PUMP SEALS

TYPES AND THEIR DIFFERANCES

Moayad Mohammad Hamed | Sec. 7 | Hydraulic machines

UNDERSTANDING THE BASICS OF PUMP SEALS
Thinking of making the switch from conventional packing to mechanical seals?
There's a lot of upside to doing so. Mechanical seals can save maintenance people an
immense amount of time and money, but only if they're installed correctly and properly
cared for. Read on for a basic understanding of mechanical seals, and how they differ from
packing.

WHY DO PUMPS NEED TO BE SEALED?

In order to understand why pumps need to be sealed, let's go back to some
pumping basics and review how a centrifugal pump operates.

Fluid enters a centrifugal pump through the

suction nozzle at the center of a rotating
impeller. As the impeller rotates, its vanes fill
with fluid, then force it out to the pump casing
where it exits the pump through the discharge
nozzle.

Unfortunately, the discharge pressure will

force fluid back behind the impeller, where it
attempts to exit by way of the rotating drive
shaft. Attempts have been made by pump
manufacturers to minimize this leakage
through design, but the leakage won't be
stopped entirely. Some form of sealing method
must be put in place to minimize the leakage.
Pump shaft Wearing

Fluid leakage

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WHY USE PACKING?
First, it’s useful to look at why people use packing and why they might prefer it
to a mechanical seal solution.

Pump packing is the earliest form of pump sealing and is still a widely used sealing
technique. Originally gland packing was made from old ropes and natural fiber
products that were packed around the shaft physically stuffing the gap with material
to reduce leakage. This is where the name ‘stuffing box’ comes from.

Modern packing makes use of more sophisticated braiding and materials designed
to wear less, reduce friction, and withstand heat better.

• Maintenance personnel are familiar with the process of maintaining and re-
packing packed glands.
• When packing fails it simply starts to leak more and so can be readjusted
and tightened to reduce the leak with the pump remaining in service.
Whereas mechanical seal failure can necessitate the shutdown of the pump.
This is why pump packing is the primary source of packing for fire pumps
and other applications that can’t risk catastrophic failure.
• The initial cost of Gland (Pump) Packing is low when compared to the costs
associated with mechanical seal.

Packaging materials

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WHY USE A MECHANICAL SEAL?
Cost of Product

Correctly adjusted gland packing should be maintained with a leakage rate of

approximately 1-drop per minute of sealed product per inch/25mm of outside
diameter of shaft. On a 2.000”/50mm diameter shaft this equates to 2 drops/min or
100 gals/month or 1200 gals/year (450 Lt/month or 5400 Lt/year).

These numbers are based on an ideal scenario and, as experience tells us, the leakage
rates from packed glands are considerably higher than this, often by as much as 5-10
times.

Correctly designed, specified and fitted mechanical seals have no visible leakage
and therefore no product loss. On the figures used above, if the product cost 50p/lt,
reduction in leakage alone would pay for even an advanced mechanical seal in
around 6 months.

Mechanical seals

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Disposal of Effluent and Environmental Issues

Depending on the type of product the waste disposal costs can be significantly higher
that the initial cost of manufacture. Just looking at our own domestic water bills
illustrates this. Even when only dealing with water sewage, charges are significantly
higher than the initial cost of the product.

Companies are also now under extreme pressure and constant observation on
environmental issues Governments are constantly under national and global pressure
to ensure that manufacturers accept the responsibility for the effects their products
have on the environment and companies themselves often have environmental
targets to meet. Leakage is becoming less and less acceptable and conservation of
resources is increasingly important.

Power Consumption

Mechanical seals reduce power consumption when compared to gland packing.

On average the majority of gland packing consumes 6 times more power than a
balanced mechanical seal. Running rotating equipment with packing in the stuffing
box is like driving your car with the hand brake on. Would this affect your fuel
consumption? Of course it would and so packed glands therefore greatly increase
power costs. In some cases pumps can be made to run at a lower speed and efficiency,
increasing costs still further.

Bearing Life

The single major cause of bearing failure in rotating equipment is contamination of

the lubrication. In a study conducted by Mobil Oil it was discovered that water
contamination of 0.002% reduces the rated bearing life by almost 50%. This is the
equivalent of 2 drops of water in a liter of oil.

Packing leaks by design and are in close proximity with the bearings. This subjects the
bearings to a constant stream of leakage and contamination. Any reduction in
contamination will greatly increase the Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF), and in
turn reduce maintenance costs.

No leakage equates to longer bearing life and less downtime costs. Many mechanical
seal failures are attributed to excessive shaft movement caused by failed bearings.

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Shaft / Sleeve Wear

Most rotating equipment is fitted with repairable wear sleeves in the region of the
gland packing to adress the fact that packing is designed to wear the shaft in this area.
If a replaceable sleeve were not fitted, the shaft would need to be replaced or rebuilt
in the worn area. This would be both expensive in terms of spares holding or
extended downtime while shafts are repaired.

If a separate wear sleeve is fitted there is the cost of holding a spare in stock but there
is an underlying danger that the shaft diameter under the sleeve has been greatly
reduced to allow for fitting, considerably reducing the shafts resistance to bending.

Broken shafts are not uncommon and are generally caused by fatigue due to the
constant bending of the shaft under operation. How does this happen? Running the
pump away from its Best Efficiency Point, against throttled or closed discharge valves,
over its designed capacity; long shaft overhang and stop-starting create massive forces
within the volute.It is then all down to the principle of levers and that thin things
bend easier than fat things.

Shaft sleeves can also be notoriously difficult to remove. This can be extremely time
consuming and may even lead to damage of the shaft itself.

Product Dilution.

Gland packing often requires the supply of a clean flushing medium to the lantern
ring. This was originally done to prevent the ingress of air into a system under
vacuum and was also found to cool the packing as it generated friction against the
shaft.

The costs here are the supply of the flush, the leakage of the flush to atmosphere and
the dilution of the product itself. This dilution may be acceptable or costs may be
incurred in the removal of the dilutant at a later stage in the process.

No product dilution with mechanical seals means a better quality product and no
additional costs to remove the dilutant.

Maintenance Costs

To ensure that packing operates as efficiently as it should it requires constant

attention. Too loose and leakage rates are unacceptable, too tight and the packing can
burn out on start up, increasing leakage, wear on the shaft or sleeve and increasing
power consumption. Packing is not simply just greasy rope but it is often treated as
such. Maintenance must be constant and conscientious throughout the life of the
packing to ensure acceptable operation.

Mechanical seals require no routine maintenance.

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Housekeeping

Eliminating leakage reduces secondary maintenance costs by reducing corrosion,

cleaning and painting. Secondary maintenance costs would be greatly reduced.

Safety

Packing leaks, as it is designed to and it leaks the “sealed” product to atmosphere. As

we have already agreed this is becoming more and more unacceptable for
environmental reasons, especially if the product is corrosive, toxic or explosive

All products classified by fugitive emission or hazardous should be double sealed.

Airborne pollution is greatly reduced; double seals can achieve zero product
emissions.

Mechanical seal composition

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THE CONCEPT OF MAGNETIC “SEALLESS” PUMPS??!
"Magnetic Drive" refers to the coupling between the wet end of the pump and
the motor. In "direct drive" pumps, the impeller of the pump is attached to the shaft
of the motor, and this design depends on the shaft seal to contain the chemical. In a
magnetic drive pump, the wet end and motor are two separate contained parts,
connected by only a motor bracket. At the end of the motor shaft, a drive magnet is
attached, and as the drive magnet rotates around the rear housing, the impeller,
which is fixed upon another magnet, spins in synchronization. It is the attraction of
the drive magnet and the impeller magnet which allows the full torque of the motor
to be passed onto the pump. As the shaft of the motor does not extend into the
interior of the pump, there is no need for a shaft seal, and without a shaft seal, the
danger of leakage commonly associated with a shaft seal is eliminated. Furthermore,
the maintenance cost is reduced because no time or money is spent on maintaining
the shaft seal. For a pump that eliminates the problems and costs assoicated with
mechanical seals, the March Magnetic Drive Pump has no equal.

Magnetic drive Pump

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Magnetic drive Pump

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