Abstract
Mechanical seals play an important role in the reliability of a process. Currently, the condition monitoring of mechanical seals is restricted due to the limitations of the traditional monitoring methods, including classical vibration analysis. For this reason, the objective of the present work is the detection and analysis of friction mechanisms inside a mechanical seal that are unfavorable and induce fault conditions using the acoustic emission technique, which allows the measurement of high-frequency vibrations that arise due to material fatigue processes on a microscopic scale. For this purpose, several fault condition modes were induced on a test rig of an agitator vessel system with a double-acting mechanical seal and its buffer fluid system. It was possible to detect the presence of inadequate friction mechanisms due to the absence and limited use of lubrication, as well as the presence of abrasive wear, by measuring a change in the properties of the acoustic emissions. Operation under fault condition modes was analyzed using the acoustic emission technique before an increase in the leakage rate was evaluated using traditional monitoring methods. The high friction due to the deficient lubrication was characterized by a pattern in the high-frequency range that consisted of the harmonics of a fundamental frequency of about 33 kHz. These results demonstrate the feasibility of a condition monitoring system for mechanical seals using the acoustic emission technique.
Highlights
These results demonstrate the feasibility of a condition monitoring system for mechanical seals using the acoustic emission technique
The acoustic emission (AE) signals of a liquid-buffered mechanical seal operated in fault condition modes of the barrier fluid system were presented
The acoustic emission technique (AET) was utilized to measure the vibrational response of the friction processes between the seal rings during the fault condition modes, with the aim of detecting the inadequate friction mechanisms that could develop into an inadmissible increase of the leakage rate
Summary
Rotating equipment plays an important role for many applications in the process industry because its functionality is crucial for the productivity and safety of plants and, business success. The components of each piece of equipment must be highly reliable in order to reduce downtime costs. Even more challenging is the avoidance of unplanned plant shutdowns resulting from equipment failure, especially failure of single key components. One such key component is the mechanical seal often used as shaft sealing in process machinery applications such as in agitator vessel systems [1]. There are several useful measurement techniques, whereas the following are the most promising possibilities:
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
