Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to test mechanical face seals made of carbon/SS316 with different coolants for evaluating its tribological performance. The reliability of a mechanical seal mainly depends on the seal materials and the type of coolant used for the lubrication. Design/methodology/approach -Compressed air, vacuum and nitrogen are the main coolants utilized for the experimental work, and the obtained results are compared with the dry running case for a specified period. The experimental results are also validated with the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation results. Findings -The results shows that the sealing pressure, sliding speed and materials used would be the predominant factors for the seal design. Over compressed air, vacuum and nitrogen cooling techniques were found to be more efficient. Originality/value -The experimental results are also validated with the CFD simulation results. This paper also emphasizes the usage of vacuum as a cooling medium in industries, which will enhance the seal life at an economical cost over nitrogen.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.