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Analysis of stability of two-phase flow mechanical seal with spiral groove under high speeds

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Abstract

A thermo-hydrodynamic model was introduced by considering fluid film phase change to analyze the stability of a spiral groove mechanical seal under high speeds. The Reynolds equation, energy equation and heat conduction equation were solved using the finite difference method. Two kinds of phase state stability criteria and fluid film temperature or pressure distributions in each phase state were studied. Different phase states of fluid film and phase state stability of such a spiral groove mechanical seal under variable operating and geometry conditions were analyzed. The results show that vapor mass fraction volume ratio vs sealed fluid temperature (κ-Tf) curve and film pressure coefficient versus sealed fluid temperature (Km-Tf) curve can be used as phase state stability criteria which can predict the range of instability, stability and quasi-stability of a spiral groove mechanical seal. But the Km-Tf curve is more suitable for practical engineering applications. It is found that a significant change in pressure distribution will bring about instability of a spiral groove mechanical seal. The sudden change of film pressure distribution usually occurs when the leakage flow medium in the interface is in the transition phase from quasi-liquid to quasi-vapor where κλ=0 = κ0<λ<1 and κλ=1 = 0. Optimized design of a spiral groove mechanical seal will improve its stability during the phase change from liquid phase state to vapor phase state.

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Abbreviations

A f :

Sealing surface area (m2)

c p :

Specific heat capacity (kJ kg−1 K−1)

c p sv, c P sl :

Specific heat capacity of saturated liquid phase and saturated vapor phase, respectively (kJ kg−1 K−1)

D :

Outer diameter of the seal ring (m)

D 1, D 2, D 3 :

Transition point

F open :

Opening force (N)

h :

Film thickness (μm)

h s, h r :

Height of rotational ring and stationary ring, respectively (m)

h fr, h fs, h c :

Convection heat transfer coefficient (W m−2 K−1)

h p :

Groove depth (μm)

i :

Enthalpy (kJ kg−1)

i s :

Mixture of enthalpy (kJ kg−1)

i sv, i Sl :

Enthalpy of saturated liquid phase and saturated vapor phase, respectively (kJ kg−1)

k z :

Film axial stiffness (N μm−1)

k r, k s :

Thermal conductivity of rotational ring and stationary ring, respectively (W m−1 K−1)

k f :

Thermal conductivity of the fluid (W m−1 K−1)

k f sv, k f sl :

Thermal conductivity of saturated liquid phase and saturated vapor phase, respectively (W m−1 K−1)

K m :

Film pressure coefficient

n :

Angular velocity (r min−1)

N :

Groove number

p :

Pressure (MPa)

p o :

Pressure at outer radius (MPa)

p i :

Pressure at inner radius (MPa)

Pr :

Prandtl number

q r :

Heat flux between the film and rotational ring (W m−2)

q s :

Heat flux between the film and stationary ring (W m−2)

r :

Radius (m)

r g :

End radius of the spiral groove (m)

r o :

Outer radius of seal face (m)

r i :

Inner radius of seal face (m)

T :

Temperature (K)

T f :

Sealed fluid temperature (K)

T r :

Temperature of rotational ring (K)

T s :

Temperature of stationary ring (K)

μ :

Dynamic viscosity (Pa s)

μ sv, μ sl :

Density of saturated liquid phase and saturated vapor phase, respectively (Pa s)

ρ :

Density (kg·m−3)

ρ sv, ρ sl :

Density of saturated liquid phase and saturated vapor phase, respectively (kg m−3)

θ :

Coordinate (rad)

α :

Spiral angle (deg)

β :

Groove-to-land ratio

γ :

Groove-to-dam ratio

κ :

Vapor mass fraction volume ratio

λ :

Vapor mass fraction

ω :

Rotational speed (rad s−1

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Acknowledgements

The research work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U1737202, 51775505, 52076195) and the National Key R&D Program of China (2018YFB2000800).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310032, China

    Jie Jin, Xu-Dong Peng, Xiang-Kai Meng, Wen-Jing Zhao & Jin-Bo Jiang

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Contributions

JJ designed the research, processed the corresponding data and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. XDP designed the research, built the model and revised the manuscript. XKM helped to organize the manuscript. WJZ and JBJ revised and edited the final version.

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Correspondence to Xu-Dong Peng.

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Jie Jin, Xu-dong Peng, Xiang-Kai Meng, Wen-Jing Zhao and Jinbo Jiang declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Technical Editor: Erick Franklin.

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Jin, J., Peng, XD., Meng, XK. et al. Analysis of stability of two-phase flow mechanical seal with spiral groove under high speeds. J Braz. Soc. Mech. Sci. Eng. 43, 260 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40430-021-02985-8

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