A Parametric Analysis of the Transient Forced Response of Noncontacting Coned-Face Gas Seals

Abstract

A properly designed mechanical face seal must satisfy two requirements: (1) the seal must be stable, and (2) the seal forced response must be such that the stator tracks the misaligned rotor with the smallest clearance possible, with the smallest relative tilt, and with the largest minimum film thickness. The stability issue was investigated in a previous paper. Here a numerical solution is presented for the transient response of a noncontacting gas lubricated face seal that is subjected to stator and rotor forcing misalignments. The seal dynamic response is obtained in axial and angular modes of motion in a coupled analysis where the Reynolds equation and the equations of motion are solved simultaneously. The steady-state response is first identified for a reference case. Subsequently a parametric study is performed to gauge the influence of the various seal effects, such as speeds, inner to outer radii ratios, face coning heights, pressure drops, support stiffness and damping, and forcing misalignments. The transient responses to static stator misalignment and rotor runout are given, showing that properly designed coned face seals can operate in a stable mode with the stator tracking dynamically a misaligned rotor.