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Transient response and rub-impact phenomenon of liquid lubricated non-contacting mechanical seals during external pressure fluctuation

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Journal of the Brazilian Society of Mechanical Sciences and Engineering Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the dynamic contact behavior and transient response of liquid lubricated non-contacting mechanical seals during external pressure fluctuation. The presented model of spiral groove mechanical seals includes the Reynolds equation considering surface roughness and mass-conserving cavitation boundary, elastoplastic asperity contact model expressing rub-impact phenomenon, as well as the dynamic equation describing the vibrations of stator which were solved simultaneously with a numerical method. Results indicate that the vibration amplitude and frequency of sealing performances are affected significantly by the external pressure. The increment of rotational speed avoids face rub-contact and reduces the instantaneous variation of leakage. The results presented in the study are expected to provide a theoretical guidance to improve stability and safety of sealing system.

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Abbreviations

B :

Material-dependent exponent

C :

Critical yield stress coefficient

c sz , sγ :

Axial and angular damping

E 1 ,2 :

Young’s moduli

F f :

Fluid bearing force

F as :

Asperity bearing force

F cls :

Closing force

H 1 ,2 :

Hardness of the material

H G :

Geometrical hardness limit

h :

Film thickness at any point

h 0 :

Initial film thickness

h g :

Groove depth

K sz ,sγ :

Axial and angular stiffness

M fx ,fy :

Loading moments of fluid

M cx ,cy :

Loading moments of asperity

m 0 ,2,4 :

Spectral moments of surface profile

m s :

Mass of the stator

N :

Spiral groove number

p :

Pressure distribution

p c :

Cavitation pressure

p i :

Inner pressure

p o :

Outer pressure

Q :

Leakage rate

R :

Asperity radius

r g :

Groove radius

r i :

Inner radius

r o :

Outer radius

r b :

Balanced radius

Sy 1 ,2 :

The yield strength

u z ,γ sx ,γ sy :

Axial and angular displacement

z r :

Rotor's axial excitation motion

α :

Spiral groove angle

β :

Surface parameter

γ si :

Initial angular misalignment of stator

η s :

Asperity density

σ :

Standard deviation of surface heights

Φr,s :

Pressure flow factor

Φs :

Shear flow factor

Φc :

Contact factor

ρ :

Lubricant density

ρ L :

Fluid density

Φ:

Density ratio of fluid film, Φ = ρ/ρL

Ω:

Successive over-relaxation factor

∆θ :

Grid size in circumferential direction

∆r :

Grid size in radial direction

∆t :

Time-step

ν 1 ,2 :

Poisson's ratios

ω c :

Critical interference at the initial point of yielding

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Project Nos. 11872289 and 51775412) and National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2018YFB2000800).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Education Ministry for Modern Design and Rotor-Bearing System, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049, China

    Lushuai Xu, Yunlei Wang & Xiaoyang Yuan

  2. College of Mechanical Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049, China

    Lushuai Xu, Jiuhui Wu, Yunlei Wang & Xiaoyang Yuan

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University City College, Xi’an, 710049, China

    Qian Jia

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  1. Lushuai Xu
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Correspondence to Lushuai Xu.

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Technical Editor: Daniel Onofre de Almeida Cruz, D.Sc.

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Xu, L., Wu, J., Wang, Y. et al. Transient response and rub-impact phenomenon of liquid lubricated non-contacting mechanical seals during external pressure fluctuation. J Braz. Soc. Mech. Sci. Eng. 42, 428 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40430-020-02485-1

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