Tribology Transactions, 52: 47-58, 2009

Copyright
C Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers

ISSN: 1040-2004 print / 1547-397X online

DOI: 10.1080/10402000802163017

Design and Development of a Test Setup for Online Wear

Monitoring of Mechanical Face Seals Using a Torque
Sensor
SHASHIKANT S. GOILKAR and HARISH HIRANI
Depatment of Mechanical Engineering
IIT Bombay
Powai, Mumbai - 400076, India
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Online condition monitoring technique helps to detect the
root cause of failure of any machine. The present article de-
scribes a design of the online failure monitoring facility for me-
chanical face seals. The experimental test facility is to operate the
seal (i.e., carbon-graphite) in real conditions of fluid pressure,
temperature, and misalignment, which occur in an industrial en-
vironment. The developed test setup consists of two proximity
displacement sensors (accuracy 2 µm), one fiber-optic sensor
(accuracy 10 µm), one accelerometer (3.97 mV/ms−2 ), and one
non-contact torque sensor (accuracy 0.05 N.m). To validate the
test facility, a typical conical carbon graphite (C = 59.195%,
O = 4.625%, and Sb = 36.18%.) mechanical face seal (outer
dia = 82 mm and inner dia = 63 mm) for a rotary joint used in
steam/hot water was selected. The root cause of failure of such
seals has been identified. Finally, recommendations have been
made that provide some assistance to design the mechanical face
seal.
KEY WORDS
Conical Face Seal; Dry Lubrication of Stainless; Seal Misalign-
ment; Carbon Graphite Seals
INTRODUCTION
A mechanical face seal is an important component of a vari-
ety of rotary joints and pumps, which are used in chemical, textile,
petrochemical, and process industries. Two typical mechanical face
seal arrangements in rotary joint are shown in Fig. 1. The main
function of these rotary joints (sketched in Fig. 1) is to supply steam
from a stationary pipe to the rotating drum used in the paper indus-
try. The main difference between Figs. 1(a) and 1(b) is the siphon
arrangement, which is required to take out the condensate from
the drying drum. In X-assembly (Fig. 1a) only one pair of the con-
ical shaft-seal interface is used, while in Y-assembly (Fig. 1b) two
pairs of such interfaces are used. In both the configurations the
face seals are fixed to the housing, and the steam-leakage from
Manuscript received December 14, 2007
Manuscript accepted April 22, 2008
Review led by Jim Netzel
47
the housing to the atmosphere is prevented by mechanical con-
tact between the tapered rotating shaft and the mating seal face.
The continuous mechanical contact is retained with the help of a
spring. In both the rotary joint arrangements (Figs. 1(a) and 1(b))
a secondary seal is employed to guide the rotating shaft and bear
its weight.
Mechanical face seals are often designed considering the hy-
drostatic (Lipschitz (1)), the hydrodynamic (Etsion and Pascovici
(2)), or the squeeze (Etsion and Michael (3)) lubrication mech-
anism. Such lubrication mechanisms, if properly achieved, may
provide infinite seal life. However, the expected seal life is gener-
ally in the range of two to ten years, considering the uncertainty
in the strength of the seal materials, unforeseen operating condi-
tions, etc. However, unpredictable seal failures, with the seal life
equal to 2 days to 2 months, have been observed in industries.
Such seal failures cause direct (leakage of fluid, loss of prepared
material in paper industry, etc.) as well as indirect (downtime cost,
maintenance cost, reputation of company, etc.) losses. Two types
of seal failures, observed within two months after the installation
of new seal rings, are shown in Fig. 2. On a few occasions failures
were repetitive and required the replacement of seal rings every
15 days. Such unpredictable life (two days, two months, or two
years) of the same seal may occur due to improper design, wrong
assembly, or incomplete operating instructions.
In the present study, an experimental test facility has been de-
veloped to investigate the effect of the rotational speed (40 rpm
to 800 rpm), the steam pressure (0 to 12 bars), and the angular
misalignment on the seal life. Online failure of the seal has been
perceived by continuous monitoring of frictional torque exerted
by the seals on the rotating shafts. The main aim of the devel-
oped setup is to find out the root cause of the seal failure so that
corrective actions can be suggested.
DESIGN OF ONLINE FAILURE MONITORING FACILITY
To simulate the industry environment in a laboratory, the test
setup requires:
r A variable-speed motor, which can run continuously for hours.
The control of the rotational speed is essential to accelerate
the wear of the seals. Generally, accelerated wear depends on
the lubrication mechanism. If the seal interface is dry, then
 48 S. S. GOILKAR AND H. HIRANI
Fig. 1—Construction of rotary joints.
increasing the rotational speed will accelerate the wear rate.
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However, if the mechanism is hydrodynamic lubrication, then
decreasing the rotational speed will enhance the wear rate. A
3-phase 2-HP AC 750 rated rpm motor with a forced cooling
system has been selected to run the experiment continuously
for hours. A variable-frequency (1 to 200 Hz) drive system
(Toshiba, VF-A7, Japan) to manage the motor speed has been
chosen. With the help of the frequency drive, the motor shaft
can be operated in the range of 30 rpm to 3000 rpm.
r A supply source having control of the flow rate, the pressure,
and the temperature. The regulation of supply conditions of
fluid to be sealed is essential to simulate the extreme industry
conditions. For example, seals of a rotary joint used in the paper
industry operate under 4–12 bar steam pressure. Similarly, the
operating temperature may vary from 110 to 160 degrees centi-
grade. A steam boiler, having control of the flow and pressure
of steam, has been selected for the present study.
r Sensors to measure uniform wear, misalignment, the temper-
ature, the pressure, the acceleration, and the dynamic friction
force. Anderson, et al. (4) used a piezoelectric shear transducer
to diagnose the contact condition of the seal interface. To detect
the position of the rotating mating ring relative to the station-
ary primary ring, Sehnal, et al. (5) used eddy current proximity
Fig. 2—Seal failures of primary and secondary seals of rotary joints used in the paper industry.
sensors. Choy, et al. (6) used acoustic sensors to diagnose the
health of mechanical seals. To measure the film thickness and
thermal distortions, Doust and Parmar (7) used miniature ca-
pacitance probes and thermocouples. In the present study, two
eddy current proximity sensors (Bentley Nevada, Model 3300
XL NSv) have been chosen to indicate the variation in the ax-
ial position of the shaft relative to the stationary seal ring. A
charge amplifier unit (B & K type 4366 and type 2635, respec-
tively; Denmark) has been selected to measure the change in
the vibration level, which can provide an indication of initi-
ation of seal failure. To measure the number of rotations and
the rotational shaft speed, a cycle counter (Selectron RC102-A;
Mumbai, India) has been engaged. In addition to these regular
sensors, a torque sensor (Lorenz, Model DR-2513) is selected
to detect the instantaneous values of torques at various angu-
lar positions of the shaft running in mechanical contact of the
seal face. In the authors’ view, seal failures shown in Fig. 2 may
have happened due to the misalignment. To assure chances of
misalignment, micrographs of cracked primary seal, as shown
in Fig. 3, were taken through an electron microscope. These
micrographs (Fig. 3) show nonuniform wear of the seal surface
interfaced with the shaft. Major wear near the crack indicates
very high localized loading. Such nonuniform loading occurs
 Online Condition Monitoring Technique 49

for two reasons. One reason is the excessive radial clearance
between the primary seal and the shaft, and the other reason
is the angular misalignment between the seal and the shaft
axes. Tolerance of the seal and the shaft did not indicate a
chance of radial clearance between them; therefore, it was de-
cided to assume misalignment as a key failure mechanism. The
misalignment in rotating parts varies the frictional resistance
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between the contacting cylindrical surfaces at different angu-
lar positions of complete rotation. A non-contact-type torque
sensor may be the best to register such dynamic variations in
the coefficient of friction. Further, any breakage and/or crack
on the seal ring will change the loading pattern exerted on the
seal surface. On cracking, the seal surface is subjected to ex-
tra bending and direct shear loads. In addition, the stiffness of

Fig. 3—Photomicrographs of cracked primary seal indicating maximum wear near crack, moderate wear at 90 degrees, and minimum wear at 180 degrees
phase from of crack.
 50 S. S. GOILKAR AND H. HIRANI
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Fig. 4—Model of test rig.
the seal near the crack will be lower and that portion will pro-
vide smaller resistance to the shaft movement. The change in
stiffness and the load pattern immediately will alter the torque
resistance offered by the seals. Therefore, the torque measure-
ment may be a very reliable diagnostic tool to detect the seal
failure. To measure the misalignment, a dial gauge setup has
been arranged.
r A data acquisition system to convert analog data to digital
data with required resolution. For the present study, a mutli-
channel 1-MHz NI-DAQ-7 data acquisition system has been
chosen.
r Computer hardware and software to access and process the
data. Suitable software to process the collected data is essen-
tial. In the present study a Matlab code has been written to
perform the synchronous cycle averaging to reduce the noise
and provide meaningful data.
EXPERIMENTAL SETUP
The experimental test facility has been developed to operate
the seal (i.e., carbon-graphite) in real conditions of fluid pressure,
temperature, and misalignment (by tilting the axis of rotary joint),
which occur in the industrial environment. In order to get a prior
idea about the probable difficulties that may arise during fabri-
cation of the test rig, a 3-D solid-model (Fig. 4) of the setup was
made. Figure 4 shows that the base plate along with the support-
Fig. 5—Procedure to create misalignment in the rotary joint.
ing structure provides a main common reference platform for the
rotary joint and the driving motor. To create the misalignment
condition, slots are provided along the radial direction in the base
plate. In addition, misalignment can be introduced by tilting the
axis of the shaft by inserting the packing (thin metallic sheets of
known thickness) between the base plate and the rotary joint as
shown in Fig. 5.
To test the performance of seals in the steam and the water en-
vironment, the rotary joint has been connected to the boiler using
a piston valve, the pressure-regulating valve, the moisture separa-
tor, etc., as shown in Fig. 6. This figure illustrates that to control the
steam pressure, a pressure-regulating valve, along with two pres-
sure gauges, has been used. Such arrangement of pressure gauges,
one before the supply and another after the pressure-regulating
valve, helps to maintain the exact pressure required during the
testing. To regulate the dryness of steam a moisture separator
module consisting of a sight glass, a thermodynamic trap, and a
diffuser has been used. To extract the condensate from the rotary
joint, a separate condensate removing system, which utilizes the
help of a float trap, has been used.
A schematic of the total setup is shown in Fig. 7. Photograph
of the developed setup is shown in Figs. 8 and 9. In the present
experimental study, carbon-graphite seals having a conical (cone
angle = 45◦ ) mating face geometry, as shown in Fig. 1, with an
outer and an inner diameter of 82 mm and 63 mm, respectively,
have been used. The corrosion-resistant stainless steel shaft works
as one of the seal rings. The hardness of the stainless steel shaft is
 Online Condition Monitoring Technique
Fig. 6—Steam connection diagram for test rig.
slightly higher (78 HRB), which makes the shaft more resistant to
abrasive wear compared to the carbon-graphite (C G) seal ring.
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Therefore, the C G seal ring acts as a sacrificial element. EDAX
element analysis indicates that a carbon-graphite seal contains
C = 59.195%, O = 4.625 weight percentage, and Sb = 36.18%.
The use of antimony (∼ 36 weight percentage) in carbon-graphite
seals increases the heat transfer rate and decreases the changes of
thermal cracking of the graphite seals.
EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
The operating conditions in the paper industry change accord-
ing to the process requirement, which in turn imposes different
lubrication conditions—i.e., full film, mixed, or dry running—on
the seal interface. For example, the seal interface experiences dry
running for about an hour during startup. Then the steam is passed
inside the dryer. The steam pressure gradually increases and then
reaches the steady condition, which leads to hydrostatic lubrica-
tion of the seal interface. During shutdown once again for almost
one hour dry running is experienced by the seal interface. This
practice is generally being followed in paper industries. In ad-
dition, the assembly of a rotary joint may induce misalignment,
which in turn does not allow the hydrostatic lubrication of the
seal interface even in full pressure steady steam condition. There-
fore, to simulate the real industry environment for the seal in-
terface, experiments were planned for Assembly-X (Fig. 1a) and
Assembly-Y (Fig. 1b) in the sequence depicted in Fig. 10.
The output data from the torque sensor, the displacement sen-
sor, and the accelerometer for ten rotations of the shaft under
Fig. 7—Schematic of test setup.
51
Fig. 8—Developed setup.
each operating condition have been recorded using a computer-
ized data acquisition system. Two hundred and fifty-six data points
from each sensor for each rotation have been acquired.
ANALYSIS OF EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
Figure 11 provides the comparison between torque resisted
by seals of X- and Y-assemblies. This figure illustrates the rel-
atively constant frictional torque exerted by X-assembly, while
fluctuations in torque is resisted by Y-assembly. This comparison
points toward an inherent misaligned tendency of Y-assembly, due
to which torque fluctuations occur. The clearance (10 microns to
140 microns) fit between the two shafts, as shown in Fig. 12, al-
lows misalignment to happen in the Y-assembly. Further, Fig. 11
shows a slight increase in the torque with an increase in the ro-
tational speed from 60 rpm to 120 rpm. The average torque from
X-assembly is 4.3 N.m when the shaft rotates at 60 rpm, while
4.4 N.m average torque resistance occurs when the shaft of X op-
erates at 120 rpm. The average value of the torque resisted by
Y-assembly is 9.4 and 11.0 N.m when the shaft rotates at 60 rpm
and 120 rpm, respectively.
To validate the measured torque results, it is better to derive the
coefficient of friction and compare it with the established results.
The expression for the coefficient of friction between the mating
faces of the shaft and the seal in the rotary joint, as shown in Fig.
13, can be expressed as (Shigley and Mischke (8)),
3 T r2 − r22
µ= sin α 13 [1]
2W r1 − r32
where T is the experimentally determined frictional torque in N.m,
W is the spring force exerted on the seal surfaces in N, α (= 45◦
in the present study) is the cone angle, r1 (= 41 mm in the present
study) is the outer radius of the seal, and r2 (= 31.5 mm in the
present study) is the inner radius of the seal. Substituting the values
of the geometric parameters,
T
µ = 19.4 [2]
W
 52 S. S. GOILKAR AND H. HIRANI
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Fig. 9—Arrangement of sensors.

Fig. 10—Sequence for experiments.

 Online Condition Monitoring Technique
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Fig. 11—Comparison of torque measured during operation of X (srj) and Y (rrj) assemblies under aligned conditions.
The spring force depends on the geometry of the spring and the
pre-compression. In the present study, a close and ground ended
helical spring, made of spring material SS302, having a wire di-
ameter (d) = 6 mm, and a total number of turns (N) = 5, has
been used. In the case of the Y-assembly, mean coil diameter
(D) = 82 mm, free length = 123 mm, and pre-compression =
63 mm has been used. This spring imposes an axial load equal
to 426 N on the seal interface. In the case of the X-assembly the
mean diameter of spring = 100 mm, free length = 132, and pre-
compression = 86 mm has been used. Therefore, the spring applies
321 N of the axial load to close the shaft on the seal surface. On
substituting the values of W and T, the coefficient of the friction
for the X-assembly at 60 rpm is µ60X = 0.26. Similarly, µ120X =
0.27, µ60Y = 0.43, and µ120Y = 0.50 can be obtained using Eq. [2].
Figure 1b shows that there are two seal interfaces in the case of
the Y-assembly; therefore, the coefficient of friction for the sin-
gle seal surface will halve. In other words, µ60Y for single surface
= 0.215, and µ120Y for single surface will be 0.25. These values
of the coefficient of friction for carbon-graphite versus stainless
steel under dry running conditions are reasonable (Jones (9)).
Hence, the torque sensor provides a reliable torque resisted by seal
interfaces.
53
Figure 14 illustrates the torque variation in the X-assembly
misaligned by 0.014 radians. The values of the maximum, av-
erage, and minimum torques equal to 7.2 N.m, 6.0 N.m, and
5.1 N.m, respectively, have been observed in the misaligned X-
assembly operating at 60 rpm. To compare these results and
implement a trend analysis technique, a synchronous time av-
eraging technique may be useful. To employ this technique in
the present study, data obtained from fiber-optic displacement
sensor (Philtec, Type RC-90) have been used. Figure 15 demon-
strates the displacement and torque data. Sharp peaks of displace-
ment readings indicate the end of the previous cycle and start of
the new cycle. Using these data, a trend analysis can easily be
made.
The trend analyses for X- and Y-assemblies have been plotted
in Figs. 16 and 17, respectively. Figure 16 illustrates an increase in
the torque fluctuation with an increase in the time duration of the
misaligned dry condition. This torque fluctuation is an indication
of seal wear. Figure 17 notifies the torque fluctuations of the Y-
assembly. One major difference between the torque behavior of X
and Y observed from Figs. 16 and 17 is the progressive flattening of
the peak torque of Y-assembly. This indicates the progressive wear
of the seal. Finally, the curve for t = 55 min in Fig. 17 demonstrates
 54 S. S. GOILKAR AND H. HIRANI
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Fig. 12—Clearance fit between shaft 1 and shaft 2 of Y-assembly.
the major variation in torque behavior, which is an indication of
seal failure.
DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
In the present article, the main emphasis has been given to
seal failure caused by misalignment. To online monitor the fail-
ure of the mechanical seal, three types of sensors—accelerometer,
torque sensor, and displacement sensors—have been used. The
observed accelerometer readings do not provide any conclusive
study. One possible reason for such failure is the location of
the sensor. The accelerometer was mounted on the stationary
housing at one particular location, while the Y-assembly has four
(two primary and two secondary) seal interfaces. Displacement
readings from proximity sensors also could not provide conclusive
Fig. 13—Axially loaded mechanical seal.
data. One possible reason is the mixing of circumferential and ax-
ial displacements. Due to misalignment, the displacement sensor
observes the cyclic variation in the data. In addition, axial wear of
the seal affects the displacement readings. Superposition of axial
and circumferential displacement makes it difficult to conclude the
seal failure. However, data from the torque sensor show a definite
trend, which can be related to seal wear. The main advantage of
the torque sensor is that it can be connected to the rotating parts,
and its magnetic pick-up provides reliable data without usage of
any slip-ring arrangement. In the present study, the torque sensor
connects the motor with the rotary joint and any geometric vari-
ation at the seal interface is immediately reflected in the torque
data. Based on the torque data, shown in Figs. 16 and 17, it can be
stated that X-assembly experiences mild wear even in misaligned
dry conditions, while seals of Y-assemblies undergo thorough se-
vere wear and breakage under a dry misaligned condition. With
such intuitions, the assemblies of Y and X were opened. The pho-
tographs of seals are shown in Figs. 18 and 19. A photograph of the
shaft in Fig. 18 indicates polishing wear, which probably occurred
due to wear debris of carbon graphite seals. The breakage of the
secondary seal and the pitting of the primary seal is also shown
in Fig. 19. These photographs validate the seal failure estimated
from torque data of Fig. 17. Based on the photographs shown in
Fig. 18, it can be said that the present study illustrates the possi-
bility of seal failure of Y-assemblies within 3 h of operation. Such
failures generally occur under dry and misaligned conditions. The
dry conditions are enforced at the start and at the shutdown of the
dryer by process industries. Therefore, avoiding the dry condition
is almost impossible; however, the time duration of such dry con-
ditions can be minimized to enhance the seal life. Changing seal
material (Blau and Martin (10)) (such as silicon nitride or silicon
carbide) in place of carbon graphite may reduce the wear rate in
dry conditions. However, the present research indicates misalign-
ment as one of the factors affecting the wear rate of the seal. There-
fore, the major recommendation of the present research work is
to minimize the misalignment as far as possible. As the present
design of the Y seal assembly uses two shafts having a clearance
fit, the misalignment is inherent in the seal assembly. Introducing a
 Online Condition Monitoring Technique 55

Fig. 14—Torque characteristics of X assembly operating at 60 rpm under misalignment of 0.014 radians.
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Fig. 15—Displacement and torque data for misaligned X assembly operating at 60 rpm.

Fig. 16—Trend analysis of X assembly operating at 240 rpm under dry misaligned condition.
 56 S. S. GOILKAR AND H. HIRANI
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Fig. 17—Trend analysis of Y assembly operating at 240 rpm under dry misaligned condition.

Fig. 18—Photographs of shaft, primary seal, and secondary seal of Y-assembly after 30,000 operating cycles.
 Online Condition Monitoring Technique 57
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Fig. 19—Photographs of primary and secondary seals of X-assembly after 30,000 operating cycles.

major single shaft in place of two shafts and modifying correspond-
ingly the design of the Y-assembly will provide better seal life.
Figure 19 shows mild wear scars on the primary seal of X-
assembly. These wear marks indicate the misalignment operation
experienced by the seal interface. This photograph validates the
mild progressive wear concluded by the torque data plotted in
Fig. 16. Quantification of wear loss is performed by measuring the
weight of the seal rings using a weighing machine (CP 423 S, Sarto-
rius, Goettingen, Germany) of 420 g capacity with an accuracy of
0.001 g. Wear loss data are listed in Table 1. In this table, PM stands
for “primary seal motor side,” SM stands for “secondary seal mo-
tor side,” PB stands for “primary seal boiler side,” and SB stands
for “secondary seal boiler side.” The sliding distance has been cal-
culated using the π *D*N formula, where N is the number of cycles.
Wear loss data clearly indicate that the seals of the Y-assembly ex-
perience a high wear rate compared to the seals of the X-assembly.

CONCLUSIONS
The present research work is aimed at the development of a
TABLE 1—WEAR LOSS DATA FOR PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SEALS test setup that emulates the conditions dealt with by mechanical
Type Type Number Sliding Weight face seals. Two commonly used rotary joints containing face seals
Test of of of Distance Loss have been investigated. The conclusions of the present research
Number Joint Seal Cycles in mm in mg work are
1 Y PM 30,322 6,906,304.6 101 r A torque sensor, with an appropriate data acquisition and anal-
SM 5,691,747.5 —
ysis system, predicts the seal failure with authenticity.
PB 6,906,304.6 97 r Misalignment is the root cause of failure of face seals used in
SB 5,691,747.5 —
2 Y PM 30,590 6,967,345.7 76 Y-assemblies.
r The developed test setup can predict the failure of seals under
SM 5,742,053.8 21
PB 6,967,345.7 77 various rotational speeds, lubrication mechanisms, and spring
SB 5,742,053.8 20 loads.
3 Y PM 30,368 6,916,781.8 69
SM 5,700,382.1 19 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
PB 6,916,781.8 70
The authors wish to express their appreciation to Forbes Mar-
SB 5,700,382.1 22
shall Company for supporting this work through a research grant.
4 X PM 31,317 7,132,931.2 28
SM 5,878,519.1 —
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Study,” Tribology Transactions, 39(4), pp 922–928.
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