type of seal is commonly used in
pumps that handle highly toxic or inflammable liquids that cannot be permitted to escape
into the atmosphere. It is also used where corrosive materials are being pumped at very
high or very low temperatures.

A clean, filtered liquid is injected between the two seals at a pressure in excess of the
liquid being pumped ahead of the seal. This liquid seal prevents the pumped liquid from
contacting the seal components or escaping to the atmosphere. The basic construction of
a double mechanical seal is graphically shown in Figure II-5.
2.5 SEAL DESIGNS

Seal designs have continuously evolved to meet the ever increasing demand for
specialization in their functions and are currently precise and highly complex pieces of
equipment. The sophistication and technical complexity of the mechanical seals tend to
intimidate those who have to install and maintain them. However, it is important to
remember that all sophisticated equipment starts with basic principles. This is true for
mechanical seals; if the basics are learned well, there will be no problems in working
with them -- however complex their design may be.

A typical mechanical seal arrangement with all the functional elements is illustrated in
Figure II-6. A mating ring is wedged into the gland. Leakage is prevented by an O-ring
which also provides it some resilience. The shaft sleeve, which acts as a backing ring, is
held in place against a machined collar on the shaft by a nut. If the shaft is not threaded, a
setscrew through the sleeve is used to retain the sleeve on the shaft. The sealing ring is
held against the mating ring with a coil-type spring. A flat gasket seals the entire
enclosure when placed between the gland and the housing faces, thus preventing external
leakage. O-rings seal casing fluid along the shaft, past the sealing ring, and back of the
mating ring.
The seal illustrated in Figure II-7 is typical of the installation in units where shaft speeds
vary from slow oscillating motion to 5,000 rpm (pumps, compressors, etc.). The shapes
of the stationary seals and method of mounting vary considerably with the type and
overall design of each application. Materials used in the construction of the seal vary
with the liquids being pumped.

Figure II-8 illustrates the design and construction of a typical heavy-duty seal that can
take an unusual amount of end play and eccentricity. It efficiently retains oil and keeps
dirt out.
Another type of mass produced seal is illustrated in Figure II-9. All of the rotating parts
are contained in one shell. This type of seal is easily adapted to different sizes of
equipment by varying the size of the mating ring. The seal consists of two basic
components, one of which is fastened to the casing of the pump and the other to the shaft
where it rotates.

The stationary seal is in the stuffing-box gland and is fitted lnto a synthetic rubber
vibration ring. A fluid seal is formed in the synthetic rubber flexible bellows between the
sealing ring and the shaft. The flexible bellows compensate for seal face wear and shaft
end play.

The shell also acts as a stop against the spring and puts a determined radial squeeze on
portions of the bellows that are between its inside axial flange and shaft. This secures the
entire rotating unit to the shaft, so that the unit will rotate with the shaft. Keys that are
located in the shell prevent the carbon seal ring from turning with the shaft.

Figure II-10 illustrates a mass-produced rubber bellows type seal. The pump impeller
acts as a backing-plate for the seal spring. This type of seal is common to end suction
type centrifugal pumps.
The metal bellows seal, shown in Figure II-ll, is mechanically attached to the shaft
housing, forming a sealed enclosure on one end. The seal face at the other end of the
enclosure makes contact with the sealing ring locked to the shaft. The thrust from the
spring action of the bellows, plus the spring loading, maintain constant thrust under
pressure changes, ensuring good seal face contact at all times. The bellows are designed
to resist torsional stresses in order to prevent the sealing face ring from revolving with
the shaft.
The metal bellows are designed in such a way that the mean diameter of the seal face
bearing surface equals the mean diameter of the bellows. The seal is then balanced to the
pressure so that any variation in either internal or external pressure will not affect the
sealing thrust exerted by the bellows and the spring. For example, if the seal is designed
to exert a 10 psi thrust when installed, it will maintain this thrust regardless of whether
the differential pressure across the seal is 5 psi or 100 psi.

The bellows must be constructed of material thick enough to withstand the top pressures
being sealed against. The bellows section must always be the stationary element and will
be attached to the shaft housing. If the bellows element is permitted to revolve with the
shaft, vibration will be transmitted to the bellows and shorten the life of the seal. The
bellows are usually silver-soldered, brazed to the seal ring, or shrunk over the seal ring.

The all metallic bellows-type seals are used very successfully on refrigeration
compressors and pumps handling gasoline, fuel oils, etc.

The floating seal-nose mechanical seal, Figure II-12, has two sealing faces which help to
reduce frictional resistance in high-speed applications. Due to the design of the ring, it
tends to float during operation. Theoretically, the ring revolves at half the revolutions of
the shaft. Initially, it may start revolving with the shaft, but stops turning due to frictional
heat build up of the side against the stationary piece. When the side against the shoulder
of the revolving shaft heats up, the ring will turn with the shaft.

Due to its four lapped surfaces as well as its complexity, this type of seal is more
expensive to produce.

Theoretically, if there were ten floating rings, the friction would only be one-tenth on
each seal surface. It is widely used for many different fluids.

The seal has both mating and seal rings made of nitrided steel, with a floating carbon-
graphite ring between them.
3.0 GLAND SEAL COOLING

Under ideal working conditions, mechanical seals can almost be maintenance free. In order to
function well, however, the temperatures and pressures must be correct and the pumped fluid
must be reasonably clean. If working conditions are not ideal, the seals require some assistance,
including cooling, to function properly. The following are reasons for cooling seals:

1. Cooling seals prevents excessive temperatures that destroy the liquid film
between the faces of the sealing rings.

2. It prevents the pump liquid from vaporizing around the seal faces. Vapor
keeps the required liquid film away from this very critical area.

3. It helps to reduce potential trouble when handling highly volatile liquids

such as gasoline, etc.

4. It prevents temperature rises from destroying, distorting, and reducing the

efficiency of the seal components.

5. It prevents corrosion by high temperatures.

An effective and simple method of cooling both seals in a two-stage centrifugal pump is
illustrated in Figure III-1. The seal, under suction pressure, receives a continual flow of coolant
from the second stage. If the interstage pressure differential is high, it is advisable to use a
throttling device, such as an orifice, to reduce the flow as required.

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Figure III-2 illustrates a coolant system which must be carefully controlled. If the coolant
pressure is high, the cooling liquid between the mating ring and the auxiliary seal can upset the
gland seal. Pressures should be below 10 psi if the casing fluid pressure is low.

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In a double mechanical seal (see Figure III-3), the auxiliary system lubricates and cools the
sealing faces and helps keep the pumped fluid out of the sealing compartment. This is a common
technique used in the nuclear generation field and in petro-chemical plants.

All of the aforementioned methods of lubricating and cooling mechanical seals require careful
study. Personnel employed in operating and maintaining pumping equipment must ensure that
these auxiliary systems are functioning efficiently at all times, otherwise rapid deterioration is
inevitable. This can be costly, inconvenient, and highly inefficient.

4.0 INSTALLATION OF A MECHANICAL SEAL

4.1 INSTALLATION

If a mechanic is to install a mechanical seal, he must have some knowledge of how the seal
functions and what factors affect its life and serviceability. He will not be expected to know all

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about the design characteristics, but he should be familiar with the important basics of the
particular seal to be installed.

The first consideration in installing a mechanical seal is to ensure that the seal faces are in good
condition and perfectly flat. Flatness is vital for reducing leakage to the very small amount that a
good mechanical seal will pass. The seal comes from the manufacturer with the faces lapped to
one millionth of an inch flatness. Flatness is checked with the use of an optical quartz plate and a
monochromatic light source which provides a visual readout in light bands. Flatness must be
within three light bands, or 0.000035 inch. If the seal faces are out of flatness by four or five
light bands, the seal will leak profusely. It should now be very apparent that flatness is a most
important factor in the leak-proof performance of any mechanical seal.

One indication that a seal face is out of flatness after running for some time is shiny spots on the
face when it is removed for a check. These spots can be carefully removed by hand lapping.

Flatness can be obtained by lapping the face on a flat lapping block by lightly pressing the seal
ring against 4/0 polishing paper, and rubbing with a figure-eight motion. Carbon can lap itself
flat when run against the opposing seal face, but it is the exception. If hard materials are used
that are out of flat, there is little or no chance of them ever wearing in. Leakage will be
prominent from the beginning. The seal must be removed for relapping.

Before starting a seal installation, it is important to check the direction of shaft rotation,
depending on the type of seal being used. Some single spring seals and threaded parts are
designed for only one rotational direction.

The seal manufacturer's installation instructions should be carefully followed with any given seal
type and model; however, the following description provides general installation instructions.

First, the pump must be in good operational condition for the seal installation. Axial run-out
should be very low. Typically, the design tolerances in any seal installation should be no more
than 0.005 inch end play.

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Radial run-out should be at a minimum, too. A typical reading is 0.001 inches per inch of shaft
diameter. If this figure is exceeded, shaft bearings must be replaced before proceeding with the
seal installation. Coupling alignment should be within + 0.002 inch, or to the pump
manufacturer's specifications. Piping strain, for pipes connected to the pump, should be at a
minimum to prevent load from distorting the pump casing and stuffing box, or gland. These
preliminary checks are vital to the performance of the mechanical seal being installed. It is
therefore worthwhile to take the extra time to ensure that these factors will not affect the life
expectancy of the seal.

The faces of the seal must be protected until it is installed. Fingerprints on seal faces must be
avoided, since the skin's natural oils can be transferred to the flat surfaces and create "dry-spots."
Dry-spots are responsible for seals cracking and breaking up due to lack of lubricant and cooling
medium making contact with these spots. It is recommended that hands be kept clean and that
soft paper towels or lint-free cloths be used when the faces are pressed into place.

Shop grease or oil should never be applied to the face of the seal as lubricant since either can
cause rapid deterioration of the seal in a short time.

The shaft should be protected during seal installation. It is important to remove any burrs or
scratches with an oilstone, carefully ensuring that flats are not created on the shaft during the
process. If the seal has to slide over threads, they should be wrapped with tape or protected by
some other means.

Silicone-based lubricants are the only ones recommended for ethylene propylene (EPR) O-rings,
but any type of lubricant is permissible for Viton or similar O-ring material.

The most important part of any installation is to correctly place the seal at the right point on the
shaft. For seals with setscrews, the method is indicated in Figure IV-la and b.

Each seal with a setscrew is designed for a certain operating length, A, in both illustrations.

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The dimension from the front to the back of the seal must be determined from drawings,
manufacturer's literature, or sometimes from the markings on the seal. The face of the pump, the
machined surface exposed when the gland is removed, is always used as a reference point.

To transfer the reference to the shaft, blue the shaft surface lightly, and place a flat piece of 1/4
inch square tool stock with the end ground to a chisel point against the face of the machined
surface. With the chisel point resting very lightly on the shaft surface, rotate the shaft slowly
until a light scribe line appears on the periphery of the shaft. This line is used to reference the
exact location of the line B as in Figure IV-1.

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Actual measurement is the simplest way to ensure the correct position. For measurement
purposes, assume that the gasket will not compress. From the measurement, line C can be
marked on the shaft for setting the exact position of the seal.

Instead of marking for the back of the seal, it is a good idea to determine how far the back of the
seal is from the corner of the shaft. Remember that the dimension D, Figure IV-1, from the seal
end to the stuffing box face, may be more or less than dimension A, the operating length.

Figure IV-2 illustrates the position of the scribing tool.

4.2 RECOMMENDATIONS

The instructions listed below should be followed when installing a mechanical seal:

1. Handle seals with care, as improper handling can cause distortion of the
seal faces. Avoid rubbing off manufacturer's applied lubricant as this will
create operating problems on a new seal. Ensure that parts are absolutely
clean at all times.

2. Read installation instructions carefully before installing seal.

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 3. Inspect stuffing box internals, shaft, and sleeve for sharp burrs that will
damage O-rings, etc. All burrs must be removed and areas smoothed
before attempting to install a seal.

4. Check the pump shaft for run-out and alignment. Poor alignment can
cause vibrations along the axial plane and subsequent seal damage.

5. Do not operate mechanical seals dry or the faces will gall and tear up.

6. Ensure that all cooling lines are not kinked or damaged in any way, and
that they are installed correctly.

7. Avoid using hot liquids such as feedwater as it may vaporize and vapor-
lock sealing face areas.

8. Keep fluid pressure on seals while pump is shut down, so that the seals do
not start dry.

9. It is good operational and engineering practice to rotate shutdown

mechanical seal equipped machinery at least once per day.

10. Do not start pump if it tends to bind or will not rotate.

11. Keep recommended spare parts in stock at all times.

12. If the pump has been shut down for an extended period of time, always
inspect for stuck or fouled seal or shaft packing, etc.

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4.3 SUMMARY

1. Mark pump face reference on shaft.

2. Remove the stuffing box. For the stationary ring, either subtract the depth
of the stationary ring from the operating length of the seal, as in Figure
IV-la, or add the amount by which the ring enters the box, as in Figure IV-
lb.

3. Determine where the back of the seal should be by working with the
operating length plus or minus the depth of the stationary ring compared
with the stuffing box face.

4. Determine length from the back to the corner of the shaft.

Once the seal, gland, and gaskets are installed, attention can be given to piping connections for
cooling or flushing. If the pump has a filtering or heat exchange set up to protect the seal from
heat or abrasive particles, ensure that all connections and controls are ready to operate. Some
pumps handling dangerous products may have an alarm system to sense and report changes in
barrier pressure and warn that the inner seal has failed. All piping and electrical connections to
alarm systems of this kind must be restored before start-up.

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