a 1 FEATUREREPORT
P
umps and many other types of
rotating equipment depend on
seals to minimize emissions
and to improve pump opera-
tion. Emissions reduction has emerged
in recent years as a critical issue for
seals, for safety and environmentalrea-
sons. Current US. regulations man-
date the monitoring of fugitive emis-
sions from pumps and other rotating
equipment (compressors, fans, mixers
and so on), especially when hazardous
or toxic fluids are involved.
“his situation has spurred the devel-
opment of a variety of technical solu-
tions from pump manufacturers and
their suppliers. Various types of me-
chanical contacting and noncontacting
seals have been developed, which are
offered in a range of single or multiple
arrangements. Many pump makers
have developed “sealless” pump de-
signs, including magnetic-drive and
canned-motor designs.
Recently, seal manufacturers have
developed a noncontacting gas lubri-
cated design. Originally developed for
gas compressors, these seals have been
successfully applied to conventional
pumps for all types of services.
With such features as a gas-barrier
supply for these noncontacting seals, I
monitoring instruments for conven- 1
tional centrifugal pumps, and electrical
and mechanical monitors for sealless
designs, the number of options for
pump selection has increased sign%-
GAS LUBRICATED
A.Ls- HAN E
828 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING/AUGUST 1995
cantly. Pump users can benefit from an
evaluation of the total costs of pump
ownership, including capital expense,
operating costs and maintenance. After
a more detailed description of pump se-
lection criteria, data are presented
below to evaluate total cost.
Seal basics
A wide number of seal designs have
evolved over the years to address rotat-
ing equipment needs. In their most.basic
configuration, seals prevent leakage of
p m s fluid, protect bearings that align
the shafts of rota- equipment and
keep bearing lubrication in place.
The basic types of seals include me-
chanical seals (contacting and noncon-
tading),which are availablein cartridge
form. Lip seals and labyrinth seals are
used to protect bearings. ORen the seals
are installed singly, but in many cases
there are advantages to installing them
in double (hce-to-face) or tandem (side-
by-side) arrangements.Again, generally
speaking, the increasing complexity of
seal typesis matched by increasing cost..
-
Lip seals usually are in direct contact
Noncontacting seals offer both high
performance and low emissions
for conventional centrifugalpumps
I James Netzel.
with the shaft, and consequently are
subject to rapid wear. “his makes them
a poor choice for highly demanding ap-
plications frequently found in the CPI.
The various types of mechanical car-
tridge seals depend on some type of lu-
brication, either with process fluid or
with lubricating oil that is circulated
specifically for the seals.
Mechanical seals typically depend
on some type of fluid between the seal
faces to avoid the heat and eventual de-
struction resulting from face-to-face
friction. The fluid is frequently a dedi-
ca- closed-loop lubricating system
that is pressurized to a level somewhat
higher than the output pressure or dis-
charge of the pump (Figure 1).The op-
eration of the mechanical seal demands
that seal faces exert a closing force that
is greater than the hydraulic opening
forces which are present with pressur-
ized lubrication.
Noncontacting seals represent a sig-
nificant leap in mechanical seal design
and operation because they are gas lu-
bricated. The seal faces operate in a
pressurized environment of nitrogen,
Glenn Pecht
and Mike
Kalodimos
John Crane
International

purified air or carbon dioxide.
Recently, a spiral-grooveseal-face de-
sign has been developed for noncontact-
ing seals. This patented design (Figure
2) is recessed into the mating rings of
the seal. The primary rings rotate with
the pump shaft and the spiral-grooved
mating rings remain stationary. Sealing
is achieved at the interface of the rotat-
ing and stationary faces.
As the shaft rotates, gas flows into the
tip of the spiral groove and is compressed
at the sealing dam,the ungrooved por-
tion of the mating ring. At this dam,the
gas expands. The resultant film pressure
gives an opening force greater than the
closing force, thus separating the faces.
This separation creates a noncontacting,
gas lubricated seal.
The noncontacting nature of these
seals reduce wear to negligible levels,
extending seal life considerably. The
elimination of contact 6ction also
eliminates heat generated by fiiction,
as well as the need for cooling.
A necessary component of this system
is a supply of inert gas acceptable to the
process. Typically the barrier gas is ni-
trogen, which 93% of U.S. chemical
plants already have on the premises, or
purified air injected between the in-
board and outboard seals at 20-30 psig
above maximum process-fluid pressure.
Under normal operating conditions,
a minimal amount of barrier gas will be
consumed (Figure 3). Nitrogen con-
sumption is directly related to size,
speed and differential pressure across
the sealing faces. For a 2.-in.-dia. dou-
ble seal (John Crane Type 2800) run-
ning at 200 psig and 3,600 rpm, the
yearly cost is $10-15:
Nitrogen consumption (from Figure 3):
0.4 R3/min/seal X 2 = 0.08 8 3 total
0.08 R3Imin X 525,600 minly~
= 42,048 R3/y~
Average cost of N2: $0.30/1,000 R3
Yearly cost estimate: 42,048 R3 x
0.30/1,000 R3
= $12.60/yr
Toensurethatthebamierpressuredoes
not h p below the sealchamber pressure,
a barrier support system is recommended
(Figure 1).Such a systemwill regulate the
barrier gas source, measure consumption,
Part 2
LZPPHEREASON
FIGURE l.
The support
system here
providesa
dependable
flow of barrier
gas to the
double seal
shown in
cutaway
profile on the
opposite
page.
Gas flows into
the spiral
grooves in
the inner seal
let
unit's shell must be made of a mater-
ial that is not electxically conductive.
Otherwise, small eddy currents could
detect any barrier pressure drop, cause the shell to overheat, and drive
maintain gas purity and provide eEciency is impaired.
p m e s containment in the event Overall, sealless technology is logi-
ofprimarysealfaim. cal and is effective for many applica-
Alternatively, a group of the tions. A number of limitations, how-
following components can provide ever, must be raised. The primary
an acceptable support system: drawbacks of sealless pumps are heat
*Check valve, to contain the pro- D a generation; energy consumption; dry
cess if failure occurs running conditions: and abrasive
process i u i d ~ .
!he temperature of the bearings of a
*Pressure gage, for barrier preSsUre sealless pump must be monitored and
*Flowmeter,for barrier gas useage controlled. Heat generated by the bear-
*Pressure switch, to signal an alarm or ings will increase the temperature of
to stop the unit ifbarrier pressure is lost the process fluid, thus increasing the
If the barrier pressure is lost, the in- chance of flashing the product. An out-
board seal will close due to the closing side source can be incorporated to pro-
force being greater than the face a m vide cooling and lubrication to the bear-
pressure. The process fluid remains ings, if the unit is operating in a
sealed off, preventingleakage to the at- higher-temperature region.
mosphere, and the inboard seal will The couplingbetween the magnets of
run with liquid lubrication. a mag drive pump is good; neverthe-
less, there can be some slippage, also
The sealless alternative generating heat and causing increased
Like pumps sealed with noncontacting, power draw. Generally speaking, these
gas lubricated seals, sealless pumps en- conditions reduce the eEciency of a
sure zero emissions to the atmosphere. sealless pump by 10-12% relative to
Several design alterations from con- pumps with shaft connections.
ventional pumps make this possible. A dry running condition can cause
The main difference is that the shaft failure in seconds in some sealless
does not pass through the side of the pump applications, unless provision is
pump (p. 78). Magnetic-drive pumps made for operatingunder these circum-
use a conventionalelectric motor and a stances. Use of silicon carbide sleeve
system of magnets to drive the pump. bearings have improved pump perfor-
"he process fluid is confined within a mance, but has not eliminated failure
containment shell, or can. from dry running.
This shell must take into account Care must also be exercised in evalu-
pressure service, chemical resistance ating process fluids and sealless pump
and temperature variations. Unlike a bearings, which commonly run in the
conventional pump, the mag-drive process fluid. Fluids that are poor lu-
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING/AUGUST 1995 82C
 ing the entire pump out of service.
Table 1presents an generic cost com-
parison over a ten-year period for gas
lubricated sealed and sealless pumps in
directly equivalent types of service. Ac-
tual costs depend on the size and horse-
power of the equipment and the control
technology employed. The units shown
are indexed relative to a double liquid-
lubricated mechanical seal. Input was
barg 0 5 10 15 obtained fiom Merent manufacturers
I I I I I
50 100 150 200 250 300 and users in the US., the U.K, Ger-
FIGURE ZThe John Crane spiral groove many and other European countries.
technology (top, right)facilitates the Installation costs include the pump,
noncontactingfeature of cartridgeseals motor and couplingin the case of a seal-
such as theType2800(top, left). less unit, and the seal, barrier and
FIGURE 3. Barrier gas consumption monitoring system for the sealed units.
under normal operating conditions can be 175-2W 105-150
calculatedfrom this graph. Seal diameter The N I Plan 53 piping arrangement is
plusthe mean seal face diameterare used for wet seals, and nitrogen for gas
between repair
multiplied by (shaft rotation rate)(..) to give
Total life- 125-130 65-90 seals. Operating costs include electric-
a rotational speed. The line with the ity, nitrogen consumption, and the use
nearest rotationalspeed can then be used cycle cost
to estimatethe consumptionrate of cooling water, where applicable.
TABLE I.These costs are basedon
directlyequivalent sealed and sealless T otal life-cycle cost includes a factor
bricants, abrasive or corrosive ad- pumps operating on the same for the longer repair cycles of the seal-
versely Sect sleeve bearing life. Liq- applications, and are indexedto a less unit and the sealed, noncontacting
uids with suspended -solids are also conventionalwet-seal pump = 100 gas lubricated system.
problematic. When these fluids are gas supply. A mag-drive pump may re- In some cases, the data show that the
being handled, a flush from an external quire a flushing system for lubrication gas lubricated, noncontacting sealed
source keeps bearing and magnetic and cooling. Both technologies require pump will be more expensive on installa-
areas clean. Toxic process fluids can monitoring systems. With a sealless tion. However, the sealed design wins in
contaminate this flushing liquid, caus- pump, the control of pump tempera- all other categories. Added to the wider
ing a disposal problem. ture, motor load, vibration and overall application range and better tolerance
When the shell on a mag-drive pump pumping performance is typically re- for difficult or upset conditions, these
breaks, there is little backup to prevent quired. In the case of aconventional data indicate that pumps equipped with
fluid leakage. Usually, a lip seal con- centrifugal pump equipped with gas lu- gas lubricated, noncontacting seals rep-
tains leakage, but heavily used pumps bricated seals, a modular flow board or resent a more reliable, and more eco-
are not always able to handle pressures control panel is required. This panel is nomical, choice for CPI pump users. H
above 300 psig. equipped with a coalescing filter, Edited by Nicholas Bash
Sealed pumps avoid these risks. flowmeter and pressure regulator. The
When the gas barrier is lost, the panel controls gas flow and pressure. Authors
J a m s Netzel is chief engineer at John h e , In-
process-fluid pressure will close the For the equivalent service, a mag- ternational(6400W. Oakton st..Morton Grove. IL
60053; te1708 967 2400), which‘hejoined uponre-
seals. The one noteworthy drawback of drive pump must usually have a higher eeiving his B.S.M.E. fmm the University of Illinois.
the gas lubricated seal is that barrier horsepower rating, increasing electric- He has over 30 years’ experiencein the design and
application of mechanical seals and systems. His
gas is essential. This gas must be ac- ity costs. In retrofit applications for an accomplishments include five patents on various
ceptable to the process (making inert existing centrifugal pump, only the lished seal designs, and technical papers apd articlespub-
throTh the Soc. of Tribolog~&~ and Lubri-
gases such as nitrogen preferable) and costs of the new gas lubricated seals cation Engmeers, ASME, h n . of Iron and Steel
to the atmosphere. Engineers (AISE) and various trade publications
need be considered. Convertingconven- and reference books on pump technology. He is an
tional centrifugals to mag-drive setups active member of AISE and ASME.
Economics clarifythe choices require changing out the pumphead, Glenn Pecht is product Specialist, noncontact-
ing, gas lubricated mechanical-seal applications.
Beyond the technical decisions that and sometimes new piping. He has 10 years’ experience in the research, de-
have to be made concerning pump Repair of canned or mag-drive sign and application of mechanical seals. He holds
numerous patents in mechanical seals and sys-
choices, an economic evaluation should pumps frequently requires the entire tems,and is currently responsible for specifica-
also be performed. It is important to ex- unit to be taken out of service, and He received tion and development of new sealing technologies.
his B.S. and M.S. degrees in engi-
amine total life-cycle costs, including often sent to the original equipment neering mechanicsh m the Universityof Wiscon-
installation, operation and repair. manufacturer. Unless spares are kept sin-Madison in 1984.
Moreover, there are additional in stock, downtime could. be experi- Mike Ralodimos is product manager for John
Crane International’sType 2800 seals. He has been
equipment expenses to consider be- enced. Repairing a gas lubricated seal, with the company for 11 years and has worked in
the advanced man&cturing engineering depart-
sides the pumps themselves. Pumps on the other hand, can be as simple as ment as a research engineer. He earned a B.S.d e
with gas lubricated seals require the replacing the seal 0-rings, without tak- gree fium Northern Illinois University in 1983.

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING I AUGUST 1995 82D