Company
Our client is a global leader in the chemical field that produces a broad range of advanced materials, chemicals and fibers found in everyday items.
Application
Cartridge Seal Assembly on Vertical Drive
The Problem
As the application is performed on a vertical shaft, the oil seal was used to retain grease in the bearing compartment of the shaft. Unfortunately, as its environment was exposed to vapor, a mechanical seal barrier fluid known as Texanol ester alcohol has leaked from its inner flow.
Texanol ester alcohol is known to be a viscous Nitrite rubber (NBR) or Viton attacker. Due to this chemical attack on the seal lip, it caused premature failure on the seal and in effect, contributed to lubricant leakage which resulted in bearing and mechanical seal failure.
Operation Specifications
Client's Idea
Our client wanted to replace existing seals with two different types of **PTFE seals: tandem lip and single lip. Moreover, our client intended to add another PTFE seal (reverse lip) on the retainer ring for extra protection as they have previously encountered some grease escaping from the bearing compartment into the mechanical seal.
The SLS Solution
After listening to the needs of our client and careful planning, SLS suggested replacing the existing seal with a 5-bar PTFE seal, a high-performance seal that is manufactured specially for reliable sealing of rotating shafts at high peripheral speeds, pressures and temperatures against aggressive medium.
To ensure that the seal recommendation was the right fit for our client’s application, we performed several inspections such as:
- Carried out a compatibility test for the PTFE material and its chemical (Texanol) in the operating environment
- Tracked the availability of tandem, single and reversed lip in their respective sizes as requested by our client
- Examine the pressure level from the grease weight rested on the seal to ensure that it was accurate
Our team also provided recommendation on the shoulder dimension, surface roughness and chamfer angel to be machined on the retainer for the new seal so that the machines work properly to prevent any premature failure.
Result
With great product knowledge and thorough performance check-ups, the SLS team was able to deliver a solution that was cost effective while fulfilling the requirement of our client. With the successful installation of the new seals, our client is able to prevent further leakage and operate the vertical drive more effectively- delivering greater reliability and achieving higher performance in their operation.
Encountering a similar issue?
Our friendly engineering team has extensive experience in oil seal related problems and we are here to help you achieve your operational goals by delivering the best solution for your system and processes. Book a consultation with SLS here:
