Experimental study of radial lip seals with different sleeve coatings

Shabbir, Sarah; Garvey, Seamus D.; Dakka, Sam M.; Rothwell, Benjamin C.

Abstract

Radial Lip Seals with pre-loaded garter springs of 8.5oz, 12.5oz and 14oz are tested with 4 different sleeves to investigate various seal-sleeve combinations. To find optimum sleeve coating and seal combinations, leakage and performance is investigated on an experimental test bench. This paper analyses a) Performance of various seal-shaft combinations, b) performance of varying seal pre-loaded garter springs, c) exploring the importance of a coating by comparing a stainless steel shaft to the 3 other coatings and d) integrity of sleeves after testing. Results indicate that the tungsten carbide coated sleeve outperforms the chrome oxide, hard chrome and stainless steel sleeves in terms of leakage. Chrome oxide is second in performance, third is hard chrome and the stainless steel sleeve leaked the most. Further, the tungsten carbide, chrome oxide and hard chrome sleeves are all surface finished to the desirable roughness, Ra = 0.2-0.4 µm while the stainless steel sleeve is not. This shows that surface coatings are significant; Vickers hardness and surface roughness of a sleeve are important factors to consider in the design process, necessary for efficient sealing. The 14oz spring, in all cases, exhibits higher leakage than the 12.5oz and 8.5oz springs. This indicates that the higher load spring results in higher wear and therefore, higher leakage. Optimum performance and lowest leakage is seen in the 12.5oz spring seal.

Citation

Shabbir, S., Garvey, S. D., Dakka, S. M., & Rothwell, B. C. (2020). Experimental study of radial lip seals with different sleeve coatings. Sealing Technology, 2020(3), 5-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1350-4789%2820%2930091-X

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 23, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Apr 6, 2020
• Publication Date: 2020-03
• Deposit Date: Apr 7, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 1, 2021
• Journal: Sealing Technology
• Print ISSN: 1350-4789
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 2020
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 5-10
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1350-4789%2820%2930091-X
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/4265837
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S135047892030091X