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March 2022 1
Application Notes: Dry Gas Seals & Systems - Application, Performance Monitoring, Alarms and Trips
There are two API standards which cover dry gas seals and its support system:
1. API 614: Lubrication, Shaft Sealing, Oil Control Systems, and Auxiliaries
2. API 692: Dry Gas Sealing Systems
API 617 (Centrifugal & Axial Compressors) and API 619 (Rotary Screw Compressors) also briefly refer to dry gas
seals.
When well-engineered, the Dry Gas Seals in compressors have proven to be very reliable in operation. Plant
operators have reported that they have been in operation up to 10 years before replacement.
Centrifugal and screw compressors are normally unspared, hence, the failure of its dry gas seal(s) usually results
in production loss. A one week down-time of a 5 MMTPA LNG plant due to failed dry gas seals can result in the
production loss of up to 50 million dollars, at LNG price of $500 per ton, or about US$10 per MMBTU. Hence,
its reliability is among the prime concerns of any process facility. Release of the first edition of API 692 in June
2018 is a welcome step, wherein, the seal suppliers have tried to address various application issues; e.g. failure
of dry gas seals on start-up by mandating instllation of seal gas heaters in the seal system.
Failures are generally reported due to the following conditions:
• Failure on start up when condensed liquid from the seal gas enters the gap in the primary seal faces,
• Failure on start-up, after an extended period of pressurised hold, of the compressor when dirty
(unfiltered) seal gas from compressor body reaches the seal faces,
• Dropping out of abrasive compound like elemental sulphur due to cooling in the sealing area,
• Oil migrating from the bearing box to the secondary or primary seal faces.
Failures are more common in the Oil & Gas production applications than in an LNG plant, a refinery or a
petrochemical plant. This could primarily be due to
• higher number of start & stops experienced in an Oil & Gas production facility, and/or
• variation in the quality of the seal gas as against that specified in the data sheet, and/or
• the production facilities are remote with no source of suitable seal gas or nitrogen and/or
• auxiliary equipment’s inability to handle process upset.
Consider following when selecting seals and seal support system for critical plant compressors:
Scope of supply:
Clarify scope demarcation between the compressor, and the dry gas seal and seal system supplier before
awarding the purchase order.
Seal construction:
1. The working gas film thickness (or gap) between the rotating and stationary seal faces varies from 0.0001"
to 0.0003" (3 to 8 microns).
2. Dry Gas Seals generally tolerate +/- 0.12" (+/- 3 mm) of axial and +/- 0.024" (+/- 0.6 mm) of radial movement.

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3. The normal dynamic seal leakage rate varies from 5 to 10 scfm (8 to 16 Nm /hr) depending on the shaft
diameter, operating speed and sealing pressure. Typically, the seal supplier(s) quote a guarantee value of
25 scfm (40 Nm3/hr) or higher. Use the guarantee value for the calculation of
a. the alarm and trip set point and
b. verify the sizing of auxiliaries like filter(s), heater etc.
The multiplication factor used to arrive at the sizing of the auxiliaries should be carefully decided during the
design stage.
4. Refer to table 1, & figure 1 below for the types of dry gas seals, their principal features and applications:
Seal type Feature / Application

Single • With inboard and outboard labyrinth usually applied in air, N2, CO2 or other non-
hazardous services.
Tandem • With inboard labyrinth,
• Two seals in-line with the same orientation, leakage from the primary seal and
nitrogen mixes and reaches the secondary seal faces. The second back up seal
is designed for full sealing pressure,
• Additional tertiary seal is preferred between the secondary seal and the bearing
housing. This is normally of segmented construction in carbon material.
Tandem with • Same as tandem seal with additional intermediate labyrinth to safeguard and
intermediate reduce the sealing pressure of the secondary back-up seal.
labyrinth • Most widely used in hydrocarbon applications.
Triple seal in • Three seals in-line with the same orientation, rarely used;
tandem • The primary and intermediate seals share the high pressure (usually above
>1750 psig or 12000 kPa) sealing load.
Double, opposite • Two opposite, arranged face to face, seals with clean gas injected in between
faced at higher than the sealing pressure,
• Used in applications where absolutely no leakage to atmosphere is acceptable
(e.g., toxic gases) or
• Used in low pressure hydrocarbon services where the plant nitrogen pressure
is higher than sealing pressure,
• Preferred in screw compressors due to the limited axial sealing length.
Note: Dry gas seals are typically installed with the labyrinth on the gas side and the tertiary carbon ring
on the outer atmospheric side. The inner labyrinth and the tertiary seal may be supplied by the
compressor vendor.

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Figure 1: Dry gas seal types – schematic

5. Sliding Seal faces: Silicon Carbide / Tungsten Carbide are commonly used materials for the rotating seal
faces. Silicon Carbide or special grade carbon is used for the stationary seal faces. Silicon carbide vs. Silicon
Carbide is also available for Oil & Gas applications. Suppliers claim that SiC provides more stable seal gap
due to low deformation at higher temperatures because of higher tensile strength and thermal
conductivity. Suppliers have been able to achieve waviness as low as 0.5 micron in the seal faces. Suppliers
also offer diamond coating or diamond like coating. Check the method of forming and thickness of the hard
diamond surface should the application need such hard coating.
6. Review and minimise screwed multiple sleeve construction for improved reliability. Review design of
centring collar of the main seal sleeve.
7. De-pressurisation rate: To prevent explosive decompression of O-rings, control the de-pressurisation rate
on compressor shutdown. The de-pressurisation rate reduces as the sealing pressure increases. For sealing
pressures above 900 psig (@6000 kPa) consider an O-ring of harder (but lesser compression/sealing ability)
material, example Aflas. Alternatively, consider using polymer (e.g. teflon) seals with a position retaining
step. The O or V ring material is also affected by gas composition and should be discussed with the seal
supplier. Generally a water saturated gas with 5% CO2, 1 % H2S or the presence of methanol / ethanol will
require review of the secondary seal material.

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8. Reverse pressurisation results in instantaneous seal failure and can occur in low-pressure service subjected
due to high flare back pressure on plant upset/depressurisation. Consider installing a single or double check
valve in the leakage line to the plant flare to prevent reverse pressurisation. Indicate the maximum possible
flare line pressure and expected duration during upset to the seal vendor, at the plant design stage.
9. Seal support system: The seal support system is required to carry out one or all of the following functions:
• Maintain seal, separation and buffer gas supply at the required flow and pressure to ensure safe,
reliable operation under all operating, start-up, transient and shutdown conditions,
• Safely dispose of the normal seal leakage,
• Contain or eliminate hazardous/toxic leakage,
• Monitor seal performance,
• Raise alarm or shut down on malfunction or failure of the seal or the support system.
10. The primary seal gas, which is injected in the cavity before the primary seal faces, should not condense and
be compatible with the compressed gas. By using a PDCV or control valve, the seal gas supply is controlled
at 25 to 35 psi (175 to 250 kPa) above the sealing (reference) pressure to ensure an inward gas velocity of
@ 20 ft/sec (6 m/s). Ask the compressor vendor to provide calculations for the total seal gas flow rates for
both static (pressurised hold) and dynamic conditions.
11. Supply of clean, dry gas between the primary sealing faces is of paramount importance for reliable
operation. Hence, normally the seal gas is either taken from the compressor discharge (during normal
operation) or from other external source (for start-up) and filtered before supplying to the primary seals.
Filtration requirements of API 614 and API 692 are not aligned. They are shown in table 2 below:
Specification Filtration level Filtration efficiency Filter type
API 614, 5th edition 4 microns b85 – 98.8 None specified
API 692, 1st edition 1 micron b1000 – 99.9 None specified

API 692 has mandated the supply and installation of seal gas heaters in the primary seal gas line. However,
this may not always achieve the desired drying of the gas for the following reasons:
• there is a pressure control valve (PCV) installed in the seal supply line to limit the leakage into the
compressor body. Pressure drop across the PCV would cool the seal gas with the consequent
potential condensation of the heavier components of the seal gas.
• the gas residence time inside the seal gas heater may not be sufficient to impart the desired heat.
12. The filtration specification of the seal gas for the secondary seals is same as that of the primary seals.
However, normally different gases are used in the primary and secondary seals, except in double
pressurised seal. It is normal to use nitrogen as the secondary seal gas.
13. Nitrogen: Cryogenically produced nitrogen is free of water and may result in rapid wear of carbon face.

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14. Coalescing type filter is preferred for both the primary and secondary seal gas filtration. The filter should
remove both the dust particulates, moisture and condensing heavy components of seal gas. The filter is
typically sized for a minimum of 3 times the normal flow, or the required flow rate for the seal failure case,
whichever is greater. For a saturated or higher mole weight condensing seal gas consider installing the filter
downstream of the pressure throttling device to maximise the removal of the condensate. Design the seal
gas filter in accordance with the relevant pressure vessel code, normally section VIII of the ASME pressure
vessel code.
15. Seal gas super heat: Check the seal gas phase envelope for the entire operating range before determining
the super heat margin required for the seal gas. If required, in addition to seal gas heater, engineer and
install heat tracing on the seal piping and compressor casing to assist with the “pressurised hold” case.
16. Pressurised hold duration: The leakage under static conditions is less than the dynamic leakage rate. On
shutdown, good seals with automated compressor isolation can hold the system pressure for up to 24 hours
or more, thus allowing operators to investigate any problem before depressurisation. However, an
extended pressurised hold is not desirable since the unfiltered gas from compressor side may enter the seal
area and result in the seal failure on start-up. Discuss and suitably engineer the system to prevent dirty gas
from reaching the seal faces on start-up.
17. When compressor is expected to be kept under “pressurised hold”, the dry gas seals are subjected to an
intermediate, "settle out" pressure, which depends on the volume of the gas in the seal loop. Inform
estimated settle pressure to the supplier at the design stage to ensure the seal auxiliaries are designed
suitably. Seal supplier uses this information to determine face waviness arising from sealing pressure and
the optimum seal gap between the faces to minimise the seal leakage during normal operation.
18. Review compressor and driver control system for start-up and verify that the supplied seal faces will be able
to withstand slow roll on start-up. This condition will potentially decide the material of construction of
dynamic and static seal faces of both the primary and secondary seal.
19. The external gas used for the secondary seals is also normally directed to the separation (also called tertiary)
seal between the seals and bearings. In compressors, the lube oil system is pressurised and reach the
bearing around 2.5 bar(g) with further pressure reduction through orifice just before it enters the bearing.
During operation, due to the high speeds, windage oil travels along the shaft towards the dry gas seals.
In sufficient space between the bearings and the seals; under sizing of the oil return pipe from the cavity
between them; and insufficient supply or pressure of separation gas between the tertiary separation seal
and the bearing is the known reason for oil contaminating the seals and consequent failure. Review of the
design of the oil return line and space between the seals and bearings should assist in improving the seal
reliability. Ensure lube oil tank does not create back pressure for tertiary separation gas.

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20. Seal panel: Consider locating the seal support panel at similar or higher level than the compressor shaft
centre-line to assist in draining the liquids from the low point. The seal monitoring / control panel provides
the following principal functions:
• Measures seal gas supply and sealing area differential pressure to ensure a positive seal gas supply
pressure,
• Measures/routes/monitors primary seal(s) leakage to the plant flare or a safe location,
• Routes/monitors secondary seal(s) leakage to atmosphere or a safe location,
• Monitors separation gas injection.

21. Dry gas seal failures are generally instantaneous with little opportunity for operator intervention. Once
technical issues are resolved, failures are rare. Refer table 3 below for commonly used alarms and trips in
the seal control panel:

Initiating condition Single seal Tandem seal Double seal

Primary seal leakage high Alarm (1) Alarm (1, 2) Alarm (1)

Primary seal leakage high - high (failure) Trip (1) Trip (1, 2) Trip (1)

Seal gas differential pressure low or high Alarm (3) Alarm (3) Alarm (3)

Seal gas differential pressure low – low Trip (3) Trip (3) Trip (3)

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Initiating condition Single seal Tandem seal Double seal

Seal / buffer gas filter differential pressure

Alarm Alarm Alarm
high

Buffer gas flow high – secondary seal failure Not applicable Alarm Not applicable

Buffer gas differential pressure low Not applicable Alarm Not applicable

Separation gas pressure / flow low Alarm Alarm Alarm

1. Trip flow is usually 5 to 8 times the normal leakage. Alternatively differential pressure may actuate a
trip.

2. For tandem seal, normal flow is seal leakage + buffer gas flow

3. To prevent dirty compressed gas reaching seal faces.

22. An orifice plate is used for flow or differential pressure measurement of the primary seal leakage.
23. When the primary seal leakage is routed to atmosphere consider installing a flame arrestor in the vent line.
24. Use SS-316 or SS 617L as material of construction for dry gas seal auxiliaries. This ensures higher cleanliness.
25. Refer API 617 for seal test procedure in the seal supplier shop.
Recommendations: A properly designed dry gas seals with its seal support system installed in a compressor,
depending on its size and application could easily cost US$500,000.00 or more. Getting the dry gas seal and
seal system design correct requires experience, expertise and is very crucial to any Oil & Gas plant uptime and
profitability. Consider hiring independent specialist help to ensure safe, reliable design and operation of these
critical items.

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Global Machinery Consultants Pty. Ltd., A.C.N No. 094 649 699, A.B.N. 20 094 649 699. Perth, Melbourne, Australia – Kota, India
© This document is the property of Global Machinery Consultants Pty Ltd., Australia.