Investigation on the influencing mechanism and quantitative evaluation of stirred heat effect in high-speed mechanical seals

Stirred heat is much severe in mechanical seals under high-speed conditions, which significantly affects seal's heat transfer and dissipation characteristics. A three-dimensional thermohydrodynamic numerical model consisting of the fluid film, sealed chamber and sealing rings is developed to in...

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Main Authors: Xuezhong Ma, Xiaoxin Xiao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-03-01
Series:Case Studies in Thermal Engineering
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214157X25000991
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author Xuezhong Ma
Xiaoxin Xiao
author_facet Xuezhong Ma
Xiaoxin Xiao
author_sort Xuezhong Ma
collection DOAJ
description Stirred heat is much severe in mechanical seals under high-speed conditions, which significantly affects seal's heat transfer and dissipation characteristics. A three-dimensional thermohydrodynamic numerical model consisting of the fluid film, sealed chamber and sealing rings is developed to investigate the influencing mechanism of stirred heat by the comparative analyses of fluid flow, heat generation and transfer and evaluates its influence level by the parameterized analyses about the rotational speed, flushing flow rate, sealing pressure and sealing face structure. Firstly, in terms of cooling flow, the cold fluid flow from sealed chamber into sealing gap is impeded by the high-speed shear effect of rotor outer sidewall, and a larger vortex namely a flow dead zone is generated at the spiral groove root due to the turbulent flow regime, which significantly impede the cooling level of fluid film and sealing end faces. Secondly, in terms of heat generation, because of the high-speed shear effect of rotor, a much larger effective viscosity, radial velocity gradient, turbulence intensity and turbulence dissipation rate are generated by the turbulent flow in sealed chamber, which are responsible for the significant stirred heat. Finally, in terms of heat transfer, the temperature difference between the sealing rings and sealing chamber fluid is narrowed by the stirred heat, suppressing the convective heat transfer level. The above phenomena lead to an increase in the overall and sealing face temperature rises, and a deterioration of the sealing performance. The rotational speed has the most significant impact on the stirred heat. At the most severe, temperature rise of stirred heat for seal is up to 34 %, the decrease of load-carrying capacity is up to 17 %. Increasing flushing flow rate has a positive effect on the dissipation of stirred heat. The sealing face structure hardly affects the stirred heat generation and transfer.
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institution Kabale University
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publishDate 2025-03-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Case Studies in Thermal Engineering
spelling doaj-art-386055c8890f499ea17067f8887a095d2025-02-07T04:47:31ZengElsevierCase Studies in Thermal Engineering2214-157X2025-03-0167105839Investigation on the influencing mechanism and quantitative evaluation of stirred heat effect in high-speed mechanical sealsXuezhong Ma0Xiaoxin Xiao1Corresponding author.; School of Petrochemical Engineering, Lanzhou University of Technology, Lanzhou, 730050, ChinaSchool of Petrochemical Engineering, Lanzhou University of Technology, Lanzhou, 730050, ChinaStirred heat is much severe in mechanical seals under high-speed conditions, which significantly affects seal's heat transfer and dissipation characteristics. A three-dimensional thermohydrodynamic numerical model consisting of the fluid film, sealed chamber and sealing rings is developed to investigate the influencing mechanism of stirred heat by the comparative analyses of fluid flow, heat generation and transfer and evaluates its influence level by the parameterized analyses about the rotational speed, flushing flow rate, sealing pressure and sealing face structure. Firstly, in terms of cooling flow, the cold fluid flow from sealed chamber into sealing gap is impeded by the high-speed shear effect of rotor outer sidewall, and a larger vortex namely a flow dead zone is generated at the spiral groove root due to the turbulent flow regime, which significantly impede the cooling level of fluid film and sealing end faces. Secondly, in terms of heat generation, because of the high-speed shear effect of rotor, a much larger effective viscosity, radial velocity gradient, turbulence intensity and turbulence dissipation rate are generated by the turbulent flow in sealed chamber, which are responsible for the significant stirred heat. Finally, in terms of heat transfer, the temperature difference between the sealing rings and sealing chamber fluid is narrowed by the stirred heat, suppressing the convective heat transfer level. The above phenomena lead to an increase in the overall and sealing face temperature rises, and a deterioration of the sealing performance. The rotational speed has the most significant impact on the stirred heat. At the most severe, temperature rise of stirred heat for seal is up to 34 %, the decrease of load-carrying capacity is up to 17 %. Increasing flushing flow rate has a positive effect on the dissipation of stirred heat. The sealing face structure hardly affects the stirred heat generation and transfer.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214157X25000991High-speed mechanical sealStirred heatTurbulence effectSealing performanceQuantitative evaluation
spellingShingle Xuezhong Ma
Xiaoxin Xiao
Investigation on the influencing mechanism and quantitative evaluation of stirred heat effect in high-speed mechanical seals
Case Studies in Thermal Engineering
High-speed mechanical seal
Stirred heat
Turbulence effect
Sealing performance
Quantitative evaluation
title Investigation on the influencing mechanism and quantitative evaluation of stirred heat effect in high-speed mechanical seals
title_full Investigation on the influencing mechanism and quantitative evaluation of stirred heat effect in high-speed mechanical seals
title_fullStr Investigation on the influencing mechanism and quantitative evaluation of stirred heat effect in high-speed mechanical seals
title_full_unstemmed Investigation on the influencing mechanism and quantitative evaluation of stirred heat effect in high-speed mechanical seals
title_short Investigation on the influencing mechanism and quantitative evaluation of stirred heat effect in high-speed mechanical seals
title_sort investigation on the influencing mechanism and quantitative evaluation of stirred heat effect in high speed mechanical seals
topic High-speed mechanical seal
Stirred heat
Turbulence effect
Sealing performance
Quantitative evaluation
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214157X25000991
work_keys_str_mv AT xuezhongma investigationontheinfluencingmechanismandquantitativeevaluationofstirredheateffectinhighspeedmechanicalseals
AT xiaoxinxiao investigationontheinfluencingmechanismandquantitativeevaluationofstirredheateffectinhighspeedmechanicalseals