Study of the fluid film vaporization in the interface of a mechanical face seal

This paper presents numerical simulations of the effect of an increase in feeding temperature on a mechanical seal operating with water. A transient numerical model using the homogeneous fluid theory was developed to analyze the vaporization of the fluid film in a mechanical seal interface. Heat transfer in the contiguous solids and faces deformations are considered. After a validation of the model by comparison with experiments, a parametric study is presented. For moderate temperature rise, the vaporization of the fluid in the contact has no significant effect on the seal performance. However, above a temperature threshold, the mechanical seal can exhibit unstable behavior which can be detrimental for its life expectancy.