The focus has been on the main source of the emissions—valve stem packing. Several companies have evaluated current industry standards and have crafted testing protocols specific to their application requirements.
How does FSA’s role in standards development affect the pump and seal industries?
Dry fasteners provide secure attachment without personnel safety and
environmental issues.
Why are mechanical seals still the preferred choice in the process industries?
Many factors must be considered when making this important decision. Third of Six Parts
Proper seal choice is critical for optimal compressor operation.
What should be considered for the selection of expansion joints for pumps?
Power plant slashes maintenance time and labor costs dramatically by switching to split design mechanical shaft seal.
Why don’t my PTFE gaskets seal FRP, plastic and other light load flanges?
Find a reliable dry gas seal system for any application.
First of Six Parts
Follow the major developments in seal technology
This month's "Sealing Sense" was prepared by FSA member Larry Sheffield.
Proper safety precautions for selecting, installing and maintaining seal systems
Five performance factors affect the life of a mechanical seal and guide the determination of an optimum replacement cycle for that seal. They also lead to improved seal life and mean time between repair (MTBR), thereby reducing the Life Cycle Cost (LCC) of the pump population.
Avoiding seal leakage or failure is a complex task for pump designers and one that must be taken seriously in difficult economic times when reducing downtime is critical. New developments in elastomer materials and seal design techniques mean that pump engineers can avoid seal leakage and ensure optimum performance in demanding operating environments involving high and low pressures and temperatures.
Due to heat-shrink technology, agitator seal functions failure free for more than a decade.
Application and maintenance of the manufacturers' recommended torque to valve packing is critical to meeting emissions requirements and long service life. While approaches to the application of torque for braided and die-formed packing may be different, the generally accepted practices are important to all valve packing. Consultation with the packing manufacturer on specifics of the application can help to ensure reliable performance.
Gasket life is important to ensuring long, leak-free operation of a bolted joint. While selection of the proper gasket is an important first step, improper installation procedures can damage gaskets and prevent them from achieving their service life potential.
Using an evaluation and selection process, plant operators have been able to increase their mean time between repairs (MTBR) from less than one year to more than three years.
Gas lubricated seals are relatively recent developments in pump seal technology. They provide a new approach to double seals for controlling pump emissions, minimizing heat generation and reducing power consumption.
Understanding how labyrinth seals function is imperative to ensure the appropriate seal technology is specified. Seal selection, when matched appropriately to the expected application and environment to which the equipment will be exposed, will directly impact seal life, productivity and total maintenance costs. Armed with this knowledge, users are encouraged to work with seal manufacturers to match seal technologies appropriately with application needs.
A combination of two seal types provides the most reliable results.
This discussion opens a three-part series covering mechanical seal piping plans that provide guidelines for various seal arrangements, fluids and control equipment to help you determine what support system requirements will maximize the performance reliability of your application.
Excessive packing friction adversely impacts pump and valve performance and energy consumption, which translates to an increase in operating and equipment cost. Excessive packing friction may also increase equipment downtime due to packing failure and/or sudden equipment failure.
Air-operated piston assembly, injectable and air flush enhance this sealing system's performance in harsh applications
Justification of any sealing system improvement project requires a basic understanding of financial measurement tools to effectively determine and communicate which will provide the best return. The model presented will enable evaluation of capital expenditure to improve MTBR and energy efficiency through several alternative analyses and help identify the project with the best financial payback.
Typical operating environments create unique challenges for plant maintenance personnel when meeting their goals of reliably sealing bolted flange connections.
These steps will help ensure the best piping system performance for the longest time possible. When fewer gaskets are wasted due to deterioration from poor storage the result is additional money to combat real problems.
This article will review properties from two basic tests, how they are determined and what value they have in selection of sheet-gasket material for an application.
In hydraulic cylinders, used in everything from precise positioning equipment in machine tools to heavy earth moving machinery in the toughest working environments, the requirements for sealing are varied and difficult.
