Experimental and numerical study of the lubrication regimes of a liquid mechanical seal

The paper presents an experimental and numerical study of the different lubrication regimes occurring in the sealing gap of a mechanical seal with water as sealed fluid. For this purpose, an industrial seal has been tested in a wide range of rotation speeds and fluid pressure values. Friction torque, temperature and leakage were measured and compared to numerical results. These results were obtained on a multi-scale mixed lubrication model considering heat transfer in the solids and seal rings deflections. A satisfactory correlation was obtained demonstrating the relevance of the model. The model is then used to analyze the lubrication regimes.