Fluid Inertia Effect on Spiral-Grooved Mechanical Face Seals Considering Cavitation Effects

Abstract

An extended Reynolds equation is presented to evaluate the effects of the fluid inertia and cavitation on the performance of spiral-grooved mechanical face seals under high-speed conditions. Segregated finite element procedures are employed to solve the fluid inertia terms and the fluid film pressure distribution with the artificial viscosity stabilization strategy and streamline-upwind/Petrov-Galerkin (SUPG) finite element method. The pressure jump is captured at the sudden variation in film thickness. The fluid inertia effect on the sealing performance is determined at different rotational speeds, groove depths, and spiral angles. The results show that the inertia effect due to the film thickness discontinuities improves the load-carrying capacity and increases the leakage rate. The convective inertia forces in the sealing gap flow promote fluid cavitation. The fluid inertia effect on the sealing performance is closely dependent on the spiral angles.