Hydrodynamic Analysis of the Flow in a Rotary Lip Seal Using Flow Factors

Abstract

The flow field in the lubricating film of a rotary lip seal is analyzed numerically by solving the Reynolds equation with flow factors. The behavior of such a flow field is dominated by the asperities on the lip surface. Since previous analyses treated those asperities deterministically, they required very large computation times. The present approach is much less computationally intensive because the asperities are treated statistically. Since cavitation and asperity orientation play important roles, these are taken into account in the computation of the flow factors. Results of the analysis show how the operating parameters of the seal and the characteristics of the asperities affect such seal characteristics as the pressure distribution in the film, the pumping rate and the load support.