From the voice of the fluid sealing industry

SEALING SENSE
Q. What is the best wear face material for my mechanical Tungsten and silicon carbide are two of the most com-
seal? mon face materials and are used in a wide variety of appli-
cations. Their cost is usually higher than the pure metallic
A. The reliability and safety, as well as the total life cycle and oxide ceramic types, but their superior wear resistance
cost, of mechanical seals is determined to a large extent by results in a higher degree of reliability and longer service
the choice of the face materials. Their selection will depend life. Tungsten and silicon carbide outperform the other
on the pumped or sealed fluid. The corrosion, erosion, groups decisively, particularly in harsh lubricating environ-
and/or abrasion resistance and lubricity of the material, as ments, high pressures, speeds and temperatures, or in the
well as the temperature, pressure and pump speed, must all presence of corrosive and abrasive solids.
be considered. In clean fluids, they are usually paired with a softer car-
To ensure a long service life, high quality materials bon-graphite material. In dirty fluids or fluids containing
must be used and they must be sufficiently hard to oppose abrasive particles, they can be paired or even matched
wear, resist corrosion and be capable of producing a very flat against a surface of the same material. With the soft counter
and smooth surface when lapped. The diagram in Figure 1 face, the maximum load capability, i.e. the “PV” (pressure x
shows a general classification of commonly used face or velocity limit), is the highest and even fluids with low vis-
sliding materials. cosity do not pose wear problems in most applications.
Most materials exhibit poor wear behavior when in Figure 2 shows nominal PV limits for different face
sliding contact with a surface fabricated from the same material combinations in non-lubricating fluids and
material. Therefore, two dissimilar materials – one softer demonstrates the effectiveness of both WC and SiC when
then the other – paired against a
are usually cho- Sliding carbon face.
sen. In extreme- materials In a hard-
ly abrasive or versus-hard con-
corrosive envi- figuration, the
ronments it is abrasive wear
usually prefer- Artificial Metal Metal resistance is
Metals Plastics
able to utilize carbons carbides oxides maximized at
two hard mate- the expense of a
rials because a reduced load
soft face would capability. In
Carbon Solid Tungsten fluids with min-
wear excessively graphite materials carbide
and cause high- imal lubricating
er then normal qualities such as
leakage rates. In water, a hard-
such applica- Electro- Coated Silicon versus-hard
tions extremely graphite materials carbide combination
hard materials becomes espe-
Figure 1. General classification of face materials. cially sensitive
such as tungsten
carbide (WC) and silicon carbide (SiC) are ideal. to rubbing wear and face damage from excessive friction.
In applications involving high pressures and/or large Air or other entrained gases are potentially trouble-
diameters, two faces fabricated from WC and/or SiC are some for any hard-versus-hard face combination. Fluids
sometimes applied to minimize the face deformations that tend to vaporize upon escape to the atmosphere are
caused by the pressure forces. Although these two super- also most likely troublesome for hard-versus-hard face pairs.
hard faces can handle quite a bit of load, it is important to In lubricating fluids, the PV limits of materials increase
realize that when two hard surfaces are chosen an important significantly and a rule of thumb is to multiply the values
hidden compromise is made in the mechanical seal design. in Figure 2 by a factor of 1.5. What’s important about these
The compromise is that the faces will be more sensitive to values is that they are not cast in stone. PV limits are indica-
damage or failure if lubrication is lost or reduced. tive of the severity of an application that materials can with-
stand, but do not take the design or shape of the seal face

44 DECEMBER 2005 www.pump-zone.com PUMPS & SYSTEMS

into consideration. PV limit in Psi x ft/min

The PV limit of materials is

degraded when the seal faces
deflect too much and cause edge
contact. In such cases the PV limit 600,000
would be substantially reduced
and thus the probability for dam-
age would be high. 500,000

Both tungsten and silicon car-

bide have excellent physical prop-
erties (Figure 3) that drive the 400,000
operational capabilities of a
mechanical seal. Nevertheless, 300,000
behavioral differences between the
materials have come to light over
the years and preference has gone 200,000
to silicon carbide for many appli-
cations involving clean and dirty
fluids. 100,000
New product and industry
standard developments during the
0
last 10 years have clearly shown a
Carbon Carbon Carbon Carbon Tungsten Silicon
trend toward more use of silicon versus Cast versus versus versus Silicon carbide carbide
carbide because of its greater versa- Iron Ceramic Tungsten carbide versus versus Silicon
carbide Tungsten Carbide
tility with respect to corrosion, carbide
abrasion, and erosion resistance, as Figure 2. Nominal PV limits for typical face materials in non-lubricating fluids.
well as its lower sensitivity to face
damage. as the mating surface for the majority of refinery applica-
For example, the current revision of mechanical seal tions. The other type of commonly used silicon carbide,
standard API 682 favors reaction-bonded silicon carbide sintered, is favored in the chemical industry because of its

Fluid Sealing Association Advanced Sealing International (ASI)

Sealing Sense is produced by the Fluid Sealing Association as A.W. Chesterton Co.
part of our commitment to industry-consensus technical education Daikin America, Inc.
for pump users, contractors, distributors, OEMs, and reps. As a DuPont Performance Elastomers, LLC
source of technical information on sealing systems and devices, and EagleBurgmann Industries LP
in cooperation with the European Sealing Association, the FSA also Flex-A-Seal, Inc.
supports development of harmonized standards in all areas of fluid Flowserve Flow Solutions Div.-
sealing technology. The education is provided in the public interest Seal Group
to enable a balanced assessment of the most effective solutions to Garlock Sealing Technologies
pump technology issues on rational Total Life Cycle Cost principles. Greene Tweed & Co./Palmetto, Inc.
The Mechanical Seal Division of the FSA is one of six divisions Industrias Vago de Mexico SA de CV
with a specific product technology focus. As part of their education- John Crane
al mission they develop publications such as the Mechanical Seal KC America
Handbook, a primer intended to complement the more detailed man- Latty International S.A.
ufacturer’s documents produced by the member companies. Joint Manufacturas Multiples
FSA/ESA publications such as the Seal Forum, a series of case studies Industriales SA
in pump performance, are another example. The most recent contri- Metallized Carbon Corp.
bution is the Life Cycle Cost Estimator, a web-based software tool for Morgan AM&T
determination of pump sealing total Life Cycle Costs (LCC). PPC Mechanical Seals
The following members of the Mechanical Seal Division spon- Sealing Equipment Products Co., Inc.
sor this Sealing Sense series: Simrit-Div. of Freudenberg-NOK

PUMPS & SYSTEMS www.pump-zone.com DECEMBER 2005 45

excellent corrosion resistance.
Although the most brittle, the
chemical and tribological
advantages of sintered SiC usu-
ally outweigh its sensitivity to
fracture as compared with tung-
sten carbide.
Cartridge design seals offer
a solution to overcome the
drawback of brittleness during
installation of the seal in pumps.
Modern seals are designed with
torque transmission features
that reduce the risk of fractures
during operation. Examples are
square pin heads and transmis-
sion of the torque via a shrink or Figure 3. Physical properties of commonly used face materials.
press fit ring in a metal housing.
Seal manufacturers have developed creative features Next Month: What is the best silicon carbide wear face
that suppress the brittleness of silicon carbide and deal material for my mechanical seal?
with operational or installation related events that can We invite your questions on sealing issues and will pro-
cause a seal face to break or crack. Also, the cost of SiC vide best efforts answers based on FSA publications. Please
has been reduced significantly over the years and today is direct your questions to: sealingquestions@fluidsealing.com.
actually lower than WC, thereby providing greater value P&S
to the pump user.

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46 DECEMBER 2005 www.pump-zone.com PUMPS & SYSTEMS