On hydrodynamic lubrication characteristics of ferrofluid film in a spiral groove mechanical seal

2018 ◽  
Vol 70 (9) ◽  
pp. 1783-1797 ◽  
Author(s):  
Penggao Zhang ◽  
Boqin Gu ◽  
Jianfeng Zhou ◽  
Long Wei

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the hydrodynamic lubrication characteristics of ferrofluid film for spiral groove mechanical seal in external electromagnetic field and to analyze the effects of the volume fraction of ferrofluid, parameters of the electromagnetic field, operating parameters and geometrical parameters of mechanical seal on the characteristics of ferrofluid film. Design/methodology/approach The relationship between the ferrofluid viscosity and the intensity of external electromagnetic field was established. Based on the Muijderman narrow groove theory, the pressure distribution was calculated with the trial method by trapezoid formula. Findings It was found that pressure, average viscosity, average density and opening force of ferrofluid between end faces increase with the increase in intensity of current, volume fraction of ferrofluid, rotating speed, pressure differential and spiral angle; decrease with the increase in temperature; and increase at first and then decrease with the increase in the ratio of groove width to weir and the groove length. All of them reach the maximum value when the ratio of width of groove to weir is 0.7 and the ratio of groove length is 0.6. Leakage of ferrofluid increases with an increase in intensity of current, volume fraction of ferrofluid, rotating speed, pressure differential, spiral angle and ratio of groove length; decreases with an increase in temperature; and increases at first and then decreases with the increase in the ratio of groove width to weir. The tendencies of characteristics of silicone oil are consistent with those of ferrofluid, and the characteristics of silicone oil are smaller than those of ferrofluid under the same condition. Originality/value The volume fraction of ferrofluid, rotating speed, spiral angle, ratio of groove width to weir, groove length and temperature have a significant influence on the characteristics of ferrofluid film; however, intensity of current and the pressure differential have slight influence on the characteristics of ferrofluid film. An analytical method for analyzing hydrodynamic lubrication characteristics of ferrofluid film in a spiral groove mechanical seal was proposed based on the Muijderman narrow groove theory.

2019 ◽  
Vol 71 (6) ◽  
pp. 758-765
Author(s):  
Penggao Zhang ◽  
Boqin Gu ◽  
Jianfeng Zhou ◽  
Long Wei

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the heat transfer characteristics in a spiral groove mechanical seal lubricated by magnetic fluid. Design/methodology/approach The viscosity relationship of magnetic fluid in external electromagnetic field was deduced. The temperature distribution of sealing ring was calculated by the method of separation variables. Findings It has been found that the rotating ring absorbs most friction heat. The temperatures on the end faces of rotating ring and stationary ring decrease from inner radius to outer radius, the temperature of magnetic fluid film decreases from rotating ring to stationary ring and the highest temperature of the sealing system is at the junction of the inner radius and the end face of rotating ring. Originality/value Selecting the sealing rings with higher thermal conductivity and reducing the volume fraction of solid particles in magnetic fluid can reduce the temperature of sealing system effectively.


2018 ◽  
Vol 70 (8) ◽  
pp. 1476-1486
Author(s):  
Chuang Wang ◽  
Ziwen Xing ◽  
Xi Pan ◽  
Zhilong He

Purpose The well-operating condition of journal bearing is the assurance to keep superior performance of water-lubricated twin-screw compressor. To design the journal bearing more reasonably for this type of compressor, this paper aims to study the effects of rotating speed and design parameters on bearing characteristics, considering surface roughness and bending deformation of the shaft at the same time. Design/methodology/approach The average Reynolds equation considering the effect of surface roughness is adopted and solved by finite difference method and successive over-relaxation method to calculate pressure distribution with real bearing shapes and boundary conditions. The bending deformation of the shaft is calculated using simply supported beam model of variable cross-section. Findings The dynamic lubrication characteristics of four water-lubricated journal bearings in twin-screw air compressor are calculated and analyzed. In addition, the static characteristics of journal bearing including friction coefficient, film thickness ratio distribution and water film pressure distribution are calculated numerically with different rotating speed and design parameters. Moreover, some design principles of water-lubricated bearing for twin-screw compressor are put forward. Originality/value The lubrication characteristics of the water-lubricated journal bearing in twin-screw air compressor are calculated considering surface roughness and bending deformation of the shaft at the same time. The paper’s results may provide design guidelines for journal bearing in this kind of twin-screw compressor.


2007 ◽  
Vol 353-358 ◽  
pp. 2455-2458
Author(s):  
Jian Feng Zhou ◽  
Bo Qin Gu

The thermo-hydrodynamic effect in the spiral groove mechanical seal was investigated. The coupling analysis of the fluid film and the thermal deformation of sealing rings was carried out, the separation angle obtained, and the shape of the gap between the two deformed end faces determined. The results indicate that the increase of the temperature of the fluid film and the thermal deformation of the sealing rings cause the increase of the leakage rate. There exists a critical rotating speed, when the rotating speed is lower than the critical speed, the bearing force increases with the increase of the rotating speed, and once the rotating speed is higher than the critical speed, the bearing force decreases reversely. The thermal deformation weakens the hydrodynamic effect of the spiral groove mechanical seals.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiang Zhao ◽  
Zhengminqing Li ◽  
Hong Zhang ◽  
Rupeng Zhu

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to use a combination of numerical simulation and experiment to evaluate the performance of laser surface texturing (LST) in the field of gear lubrication, and to more accurately predict the lubrication characteristics of different surfaces. Design/methodology/approach The method used in this paper is developed on the basis of the deterministic solution of the three-dimensional (3D) mixed elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) model and the model parameters are corrected by friction test. The film pressure, film thickness and friction coefficient of different micro-textured tooth surfaces are predicted on the basis of accurate 3D mixed EHL models. Findings The results demonstrate that the micro-texture structure of the tooth surface can increase the local film thickness and enhance the lubricating performance of the tooth surface without drastically reducing the contact fatigue life. The stress distribution and friction characteristics of the tooth surface can be optimized by adjusting the micro-texture arrangement and the size of the micro-textures. Originality/value A new evaluation method using a 3D hybrid EHL model and friction test to predict the lubrication characteristics of LST is proposed, which can effectively improve the processing economy and save time. Peer review The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-11-2020-0423


Author(s):  
Yanxiang Han ◽  
Qingen Meng ◽  
Gregory de Boer

A two-scale homogenization method for modelling the hydrodynamic lubrication of mechanical seals with isotropic roughness was developed and presented the influence of surface topography coupled into the lubricating domain. A linearization approach was derived to link the effects of surface topography across disparate scales. Solutions were calculated in a polar coordinate system derived based on the Elrod cavitation algorithm and were determined using homogenization of periodic simulations describing the lubrication of a series of surface topographical features. Solutions obtained for the hydrodynamic lubrication regime showed that the two-scale homogenization approach agreed well with lubrication theory in the case without topography. Varying topography amplitude demonstrated that the presence of surface topography improved tribological performance for a mechanical seal in terms of increasing load-carrying capacity and reducing friction coefficient in the radial direction. A Stribeck curve analysis was conducted, which indicated that including surface topography led to an increase in load-carrying capacity and a reduction in friction. A study of macro-scale surface waviness showed that the micro-scale variations observed were smaller in magnitude but cannot be obtained without the two-scale method and cause significant changes in the tribological performance.


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (9) ◽  
pp. 3290-3304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Ijaz Khan ◽  
Khursheed Muhammad ◽  
Tasawar Hayat ◽  
Shahid Farooq ◽  
Ahmed Alsaedi

Purpose This paper aims to discuss the salient aspects of the Darcy–Forchheimer flow of viscous liquid in carbon nanotubes (CNTs). CNTs are considered as nanofluid, and water is taken as the continuous phase liquid. The flow features are discussed via curved surface. Water is taken as the base liquid. Flow is generated via nonlinear stretching. Energy expression is modeled subject to heat generation/absorption. Furthermore, convective conditions are considered at the boundary. The Xue model is used in the mathematical modeling which describes the features of nanomaterials. Both types of CNTs are considered, i.e. single-walled CNTs and multi-walled CNTs. Design/methodology/approach Appropriate transformations are used to convert the flow expressions into dimensionless differential equations. The bvp4c method is used for solution development. Findings Velocity enhances via higher estimations of nanoparticles volume fraction while decays for higher Forchheimer number, curvature parameter, behavior index and porosity parameter. Furthermore, thermal field is an increasing function of nanoparticle volume fraction, behavior index, Forchheimer number and porosity parameter. Originality/value Here, the authors have discussed two-dimensional CNTs-based nanomaterial Darcy–Forchheimer flow of viscous fluid over a curved surface. The authors believe that all the outcomes and numerical techniques are original and have not been published elsewhere.


Author(s):  
Arash Kiyoumarsi ◽  
Abolfazl Nazari ◽  
Mohammad Ataei ◽  
Hamid Khademhosseini Beheshti ◽  
Rahmat‐Allah Hooshmand

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present a 3D finite element model of the electromagnetic fields in an AC three‐phase electric arc furnace (EAF). The model includes the electrodes, arcs, and molten bath.Design/methodology/approachThe electromagnetic field in terms of time in AC arc is also modeled, utilizing a 3D finite element method (3D FEM). The arc is supposed to be an electro‐thermal unit with electrical power as input and thermal power as output. The average Joule power, calculated during the transient electromagnetic analysis of the AC arc furnace, can be used as a thermal source for the thermal analysis of the inner part of furnace. Then, by attention to different mechanisms of heat transfer in the furnace (convection and radiation from arc to bath, radiation from arc to the inner part of furnace and radiation from the bath to the sidewall and roof panel of the furnace), the temperature distribution in different parts of the furnace is calculated. The thermal model consists of the roof and sidewall panels, electrodes, bath, refractory, and arc. The thermal problem is solved in the steady state for the furnace without slag and with different depths of slag.FindingsCurrent density, voltage and magnetic field intensity in the arcs, molten bath and electrodes are predicted as a result of applying the three‐phase AC voltages to the EAF. The temperature distribution in different parts of the furnace is also evaluated as a result of the electromagnetic field analysis.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper considers an ideal condition for the AC arc. Non‐linearity of the arc during the melting, which leads to power quality disturbances, is not considered. In most prior researches on the electrical arc furnace, a non‐linear circuit model is usually used for calculation of power quality phenomena distributions. In this paper, the FEM is used instead of non‐linear circuits, and calculated voltage and current densities in the linear arc model. The FEM results directly depend on the physical properties considered for the arc.Originality/valueSteady‐state arc shapes, based on the Bowman model, are used to calculate and evaluate the geometry of the arc in a real and practical three‐phase AC arc furnace. A new approach to modeling AC arcs is developed, assuming that the instantaneous geometry of the AC arc at any time is constant and is similar to the geometry of a DC arc with the root mean square value of the current waveform of the AC arc. A time‐stepping 3D FEM is utilized to calculate the electromagnetic field in the AC arc as a function of time.


2016 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 116-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dawit Zenebe Segu ◽  
Pyung Hwang

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate and discuss the effect of multi-shape laser surface texturing (LST) steel surfaces on tribological performance. Design/methodology/approach – The textured surface with some specific formula arrays was fabricated by laser ablation process by combining patterns of circles and triangles, circles and squares and circles and ellipses. The tribological test was performed by a flat-on-flat tribometer under dry and lubrication conditions, and results were compared with that of untextured surface. Findings – The results showed that the textured surface had better friction coefficient performance than the untextured surface due to hydrodynamic lubrication effect. Through an increase in sliding speed, the beneficial effect of LST performance was achieved under dry and lubrication conditions. Originality/value – This paper develops multi-shape LST steel surfaces for improving the friction and wear performance under dry and lubrication conditions.


2018 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun-peng Shao ◽  
Guang-dong Liu ◽  
Xiao-dong Yu ◽  
Yan-qin Zhang ◽  
Xiu-li Meng ◽  
...  

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe a simulation and experimental research concerning the effect of recess depth on the lubrication performance of a hydrostatic thrust bearing by constant rate flow. Design/methodology/approach The computational fluid dynamics and finite volume method have been used to compute the lubrication characteristics of an annular recess hydrostatic thrust bearing with different recess depths. The performances are oil recess pressure, oil recess temperature and oil film velocity. The recess depth has been optimized. A test rig is established for testing the pressure field of the structure of hydrostatic thrust bearing after recess depth optimization, and experimental results show that experimental data are basically identical with the simulation results, which demonstrates the validity of the proposed numerical simulation method. Findings The results demonstrate that the oil film temperature decreases and the oil film pressure first increases and then decreases with an increase in the recess depth, but oil film velocity is constant. To sum up comprehensive lubrication performance, the recess depth of 3.5 mm is its optimal value for the annular recess hydrostatic thrust bearing. Originality/value The computed results indicate that to get an improved performance from a constant flow hydrostatic thrust bearing, a proper selection of the recess depth is essential.


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