Steady Performance on High Speed Spiral-Grooved Mechanical Seals Based on Turbulent Model

Abstract

The turbulent lubrication model of the liquid film lubricated spiral-grooved mechanical seals at the high speed was established. The numerical solution of the lubrication equation and the liquid film turbulent model was obtained by using the finite element method and relaxation iteration technique. The effects of geometric parameters and operating conditions of the spiral groove on the sealing performance under the laminar model and the turbulent model were compared and analyzed. The results show that the turbulence effect of the liquid film significantly improved the hydrodynamic lubrication effect of the liquid film on the end face of the spiral groove mechanical seal. The opening force, leakage rate and stiffness of the seal were significantly larger than the predicted value of the laminar model. Under the different conditions, a more pronounced turbulence effect was produced in the spiral groove, and the flow behavior of the liquid film was far different from the laminar model. Taking the opening force as the optimization objective, the optimized geometric parameters of the spiral groove obtained from the turbulent model were different from the laminar model in the spiral angle and groove depth. The turbulence effect of the mechanical seals cannot be negligible in the high speed and low viscosity media.