CENTRIFUGAL

PUMP CUTVIEW
Centrifugal pumps - shaft sealing

To connect the motor to the impeller, the shaft has to

pass through an aperture in the casing.
To allow the shaft to rotate freely in the casing
aperture there needs to be a gap, but this gap needs
to be closed off to stop air from being drawn in from
atmosphere or liquid from leaking out during
operation.
There are two common methods.
Packing
Mechanical seal
The role of the pump, its speed and the type of liquid
being pumped all play a part in deciding which
application works best.
Packing
A stuffing box with a soft packing
material is the traditional seal for
pumps. Normally made from soft
impregnated cotton, which takes
the form of a length of square
cross-section wound spirally onto
a tube. This enables the correct
length, to suit the external
diameter of the shaft, to be
manually cut to the correct size.
The stuffing box is then
repeatedly filled with sections
until almost full, the gland can
then be tightened down to
provide the axial compressive
force. This in turn provides the
necessary radial compressive
force required to seal the gap due
to the sloping bottom face of the
aperture.
If the force is insufficient the
stuffing box will leak, if the force
Stuffing box: the joint that seals the fluid in the pump
stopping it from coming out between the casing and the pump
shaft. The above figure shows a typical stuffing box with gland
packing. The function of packing is to control leakage and not
to eliminate it completely. The packing must be lubricated, and
a flow from 40 to 60 drops per minute out of the stuffing box
must be maintained for proper lubrication. This makes this
type of seal unfit for situations where leakage is unacceptable
 Mechanical seals
The provision of rotary
shaft seals instead of
Mechanical seals the usual stuffing box
and gland, where
conditions are suitable,
possesses many
advantages. The power
absorbed is lower and is
constant, whereas a
gland excessively
tightened causes a
considerable increase in
power absorbed.
 Mechanical seals
A standard seal consists of a stationary carbon ring insert
in the casing, or seal cover where such is provided, and
against this a metal ring of easy clearance on the shaft
sleeve rotates, contact between the faces being ensured
by a lightly loaded coil spring.
The rubbing faces of both carbon and metal rings are
independently lapped to give a dead flat surface.
A synthetic rubber ring, of circular cross-section,
contained between shaft sleeve and metal ring, in a
groove in the latter, effectively prevents leakage between
them.
The diameter of the groove is such that a squeeze is
exerted on the rubber ring, thus a sufficient frictional
force is provided to rotate the metal ring, with certain
exceptions. The width of the groove is, however, made
considerably greater so that the metal ring is capable of
free axial float with accompanying rolling action of the
rubber ring.
Materials used for the various seal parts are as follows
Carbon stationary ring.
 Mechanical
Mechanical seals are rapidlyseal
replacing conventional packing on
centrifugal pumps. A typical mechanical seal is shown in figure
below. Some of the reasons for the use of mechanical seals are as
follows:
1. Leaking causes bearing failure by contaminating the oil with
water. This is a major problem in engine-mounted water pumps.
2. Properly installed mechanical seals eliminate leak off on idle
(vertical) pumps. This design prevents the leak (water) from
bypassing the water flinger and entering the lower bearings. Leak
off causes two types of seal leakage:
a. Water contaminationShaft
of theand thrust
engine bearings oil.
lubrication support the
b. Loss of treated fresh weight of thecauses
water which impeller andbuildup
scale maintain
in the
the
cooling system. position of the rotor, both radially and
axially.
The power end of a centrifugal pump may
be a steam turbine, an electric motor, or a
diesel engine. Pumps used for continuous
service can be either turbine or motor
mechanical seal. driven. Smaller pumps, such as those
used for in-port or cruising opera-tions,
Diagrams show a typical configuration in which a mechanical seal is
used to prevent leakage of process fluid from a centrifugal pump.in
this cutaway cross-sectional view. Figure 2 provides a closer, more
detailed picture of the seal rings orfacesfor this particular example.
Here, thebluecarbon-graphite faces rotate with thepurpleshaft
sleeve. The silicon-carbide faces(red)are held stationary by the
seal gland(green)which bolts directly to thegraymounting flange
of the seal chamber (Figure 1). Also shown in Figure 2 is
thetranslucent bluebarrier fluid domain of interest. For this type of
seal, the barrier fluid enters and leaves the domain via a flow
distribution channel(yellow)situated between the two silicon-
Figure Mechanical
carbide faces. Mechanic
1 Figure
seal 2 al seal