Considering pumps are used across a myriad of industries, professionals are always looking for new and innovative ways to make improvements to them. Considering that the seal face often goes through a lot of damage, it’s an important consideration as improving its longevity offers a lot. Not only do fewer repairs provide more durability, but they can also reduce downtime and effectively increase productivity. Many industry solutions have passive benefits as well, which make it a no-brainer to implement them.

Here’s how seal faces are modified for improved operations:

Why Make Face Treatments?

The goal is to increase opening force, which in turn can bring down the mechanical contact force. We want to prevent the fluid film from vaporizing, especially where pressure might be high while the fluid viscosity is lower.

How It Works

Using hydrostatic or hydrodynamic techniques, you can ramp up the opening force. Hydrodynamic forces correlate to the fluid’s viscosity and rotational speed, but that doesn’t apply to hydrostatic forces. Angled plain faces produce hydrostatic forces. A face that will undergo pressure near the outer diameter lapped, with an inside diameter so that they converge there.

Here, you have to pay attention to the optimum angle. The faces may overheat with too little taper as the lubrication isn’t sufficient. If there’s excess taper, you can suffer from high leakages.

Hydrodynamic Opening Forces

Some face patterns use recessed hydro pads, producing hydrodynamic forces in the sealing gap. For various procedures that require high speed, pressure, or use any liquid that has low viscosity and poor lubrication, we use hydro pads. Depending on the operation, the quantity, size, and location of the hydropads can vary.

Spiral grooves, wavy faces, and laser-structured faces are also used for generating hydrodynamic forces. If the procedures call for non-contacting operations, spiral grooves are the go-to option. Here, the groove depth is the most noticeable difference among the components.

Looking to optimize the use of the engineered sealing solutions for your industry? Consult us today at Robco of America. Our expertise since the early days has been developing industrial sealing Texas, helping you have access to higher quality products as compared to random OEM parts.

We also develop mechanical seals for agitators, pumps, compressors, reactors, centrifugal pumps, and bead mill units. If you’re looking for mechanical seal repair services,call 1-800-662-0585 for technical supportor email at sales@robcoamerica.com.