MAJOR RESEARCH PROJECT SCHEME - FINAL R&D REPORT

MRP

Title of the Project

Design and Tribo Performance Evaluation of Mechanical Face

Seals for High Power Applications
Submitted by

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Dr.S.SHANKAR

DEPARTMENT OF MECHATRONICS ENGINEERING

KONGU ENGINEERING COLLEGE
PERUNDURAI, ERODE – 638 052
TAMILNADU, INDIA
Tel: 0091 4294 226720
Fax: 0091 4294 220087
E Mail: shankar@kongu.ac.in
www.kongu.ac.in

Submitted to

UNIVERSITY GRANTS COMMISSION (UGC)

BAHADUR SHAH ZAFAR MARG,
NEW DELHI -110002.
 ABSTRACT
Mechanical seals were the machine elements designed to form a running seal between a
rotating and stationary part, especially designed to prevent leakages of liquid or gases in
centrifugal pumps, mixers, or other rotating equipments. The performance and reliability of the
mechanicals seals mainly depends upon the wide range of factors such as equipment design,
operation conditions, pumped or sealed fluid, pressure and pump speed, support system, material
characteristics, choice, and pairing of seal faces.This research work presents an investigative
study on the frictional characteristics of alumina, 316 stainless steel, and phosphor bronze
materials against resin-impregnated carbon in the form of mechanical seals. An experimental
setup was designed and fabricated to study the frictional characteristics of the seal for varying
normal load and speed. Pairing of stationary seal and rotary seal was done among the three
combinations among which alumina versus resin-impregnated carbon exhibited the superior
frictional characteristics. Whereas in comparison with 316 stainless steel versus resin-
impregnated carbon and phosphor bronze versus resin-impregnated carbon, the latter exhibited
the better frictional characteristics. Phosphor bronze pair and 316 stainless steel pair resulted in
low and stable friction coefficient in the range of 0.07–0.08 and 0.12–0.13, respectively. This
work highlights that the phosphor bronze might be an alternate substitute for the applications
involving 316 stainless steel as a seal face material, where the frictional characteristics was a
major concern.
Lubrication reduces the friction between the interfaces of sliding surfaces in the
mechanical seals that operate for extended period of time. Due to environmental issues caused by
mineral oil-based lubricants, the use of organic based vegetable oils had increased worldwide
due to the nontoxic and biodegradable characteristics. In this work an experimental study was
carried out by employing a seal pair of tungsten carbide and resin impregnated carbon
mechanical seals, its frictional behaviour was studied under the eco-friendly lubricant from the
class of vegetable oils — soybean oil and canola oil with an eco-friendly solid lubricant i.e. boric
acid powder. The friction characteristics was studied under unlubricated conditions, independent
paraffin oil, soybean oil, canola oil lubricating modes and finally 1 wt.%, 3 wt.% and 5 wt.% of
boric acid powder mixed individually with soybean and canola oil. After all running-in test of all
lubricating conditions, 5 wt.% of boric acid powder mixed with soybean oil had contributed a
hybrid tribofilm and resulted in the lowest friction coefficient value in the range of 0.06–0.07.
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Project Title : Design and Tribo Performance Evaluation of Mechanical Face Seals for High

Power Applications

File No. : F.No.42-871/2013 (SR)

Subject Area : MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

Principal Investigator: Dr.S.Shankar M.E., Ph.D (IIT Madras)

Associate Professor, Department of Mechatronics Engineering,

Kongu Engineering College,

Perundurai, Erode 638052, TamilNadu, INDIA.

shankariitm@gmail.com,

+91 94436 96035

Total Cost of the Project : INR. 7,62,000.00

Date of Commencement of the Project : 01.04.2013

Duration of the Project : 3 Years (2013 -2016)

Date of Completion : 31.01.2017

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Investigators wish to thank University Grants Commission (UGC) INDIA, for providing

the financial support to execute this project work through Major Research Project Scheme.

iii
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER NO. TITLE PAGE NO.

ABSTRACT i

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS v

1 INTRODUCTION 1

2 LITERATURE SURVEY 23

3 PROBLEM DEFINITION AND 30

METHODOLOGY

4 EXPERIMENTAL METHOD 32

5 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 42

6 CONCLUSION AND FUTURE SCOPE 49

REFERENCES 51

LIST OF PUBLICATIONS 54

iv
 LIST OF ABBREVIATION
API - American Petroleum Institute
CFD - Computational Fluid Dynamics
COF - Coefficient Of Friction
EPA - Environmental Protection Agency
Kg - kilo gram
kW - kilo watt
LVDT - Linear Variable Differential Transformer
mm - millimeter
PAO - Poly alpha olefin
PV - Pressure and Velocity
psi - Pounds per square inch
PTFE - Poly Tetra Fluoro Ethylene
rpm - Rotation per minute
RTD - Resistance Temperature Detector
TEI - Thermo-Elastic Instabilities
VI - Viscosity Index
VOC - Volatile Organic Compounds

v
 CHAPTER -1

INTRODUCTION

Dynamic sealing technology is concerned with providing sealing solutions for

machinery applications in which the conventional sealing ropes lack the required
durability. This rule applies to all products in general and to mechanical seals in particular.
Investigations have shown that the mechanical seal is critical component in pumps. The
most frequent cause of damage to mechanical seals is still cause’s damage to the sliding
faces due to improper lubrication between mating rings.

1.1 MECHANICAL SEALS

A mechanical seal is a device which helps to join the rotating systems or

mechanisms together using spring or hydraulic pressure. This type of seal can be used in
plumbing systems to prevent leakage in the tubes and pipes. It can also be used for
manufacturing industries and other high pressure applications. The basic rotating face
mechanical seal principle is adaptable to serve a tremendous number of sealing needs and
standard mechanical seals can suit most requirements including temperatures to 500˚F and
shaft speeds up to 3600 rpm through the choice of secondary seal and the combination of
seal and face materials which are offered. Seals can be ordered in balanced configurations
to seal pressures above 200 psi or used in a multiple for extremely high pressures or
especially severe fluid services. Special mechanical seals can be furnished to meet the
most demanding for industrial applications considering pressure, temperature, speed or
fluid.

1.2 SEAL IN PUMPS

A mechanical face seal is an important component of variety of pumps used in

chemical, petrochemical and process industry. The primary function of a mechanical seal
is to prevent the leakage of the process fluid from the pump housing and shaft to the

1
environment. The factors that affect the performance of a mechanical seal to leak are
friction, wear and its thermal characteristics.

An end face mechanical seal, also referred to as a mechanical face seal but simply
as a mechanical seal, is a type of seal utilized in rotating equipment, such as pumps,
mixers, blowers, and compressors. Figure 1.1 shows the pump operation with mechanical
seal placements. The liquid may be able to leak out of the pump between the rotation shaft
and the stationary pump casing. Since the shaft rotates, preventing this leakage can be
difficult. Earlier pump models used mechanical packing (otherwise known as Gland
packing) to seal the shaft.

Fig 1.1 Figure 1.1 Pump operations with mechanical seal

1.3 HISTORY OF MECHANICAL SEALS

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, many endeavours were made to develop
a replacement for the conventional, braided packing used for piston pumps and rotation
shafts. A more reliable system for different kinds of liquid-conveying rotating machinery
was desired by the 1930’s, the James walker Group came up with a mechanical shaft seal

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for refrigeration compressors. At the same time, the john crane company invented the first
automotive mechanical shaft seal. In the early 1940’s, the company developed and
introduced the patented elastomeric bellows axial shaft seal.

After this breakthrough in sealing technology, other types of mechanical shaft seals
were developed. With several types of mechanical shaft seals, the john crane company
adopted the tagline, “the right seal for the right application”. Today, john crane is still a
leading seals manufacturer along with Grundfos, Burgmann, Flowserve, etc. Recently
mechanical seal faces using laser mechanical seal face geometry is one of the most critical
design elements within a mechanical seal.

1.4 CONSIDERATION FOR FACE SEALS

Seal face properties such as balance diameter, centroid location, surface area,
surface finish, drive mechanism, seal materials and face topography can be altered to
achieve specific results in a variety of liquids. Seal face topography refers to the alteration
of an otherwise flat seal face sealing surface to one with a three dimensional surface. All
mechanical seals must contain the four elements described above but the way those
functional elements are arranged may be quite varied. The standards of modern mechanical
seals are widely defined by API Standard 682- Shaft Sealing Systems for Centrifugal and
Rotary pumps. Sectional view of the mechanical seal setup is shown in the Figure 1.2
mechanical seal usually fails due to three main issues such as seal face wear, seal face
distortion and seal fracture. Selection of materials for mechanical seals plays a key role in
its service life. The primary and mating rings are typically selected from dissimilar
materials to reduce the friction and wear.

1.5 MECHANICAL SEAL FUNDAMENTALS

Figure 1.2 illustrates the total layout within the single sealing assembly for pump
applications. The primary sealing surfaces are the heart of the device. A common
combination consists of a hard material, such as silicon carbide. Ceramic or tungsten
carbide, embedded in the pump casing and a softer material, such as carbon in the rotating
seal assembly.

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 Figure 1.2 Layout of mechanical seal attachment

Many other materials can be used depending on the liquids chemical properties,
pressure, and temperature. These two rings are in intimate contact, one ring rotates with the
shaft, and the other ring is stationary. These two rings are machines using a machining
process called lapping in order to obtain the necessary degree of flatness. The secondary
sealing surfaces (there may be a number of them) are those other points in the seal that
require a fluid barrier but not rotating relative to one another. Usually the secondary
sealing elements are o-rings, PTFE wedges or rubber diaphragms. In order to keep the two
primary sealing surfaces in intimate contact, an actuation force is required and is
commonly provided by a spring. In conjunction with the spring, it may also be provided by
the pressure of the sealed fluid. The primary sealing surfaces must be the only parts of the
seal that are permitted to rotate relative to one another; they must not rotate relative to the
parts of the seal that hold them in place. To maintain this non-rotation a method of drive
must be provided.

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 1.6 DESIGN MANIPULATION

In addition to the above terms and components, there is an additional terminology,

which is worth mentioning. The rings in the mechanical face seals should possess the
appropriate material properties. Generally the primary ring is made of a hard material to
allow the softer primary ring to run into it. Alternatively, in some applications, the primary
rings are made of the hard material and the mating ring is made of softer materials. In
special applications such as operation in some severe environments, the design may call
for a hard material to run on another hard material.

As discussed earlier, in a mechanical face seal contact occurs in between the

primary and the mating rings at the annulus. The essential character of the surfaces is that
they form a type of sliding bearing through which the sealed fluid attempts to flow in the
perpendicular direction to the sliding. The hard face sliding against a soft face has been
found tribological desirable. This combination provides the best overall performance.

The secondary seal can take a wide variety of different shapes and mechanisms. It
has the essential function of ensuring that the primary and mating ring faces are allowed to
self-align and maintain close proximity under all operating conditions while at the same
sealing between the ring and its mounting. There are several other O-rings that are also
secondary seals. However, the secondary seal allows small relative motion for alignment at
the same time. Many different types of springs are used.

1.7 MAJOR PARTS

1.7.1 Primary Ring

The ring is mounted so as to provide flexibility to allow for small relative axial and
angular motion for misalignment between the parts. The primary ring also provides one of
the sealing surfaces.

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1.7.2 Mating Ring

The ring is rigidly mounted to the shaft or to the housing but does not rotate. It provides
the second sealing surface. This ring works as a surface guided ring.

1.7.3 Secondary Seal

It allows the primary ring to have axial and angular freedom of motion while
retaining the sealing integrity. The secondary seals are the O- rings in the case shown in
Figure 1.2.

1.7.4 Spring

All mechanical face seals have some type of a spring mechanism to hold the
annular surfaces together in the absence of fluid pressure. The fluid pressure provides a
certain force that holds the surfaces together.

1.7.5 Drive Mechanism

All mechanical face seals must have some type of a drive mechanism or rely on
some other features to drive the primary ring in order to make certain that relative motion
occurs only at the annular interface. The drive mechanism is designed so as not to reduce
the self-aligning characteristics of the primary ring.

1.8 SELECTION OF MECHANICAL SEAL

The mechanical shaft seal should be selected according to the operating conditions
at the shaft seal location.
These important factors must be considered when selecting a mechanical shaft seal:

 Shaft seal diameter

 Type of pumped medium
 Temperature
 Sealing pressure
 Shaft speed of rotation

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1.8.1 Shaft Seal Diameter

The shaft seal diameter must be selected to fit the pump shaft. If no seal with the
required diameter is available, the shaft diameter can be changed with a bushing.

1.8.2 Type of Pumped Medium

The chemical resistance of the shaft seal materials to the pumped medium has to be
considered. The viscosity of the pumped medium affects the lubrication and leakage of the
seal. The viscosity of most media depends on the temperature. A single shaft seal can be
used for a dynamic viscosity below 2500 cP (centipoise). For a higher viscosity, a back-to-
back seal arrangement should be used.

1.8.3 Temperature

The elastomeric parts of the seal must be able to withstand the temperature of the
medium around the seal. This might be different from the temperature of the pumped
medium. If the temperature is above the boiling point of the pumped medium, lubrication
is poor. This must be considered when selecting seal design and materials. The face
temperature rise is a very important consideration for efficient frictional performance and
efficient design of mechanical seal. The temperature of sliding surface should be kept
minimum for efficient performance.

1.8.4 Sealing Pressure

The sealing pressure is the pressure around the seal. For high pressures, a balanced
seal should be used.

1.8.5 Shaft Speed of Rotation

If the speed of rotation is low, shaft seals with hard/hard material pairings might
produce noise because the lubricating film in the seal gap is extremely thin. At speeds
above 15 m/sec, a balanced seal with a rotating seat must be used to reduce seal unbalance.

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 In addition to these operating conditions, the content of abrasives and additives in
the pumped medium might be relevant to consider when selecting seal ring materials. In
some instances, the space available for the shaft seal is also an important factor. When
selecting the right sealing arrangement around the mechanical shaft seal, also take into
account the content of abrasives and the risk of build-up of wearing particles on the
atmospheric side as well as the health hazards, explosion risk and toxicity of the pumped
medium.

1.9 OTHER FEATURES

Mechanical seals have some unique features other than the sealing function. Thus
the features are,

 Invisible leakage
 Less friction/power loss
 Flexibility-to accommodate shaft deflections and “End play”
 No periodical maintenance
 Long life
 Low face temperature rise

1.10 MAJOR FAILURES

Here some failures can takes place with operating the seals, thus the failures are
listed and explained where it occurs. International analyses have clearly shown that
mechanical seals are responsible for 39% of the damage to pumps and are therefore the
most request cause. A breakdown of the costs accounted for by pump repairs also clearly
shows that mechanical seals represent the largest single factor considered at 44%.

 The seal motion was restricted and the faces opened.

 Heat caused the rings to deteriorate.
 The seal materials are improper.
 The seal was installed incorrectly.

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1.10.1 Motion Restricted

The spring-loaded (dynamic) seal face constantly moves to maintain full face
contact with the stationary seal face. The main reasons for this movement are,

 The stationary face is not perpendicular to the pump shaft.

 The pump has bearing end play. This means that the shaft moves back and forth a
few thousandths of an inch at frequent but random intervals.
 There is some impeller unbalance causing shaft whip.
 The pump is operated away from its BEP, causing side loads on the shaft.
 There is thermal shaft growth and pump vibration that affects the seal.

1.10.2 Thermal Degradation

The rings are the one part of a mechanical seal that are sensitive to heat because of
the way they are manufactured, when the two materials in contact with high pressure
action upon operating condition the dissipated power due to viscous friction and asperities
contacts in the sealing interface leads to a significant increase in temperature. Excessive
heat can cause thermal distortions on the seal face and accelerate wear, and thus increase
the leak path.

1.10.3 Improper Materials

Improper materials are nothing but chosen hard materials can make some failures like,
 Some wear is inevitable while operating two rings,
 Friction between two rings is high
 The metal seal components may corrode, crack, fatigue failures may occur.
 High face temperature rise

1.10.4 Incorrectly Installed

Many mechanical seals fail at initial start-up or prematurely because they were not
installed correctly. Cartridge seals eliminate all measurement, protect the seal faces from
contamination and are easy to install. With these seals, installation problem are minimized.

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The outside seal is preset and requires no installation measurement. Only in-line seals
require careful measurement to insure correct installation. By following the mechanical
seals installation instructions, step-by-step correct seal installation is easily achieved.

1.11 APPLICATIONS

 Aerospace industries for motors and engines in rockets and turbo jets.
 Water turbines, steam turbines, boiler feed pumps and nuclear reactor cooling
pumps.
 Water pumps used in irrigation, pumping of fertilizers and insecticides.
 Swimming pool pumps and garbage disposal pumps, dishwashers and washing
machines use small sealed pumps.
 The petroleum, chemical, textile and drug industry uses mechanical seal pumps
extensively in their respective processes.
 All automotive engines, compressor air conditioners.
 Ship propeller shafts as well as its auxiliary equipment in ship yards.

1.12 NEED FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

The research and development for mechanical seals leads to enhancing the standard
of the sealing technology in a various application of pumping systems.

1.12.1 Pollution Control Act

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) presently listed 189 substances as toxins

under the section 112 of the Clean Air Act. Hence the mechanical seals are required by law
to control emissions of toxic products. As per the EPA Regulations, Industries are
obligated to design such seals that do not damage the equipment, handle higher pressure or
vacuum, provides a wide range of environmental control options and are able to seal a
wider range of chemicals. When handling the volatile organic compounds (VOC), seal
selection is often determined by the specific gravity and maximum allowable emission
levels.

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1.12.2 Energy Cost

Now almost electricity demand in India is growing too high in every sector, hence
the electric power wastage should be minimized where ever possible. The consumption of
electric power which a mechanical seal drive is twelve to fifteen times less than what it
takes to drive a pump with compression packing. Mechanical packing rope drive permits
more leakage and requires much electrical energy to drive the pump. The number of
packing rings per set (4, 5 or 6 rings) increases the amount of energy required. A single
mechanical seal only have two flat, very low friction with hydroplaning faces pressed
together that must be driven. Average power consumption for various types of seals and
packing’s in southwest electric power company are listed below in Table 1.1 shows the
average power consumption by the different commercial seals when compared with the
mechanical seal. The total power cost consumed by the mechanical is $0.611 kW/hr i.e.
$1.46 kW/day i.e. $525.60 kW/year listed by south west electric power company.

Table 1.1 Power consumption (Garlock Sealing Technologies)

Additional H.p Additional H.p Cost of pump per

S.NO Type of packing
Required Required year
1 TFE Asbestos 6.00 4.400 $2312.00

2 Synthepak fiber-1 5.50 4.004 $2104.00

3 Synthepak fiber-1 5.00 3.652 $1919.00

4 Carbon PTFE 4.50 3.300 $1734.00

5 Carbon 3.00 2.200 $1156.00

6 Graphite 2.00 1.452 $763.00

7 Single mechanical seals 0.33 0.242 $127.20

The use of proper mechanical seal not only reduces the electrical energy loss but
also serves to save the expensive fluid being leaked from the pump. By taking a volume

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sample of leakage from a packed pump, measured in time, the amount of lost product each
day is calculated. By these calculations, most plants have realized the value of effective
mechanical seals over the compression packing.

1.12.3 Leakage Loss

The use of proper mechanical seal not only reduces the electrical energy loss but
also serves to save the expensive fluid being leaked from the pump. By taking a volume
sample of leakage from a packed pump, measured in time, the amount of lost product each
day is calculated. By these calculations, most plants have realized the value of effective
mechanical seals over the compression packing. Volume of leakage per minute to per
month is listed in the Table 1.2

Table 1.2 Leakage losses (Garlock Sealing Technologies)

S.NO Loss One drop per second Three drop per second

1 1 Minute Loss 1/12 ounce 2 ounce

2 1 Hour Loss 6 ounce 1 gallon

3 1 DAY Loss 1 gallon 24 gallon

4 1 WEEK Loss 8 gallon 175 gallon

5 1 Month Loss 34 gallon 700 gallon

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 CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE SURVEY

The industrialized world uses mechanical seals in variety of applications. Various

pieces of rotary or rotating equipment, pumps in particular, depend on mechanical seals to
prevent leakage. Familiar rotary equipment devices include automobile water pumps,
washing machines, dish washers, compressors, swimming pool pumps and farm service
pumps. Mechanical seals are used anywhere that liquid and gases are transferred by
rotating equipment (Kavinprasad, Shankar et al. 2015, Shankar, Praveenkumar et al. 2015).
The mechanical seal acts as a check valve and a slider bearing. The major objective of
mechanical seal is to prevent liquid under pressure from leaking out of the pump or any
other equipment, or from drawing air into the pump when under vacuum conditions. Since
the mechanical seal must function as a slider or friction bearing, the mechanical seal has an
unpredictable life span. The mechanical seal of a centrifugal pump is usually replaced
many times during the life of a pump. All bearings need lubricant and for the application of
mechanical seal(Kavinprasad, Shankar et al. 2013), lubricant is the liquid being pumped,
sometimes external tailored liquids are used as lubricants, to improve its frictional
properties and performance. It is specially designed to be used in centrifugal pumps,
mixers, compressors, boiler-feed pumps, agitators and rotary unions. It incorporates
various components such as rotating ring (softer material), stationary ring (harder
material), and a spring, which ensures the actuation force for proper mating of ring at
specific pressure. Over the past two decades, pioneering studies have been made in
improving the bulk properties(Kong et al., 2012; Sebastiani et al., 2012) and surface
sensitive properties of the mechanical seals to enhance its performance and durability. In
general, researchers had tried two approaches using surface engineering concepts
(Kovalchenko et al., 2011). Surface texturing has emerged in the last decade as a viable
option of surface engineering resulting in significant improvement in load capacity, wear
resistance, friction coefficient etc. of tribological mechanical components. Various

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techniques can be employed for surface texturing but Laser Surface Texturing (LST) is
probably the most advanced so far. LST produces a very large number of micro-dimples on
the surface and each of these micro dimples can serve either as a micro-hydrodynamic
bearing in cases of full or mixed lubrication, a micro-reservoir for lubricant in cases of
starved lubrication conditions, or a micro-trap for wear debris in either lubricated or dry
sliding, the state of the art in LST and the potential of this technology in various lubricated
applications like mechanical seals(Etsion and Halperin, 2002), piston rings and thrust
bearings. Surface texturing techniques were mainly utilized to improve the performance
characteristics such as vibro rolling, undulated surfaces, reactive ion etching, abrasive jet
machining, lithography and anisotropic etching. Overall, laser surface texturing(Etsion et
al., 1999) had proved to be the most advanced and effective technique which improves the
load bearing capacity, wear resistance, coefficient of friction of the mechanical seals by
producing number of micro-dimples on the sliding surface (Etsion, 2005; Hu et al., 2012;
Kovalchenko et al., 2005).

The performance and reliability of seals are known to be dependent upon the
thermal characteristics of the rotating and stationary rings. A part of the interfacial heat is
conducted into the rings. But a major portion of the heat generated at the rings interface is
removed by means of convection to the flush fluid that wets their outer surfaces. Also here
a material which is used in the seal faces have important role for tribological inability of
the whole system. So chosen material also should consider the failure of the seal face.
When overheating was noticed, under extreme operating conditions, during lab testing of
one of Chesterton’s heavy-duty cartridge dual seals, engineers decided to study the
situation. The goal was to find design changes that would improve the cooling
performance of the seal, thereby broadening its performance envelope. Many researchers
have applied advanced experimental and analytical tools to understand and quantify heat
transfer behavior of mechanical seals also they found tribological behavior improvements
on seal faces.

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2.2 DESIGN MODIFICATIONS

Apart from flow variation many researches tried some design modification on the
sealing faces for improving the heat transfer rate within the chamber. (Zhou et al., 2007)
considered the spiral groove design made seal faces having good heat transferring rate than
the flat faces. This design should regard as the annular ring thickness because that the
entire groove over the ring thickness make a weakening effect of thermal deformation.
Here the spiral groove design parameter such like spiral depth, angle, end radius and
groove width optimization having should dependent on maximum bearing force, frictional
heat of fluid film and the coupling effect between two seals. (Isaev et al., 2010) similarly
conducted the experimental with spherical dimple based design on surface enhancing the
heat transfer. The spherical depth has been ranges from 0.13 to 0.26 mm at the
corresponding value of based design on surface enhancing the heat transfer. The spherical
depth has been ranges from 0.13 to 0.26 mm at the corresponding value of Re range
from2*104 to 6*104. Even though this investigation is made with long channel for the
temperature 373K, then the air flow can be achieved here for turbulent velocity around the
channel. A good confidence in this investigation is the heat transfer rate can be attained
without any losses from the material strength. Furthermore the spherical shape rather than
the rectangle section with simple, square section with the dimple and polygon section with
the dimple design changes also should considered in the heat transfer rate improvements
over the surfaces.

Those above dimples based design changes investigation was made laminar flow
over the faces having good controlling of heat flux on the surfaces. The friction factor of
the faces can be deduced by using of dimple surfaces. The laminar flow based analysis in
not better than turbulent flow but rather than the laminar flow can be the one of best thing
which is improving the local average Nussalt number on the dimple surfaces, (Vite et al.,
2005) recently expressed with the experimental measurements and numerical means of
cylindrically shaped dimples engraved circumferentially on the outside diameter of the
mating ring. These design can be enhancing the reducing a seal’s interface temperature, it
can work more effectively under severe operating conditions. The results can be validated

25
with CFD analysis. (Brunetiere et al., 2010) approached on the thermo elasto
hydrodynamic behavior of face seals while operation at a mixed lubrication. Here the seal
assessment is done by considering six non dimensional parameters. The parameters are
Elastic parameter (Re), Dimensionless asperity height, dry friction temperature, reduced
balance ratio, sealing number, and coning number. The last two parameters are sufficient
to evaluate the performance of contacting seal faces. Here dry friction coefficient can be
used to correlate the dissipated power and temperature of seal faces. (Wang et al., 2010)
investigate the micro scale effects on spiral groove dry gas seal performance in a numerical
solution of a corrected Reynolds equation. The influence of micro scale effects on the
performance parameters of open force, leakage, Stiffness, Friction torque, and friction
power consumption are compared.

2.3 TRIBO PERFORMANCES STUDY

Jones et al., 2004 investigated the seal faces affected while running at dry condition
due to tribo behavior such like friction and wear. Here main properties considered were
seal material and PV (pressure and velocity) capability. The experiments were conducted
by various quantity of material combination of grades on carbon+resin impregnation with
Alpha sintered and reaction bonded silicon carbide materials in the sealing rings. The
rotating and stationary rings are co axially loaded results with the blistering film. When PV
(pressure and velocity) value limits, the blister can bombarded and the leakages increasing
consecutively. So the tribo behavior study becomes important for leakages avoidance.
Andersson et al., 2006 studied the micro texturing that can be drawn by the laser ablation
and polishing method of operation system. The investigation was based on two
independent experimental approaches with oil-lubricated smooth and laser –textured steel
surfaces in oscillating sliding contact with a steel ball. So this steel contact surfaces can be
the astonishing improvements of tribological performance achieved by high viscosity of oil
combined with texture comprising a low density of deep micro cavities. Engqvist et al.,
2000, studied the friction properties; the tribofilm of binderless cemented carbide and two
conventional cemented carbides have been evaluated in an unlubricated sliding contact in
either air or nitrogen surroundings. A continuously varied normal load and two rotational

26
speeds were used. For all materials, the higher sliding speed gave a lower friction force
than the low speed in both air and nitrogen environment. For conventional cemented
carbides, the friction coefficient fell with increasing load, whereas binderless carbide gave
about the same friction coefficient over the whole load span.

2.4 LUBRICANTS

Lubricants reduce energy loss and wear and avoid the sticking the interface of two
solid Surfaces. Due to environmental damage caused by mineral oil-based lubricants, the
use of organic based vegetable oil has increased worldwide due to the non toxic and
biodegradable characteristics of seed oils ( Jayadas, et al., 2007) Canola oils are becoming
more attractive in a wide range of engineering applications, Organic based oils are studied
due to their potential for lubrication, but thermal and oxidation characteristics of these
lubricants are quite limited. Canola seeds contain approximately 40-50% oleic acid, 65%
oleic acid (C18:1), 20% linoleic acid (C18:2), 9% linolenic acid ((C18:3), 4% palmitic
acid, and 2% stearic acid (C18:0). Stearic acid is fully saturated with no double bonds.
Oleic acid contains one double bond (monounsaturated), located at the 9th carbon. Linoleic
acid contains two double bonds (polyunsaturated) located at the 9th and 12th carbons. So it
is concluded that oil has features similar to olive oil ( Deshmukh, et al., 2006)

Soybean oil mainly consists of triacylglycerol molecules where the fatty acids are
derived mainly from oleic (C18:1, one unsaturation in the fatty acid chain), linoleic (C18:2)
and linolenic (C18:3) acids attached to a glycerol back bone. The relative distribution of
fatty acids in the molecule is largely based on the seed type and its genetic makeup.
Regular soybean oil fatty acid distribution typically consists of C16=4%, C18=3%,
C18:1=22%, C18:2=66% and C18:3=5%. High polyunsaturation in the molecule would result
in low thermal and oxidative stability, while higher degree of saturation would make the
oil solid at room temperature. Synthesis of poly hydroxy thioether derivative of soybean
oil (SBO) from epoxy soybean oil (ESBO) is an effective way of introducing branching at
unsaturated site as well as sulfur incorporation using a one-step intramolecular mechanism.
The removal of unsaturation in SBO by converting them to epoxy groups, followed by
introducing branching at the epoxy carbons, significantly improves the thermal and

27
oxidative stability of the oil. It has already been established that the presence of multiple
double bonds in the vegetable oil fatty acids (FA) chains accelerates oxidative degradation
(A. Adhvaryu et al 2000, Allen et al 2005)

2.5 LUBRICANT ADDITIVES

Petroleum-based lubricants are widely used in the manufacturing and industrial

sectors, as well as in automotive and many other mass market products. It is well
recognized that use of these lubricants introduces significant quantities of used petroleum-
based substances into the waste stream (Sutherland, et al.,2004). In the early 1990s, the
lubricity of boric acid, an overlooked but extremely available and environmentally benign
lamellar solid, was demonstrated by (Erdemir,et al., 1991). The shear strength of boric acid
has been experimentally determined to be 23 MPa, who performed high-pressure
(above500MPa) thrust washer experiments on a 6111 aluminum alloy plate coated with
boric-acid (Gearing, et al.,2001) Some of the original boric acid solid lubricant films were
created by dissolving the boric acid in water or alcohol, spraying the solution onto the
samples, and then allowing the solution to evaporate, leaving the boric acid behind as a
thin coating. This film formation method creates an extra step that is not compatible with
many current processes or products and may be one reason that boric acid lubrication has
not been adopted by industry. The work presented here indicates that delivery of dry
powder in an air jet can provide sufficient lubricant to cling to the work piece and achieve
good lubrication in situ. The feasibility of boric acid powders to sustain low friction when
delivered as a powder was shown in (Lovell, et al 2006)

In situ deposition of boric acid in dry powder form is investigated as a potential

environmentally benign solid lubricant for sliding metal contacts. Boric acid is widely used
in industrial processes and agriculture, is not classified as a pollutant by EPA, and
produces no serious illnesses or carcinogenic effects from exposure to solutions or
aerosols. Boric acid has been identified as a potential solid lubricant due to its lamellar
molecular structure. Further, it is abundant and environmentally benign, with no known
health risks to humans. These experiments clearly indicate that powder delivery of boric
acid is a viable technique for providing in situ lubrication for concentrated metal contacts.

28
This technique can reliably produce friction coefficients less than µ=0.1for a self-mated
steel contact and can reduce wear rates by 100 times or more. The method of powder
delivery can be improved and future directions for this technology should focus on
delivering powder to the contacts with minimal lubricant waste (Mccook et al., 2005).

29
 CHAPTER 3

PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION AND METHODOLOGY

Problem-free operation of pumps is an essential requirement for cost-effective and

reliable operation of plants and systems. Mechanical seals are used in the pumps to avoid
leakages, where the high pressure steam has great impact with seal rings due to loading.
The failures are mainly due to improper lubrication between mating rings, and improper
material selection. Hence this problem was considered for the present study and possible
solutions were suggested. Annually more than 40,000 new pumps installed in the process
industries needs to replace the failed units and over 80% of the failures are attributed due
to the problems originated from the mechanical seals. The failure of seal occurs while
running at lubrication, and improper material selection. So a proper lubrication possibly
with design modification and suitable material selection should provide a good result to
increase the service life of seals.

3.1 HEAT GENERATION & TRIBO PERFORMANCE

The maximum heat generation depends on the frictional force between the
stationary and rotating seals. According to dimensions and materials of seal ring, load and
speed values are considered for the application of the pump system. Failure of materials is
usually a sign of a mis-match of material to environment. The substantial construction of
seals excluded major failure of some main component, some concentrate on the effects of
environmental attack on sensitive components,

 The carbon will appear pitted. Acid attack on carbon is directed against the
impurities. The reaction of the impurities to the acid solution causes holes and pits
to form, weakening the structure and producing a porous carbon. A higher grade of
carbon is required.
 The springs can break. Stainless steel is known to fail due to chloride stress
corrosion. Many single coil springs driven seals fail because the spring breaks.

30
 They are usually inexpensive and over-engineered, but they still fail. Plated seal
faces are not corrosion resistant, so the plating material can be removed from the
surface.
 Metals corrode. In seals where metal parts are designed to be thin due to flexibility
requirements, metal bellows seals, welding techniques used in construction and
material compatibility with mating components and pumped fluids are factors that
affect the life of a seal.

3.2 METHODOLOGY

The experiment was conducted on the mechanical seal test rig and the
microstructure image was captured by using optical microscope. Seal ring was analyzed
under various load and constant speed conditions. The methodology for the proposed work
is shown in Figure 3.1.

Stationary seal -tungsten carbide

Rotary seal- carbon

Lubricant- Vegetable oil-

1. Canola oil
2. Soybean oil
Dry condition Soybean oil
Additive -
Canola oil Oil+1% Soybean oil
Boric Acid powder
Oil+1%Boric acid Oil+3% Soybean oil
Oil+3% Boric acid Oil+5% Soybean oil
Test combination
Oil+5% Boric acid
Results Optical Micrographs

COF and face temp obtained from

mechanical seal rig

Figure 3.1 Methodology

31
 CHAPTER 4
EXPERIMENTAL METHOD

4.1 DESCRIPTION OF EQUIPMENT

The seal test rig shown in Figure 4.1 and 4.2, is a versatile equipment to conduct
tests on multiple sizes of seals & also of different kinds of seal materials, it is a stand-
alone unit with holders for seals positioned at convenient height for east changing seals
after test and easy accessible for operation. It is equipped with a top holder fitted with
rotary seal is made to rotate and press over the hard surface on the stationary seal, the
stationary seal is locked in lower holder is made to press against rotary seal rotated by
spindle, proper spring pressure between rings is maintained to full engagement. Rotary seal
for test is clamped on spindle for rotating it up to 3000 rpm, the spindle is rotated on
bearings inside a stationary housing, the housing is mounted on a frame in vertical axis,
and the frame is mounted above a base plate supported on structure. The machine
specification is shown in Table 4.1. The spindle is rotated by a motor with belt drive, the
speed of motor is controlled by a variable frequency drive to provide uniform torque at all
speeds.The cylindrical plunger is housed within a LM (linear motion) bush, mounted on
the frame below spindle in line with its axis, the bottom of plunger rest over a load cell on
loading lever, the loading lever is pivoted horizontally over base plate at an offset distance
to get mechanical advantage for applying load manually. The loading lever swing in
vertical axis at pivot position , load is applied by placing dead weights on pan at longer
end of lever, while longer end of lever moves downward the shorter end of lever with
load cell pushes , the plunger vertically upward to press against the rotary seal with a force
equal to the product of (dead weight & mechanical ratio). On the fluid chamber two holes
are provide to inlet made to supply fluid to contact zone & to drain the fluid to a tank, for
this two ports are provided for connection on the outer diameter of fluid chamber , one port
is connected to pump and other to tank for draining fluid. To provide pressure to fluid inlet
a lubrication unit with gear pump is used, the lubrication unit is fitted with pressure gauge

32
and pressure relief valve, the fluid inside the tank is sucked by a motor gear pump fitted
with pressure gauge to supply fluid at a controlled pressure. The pumped fluid enters the
chamber through inlet port to rise into the sealing zone through a hole on bottom stationary
seal holder and flow out through the other hole with in the bottom specimen holder back
into the tank through a throttle valve. The throttle valve is set to discharge drop by drop at
20 drops/sec, since the fluid pumped do not drain because of throttle valve, pressure is
retained with in contact zone. The free rotation of fluid chamber on plunger axis is arrested
by an arm tightened horizontally on the outer diameter of fluid chamber, the free end of
arm press on a load cell prevents the rotation of fluid chamber.

Figure 4.1 Mechanical seal test rig

[A] Rotary seal clamped on spindle [B] stationary ring seated on fluid chamber
[C] Lubricating unit [D] frictional force sensor.
Figure.4.2 Parts of mechanical seal test rig

33
 Table 4.1 Machine specifications

SL NO TEST PARAMETERS SPECIFICATION

1 Speed Min: 300 rpm, max: 3000 rpm
2 Load 75 -2000N
3 Frictional torque Max 358Nm
3 temperature measurements at fluid inlet, within
3 Temperature
sealed zone and on bottom sample holder.
Stationary & rotary seals Rotary seal = Ø 45x Ø 38x28.5mm.Stationary seal
4
of pump : Ø43x Ø33x8mm (id x od x thick)
5 Power 230V / 50 Hz / 1 Ph / 1500 VA

4.2 CONTROLLER BOX

When Miniature circuit breaker on the machine panel is switched ON, the input
supply is sent to AC drive, Instrumentation transformer shown in Figure 4.3. The
transformer step downs to 15-0-15V and 0-10V, both these voltages are sent to data
acquisition card (I-DAS) for rectification and the regulated output is sent to sensors shown
in Figure 4.4. Depending on the input value of speed on pc screen, a corresponding voltage
is sent to motor for rotation on clicking RUN icon on software. One beam type load cell of
capacity 1100 kg is mounted inside the loading arm firmly and over it a roller arrangement
is fixed to exert pressure on the plunger in line contact. When dead weights are placed on
loading pan for applying normal load, the loading arm being hinged moves down lifting
the load cell portion of lever arm vertically upwards. This movement lifts the plunger &
ball pot till it touches top ball, and further movement exerts pressure on the contact area.
This exerted pressure is measured by the load cell and signal sent to controller for
processing and display.Three resistance temperature detectors (RTD) sensors are used to
measure the temperature of inlet fluid with in contact zone; it is mounted at bottom part of
fluid chamber, the output of sensor is processed inside I-DAS card and displayed on
software screen. Second RTD sensor is mounted on the side of fluid chamber with the tip
touching the outer diameter of stationary seal, the seal temperature measured is displayed
on screen, Third RTD sensor is fixed to the regulator of lubrication unit to measure the
fluid inlet temperature and measured temperature is displayed on screen.

34
 2
3
I
- 4
D
A
S

c [1] I-DAS card [2] line filter [3] transformer [4] AC drive
a
r Figure.4.3 Controller box
d
The proximity sensor is used to measure spindle speed, the least count of
measurement is 1rpm, and for this an rpm sensor disc (indexing plate) with slots on
circumference is fixed to top of spindle and rotates along with it. Proximity sensor is
mounted perpendicular to it on a bracket with equal gap for all slots on disc circumference;
signal is generated when sensor disc approaches the active surface with in the specified
switching distance. This sensor functions in contact less fashion and do not require any
sensing mechanisms

2
1

[1] Proximity sensor [2] sensor disc

Figure 4.4 View of proximity sensor.
Frictional torque is measured by a 200 kg beam type load cell fitted at a distance of
179 mm from the center of spindle, the load cell is fixed vertically on a bracket, with the
load cell button engaging the ball pot handle. The handle side of fluid chamber is fitted

35
with a taper bush to press the load cell button when test started; the force applied is
measured as frictional force and converted to frictional torque by multiplying by 0.179. An
inductive proximity sensor is selected as it has excellent means of detecting the presence of
a wide range of metallic targets. This detection is accomplished without contacting target
and is mechanically wear free. It is comprised of a high frequency oscillator circuit
followed by level detector, a post amplification signal circuit and drives a buffered solid-
state output. When the sensor disc is brought within effective range of the emitted field of
the oscillator, a damping action results which reduces the amplitude of oscillator. This
amplitude shift is converted to digital signal by the level detector, which drives a buffer
stage. When the object is removed, the oscillator and digital output is turned to its former
state.

The mechanical seal test rig is incorporated with the data acquisition card (I-DAS),
which does the sampling of signals obtained through the above mentioned sensors, and
thus converts into digital numerical values which can be manipulated by the computer and
the developed output screen is shown in Figure 4.5. The data acquisition card was
controlled by the software WINDUCOM 2010, which was development by Ducom
Instruments (INDIA).

Figure.4.5 Winducom 2010 software.

36
4.3 DESCRIPTION OF SEAL RING

4.3.1 Tungsten Carbide

Tungsten carbide (WC) is the designation of the type of hard metals based on a
hard tungsten carbide phase and usually a softer metallic binder phase. The correct
technical term of tungsten carbide is “cemented tungsten carbide”. However, the
abbreviated term “tungsten carbide” is often used for convenience, “cemented” being
understood. The hardness of WC is below that of most ceramics, whereas the wear
resistance of the material is superior, mainly due to its high toughness. Cobalt-bonded (Co)
WC is only corrosion-resistant in water if the pump is made of a non-inert material such as
cast iron. The corrosion resistance of some chromium-nickel-molybdenum-bonded WC
types is similar to stainless steel EN 1.4401 (AISI 316). WC with less than 0.5 % binder
phase has the highest resistance to corrosion, although the material is not resistant in media
such as water containing hypochlorite. Mechanical seal has rotary and stationary seal; the
rotary seal is carbon at inner diameter and the rubber portion. The rubber portion engaging
the metal surface has od×id= Ø 45× Ø 38 total height of rotary seal including spring
28.5mm. The stationary seal is made of three kind of material tungsten carbide, ring has Ø
43× Ø 33× 8mm thick seal inside the step bore on cylindrical rubber outer cover having
size Ø 52× Ø 33×10mm thickness. Figure 4.6 shows the machined seal rings.

[A]
[B]

[A] Tungsten carbide seal [B] resin impregnated carbon seal

Figure 4.6 Seal rings

37
4.4 LUBRICANT PROPERTIES

4.4.1 Properties of Canola Oil

Canola oils are becoming more attractive in a wide range of engineering
applications (Deshmukh, et al). Organic-based oils are studied due to their potential for
lubrication. But thermal and oxidation characteristics of these lubricants are quite limited.
Canola oil with the properties are given in table 4.2

Table 4.2 Properties of canola oil

Properties Value

Dynamic viscosity at 400C (mm2/s) 33

Dynamic viscosity at 1000C (mm2/s) 7.34

Viscosity index (VI) 158

Density (g/cc) 0.914

Flash point (0C) 275

Pour point (0C) -18

4.4.2Properties of Soybean Oil

Table 4.3 shows the major properties of the Soybean oil which is used as an
industrial lubricant to reduce wear and friction coefficient

Table 4.3 Properties of soybean oil

Properties Value

Dynamic viscosity at 400C (mm2/s) 38.6

Dynamic viscosity at 1000C (mm2/s) 8.52

Viscosity index (VI) 160

Density (g/cc) 0.934
Flash point (0C) 324
Pour point (0C) -16

38
4.5LUBRICANT ADDITIVE PROPERTIES
4.5.1 Properties Boric acid powder

Boric acid is the common term for orthoboric (or boracic) acid H3BO3, which is a
hydrate of boric oxide B2 O3. When in contact with water, boric oxide will readily
hydrate, converting to boric acid. Boric acid is a weekly acidic white powder that is soluble
in water (about 27% by weight in boiling water and about 6% at room temperature), soft,
ductile, stable, free flowing, and easily handled. Finely ground technical grade boric acid
powder (>99% pure) is readily available.

The Environmental Protection Agency has established that boric acid is benign and
it is not classified as a pollutant under the Clean Water Act. Material safety data sheets for
boric acid show no serious illnesses or carcinogenic effects from exposure to solutions or
aerosols. The consumption of boric acid and boric oxide is distributed among glass making
(78%),fire retardant(9%), agricultural fertilizer (4%), and industrial applications such as
metal plating and finishing, paints and pigments, electroplating, and cosmetics (9%). (A
dilute water solution of boric acid is also commonly used as a mild antiseptic and eyewash.

Boric acid powder is a viable technique for providing in situ lubrication

for concentrated metal contacts. This technique can reliably produce friction coefficients
less than µ=0.1 and can reduce wear rates by 100 times or more. The major properties of
Boric acid powder are shown in Table 4.4.

Table 4.4 Properties of acrylamide powder

Properties Value
Molecular Weight 61.83
Melting Point 170oC
Boiling Point 300oC
Water Solubility 4.72 g/100ml at 20oC
Density g/cm3 1.435
Flash Point Not flamable

4.6 MIXING OF LUBRICANTS

After investigation the frictional characteristics of each individual lubricant, the one
which shown the better frictional performance is selected, and premixed with 1%, 3% and

39
5% of Boric acid powder individually, heated to 45oC and mixed using magnetic stirrer
Fig 4.7 for 30min until the Boric acid powder is evenly spread throughout the lubricant
and to interfere complete soluble.

Fig 4.7 Magnetic Stirrer

The kinematic viscosity of each lubricant was measured at 45oC and 100oC using say bolt
viscometer Shown in Fig 4.8 (efflux cup viscometers).

Fig 4.8 Say bolt viscometer

4.7 TESTING PROCEDURE

The entire tests were carried out on a mechanical seal test rig, shown in Figure 4.1.
The stationary ring was mounted in fluid chamber that allows the self-alignment of the ring
and also permits axial loading of the stationary ring against the upper rotating ring. Initial
load of 100N was applied at the end of the lever for the full engagement of the stationary

40
and rotary ring. Each test includes a 3000s running-in period with a constant speed of
1500rpm for six loading conditions. After running-in, the load between the rings was
varied from 100N to 500N (in a step of 100N, 200N, 300N, 4000N, 500N) (Engqvist et al.,
2000). For each loading, the running-in period was 600s. After each loading conditions, the
test was halted for 5min. The seal face temperature; friction torque and coefficient of
friction were recorded for every 1s using WINDUCOM. The same procedure was repeated
for all the stationary rings tungsten carbide. For the entire testing, resin impregnated
carbon was used as rotary ring.

41
 CHAPTER 5

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

5.1 FRICTION COEFFICIENT

5.1.1 Under Dry Running-in Test

Tests were repeated with three samples and computed average friction coefficients
are shown in Figure 5.1. For each loading conditions, the coefficient of friction attains its
stable value approximately after 200s, which was found to be in agreement with the
previous studies. In case of dry running-in test, for tungsten carbide seal, the friction at the
initial stage (at 100N load) of running-in was low and remains constant (µ=0.134). The
factors responsible for this low friction may be due to the presence of foreign materials on
DLC coated seal layer such as (i) moisture (ii) oxides of metals and so on (Al-Samarai et
al., 2014). So there may be little or minimum metallic contact at the junction and also the
oxide film had lower shear strength resulting in low coefficient of friction. After initial
running in, the surface layer breaks up and the clean surface comes in contact, resulting in
the increase of frictional coefficient values because of inclusion of wear trapped particles
resulted with the increase in roughness, face temperature and friction force. Hence the
friction coefficient was found to be in fluctuating trend and after certain duration of
running-in approximately after 200s, the friction coefficient value attains a steady state.
The average of those friction coefficients (µ=0.172) at the load of 100N had been
calculated and shown in Figure 5.1. The same phenomenon was found for the other
loading conditions. The average friction coefficient at each individual load of 200N, 300N,
400N, and 500N was computed and shown in Figure 5.1. The microstructure of the sliding
surface of the tungsten carbide and resin impregnated carbon under dry running-in test
shown in Figure 5.6(a) and wear scar was found.

5.1.2 Under canola oil test condition

In addition to unlubricated case, a series of experiments were conducted with

canola oil as the base lubricant. When the lubricant was tested the friction coefficient was
found to increase from 0.099 to 0.123 over the sliding range tested. Fig 5.1 shows the

42
variation of friction coefficient. Canola oil used to reduce the friction by the formation of
temporary oil film with few molecules thickness. Oil film forms on the mating surface,
during working canola oil film can be broken due to the effect of applied load and
temperature. A combined lubricant of canola oil and boric acid powder, motivation of this
lubricant mainly focused on environmentally friendly. Canola oil with Boric acid additive
penetrates through the surface cracks on the contact surface and creates an oil film that is
the reason to reduce the friction coefficient by the effect of atomic layers under shear
loading (Duzcukoglu, et al 2010). So the film maintain friction coefficient about 0.129 to
0.089, 0.18 to 0.078 and 0.17 to 0.074 Boric acid powder mixed with canola oil in the
percentage of 1, 3 and 5 consiquetively. Fig 5.1 shows variation of friction coefficient,
when used 1% of boric acid with canola oil that can able to form a oil film on a metal
surface, although initial friction is low compare to percentage of 3,5. But when the final
friction value is comparatively high, this shows the weak oil film formation on metal
surface. When the boric acid powder mixed with canola oil with the percentage of 3,5 did
not degrade over entire range of sliding experiments. Initially both (3%, 5%) friction value
is high this clearly shows the oil film could not able to form on the sliding surface at
starting stage approximately after 300sec both 3%and 5% can able to form a strong
protective oil film on the sliding surface (Brizmer et.al 2012), and once the film form on
the sliding surface that will not degrade over entire range of time. After running in test for
3000s the surface roughness of WC seal found to be Ra=0.016 to 0.068 µm, Ra=0.016 to
0.051 and Ra=0.016 to 0.048 respectively. The microstructure of the sliding surface of the
tungsten carbide and resin impregnated carbon under Boric acid mixed with canola oil
running-in test shown in Figure 5.6(b) and wear scar was found.

43
 Figure 5.1 Variations of friction coefficient for dry and oil lubrication

5.1.3 Under soybean oil test condition

When soybean oil taken in to account the friction coefficient value lies between the
range of 0.11 to 0.087. The rate of decrease and increase in Friction coefficient is largely
influenced by oil structure and their ability to form thin lubricating film at the point of
metal contact. Fig 5.2 shows the soybean oil continuously breakdown because of tribo
chemical process(Engqvist, H., et al 2000). Oil concentration level is very important
consideration of friction. In order to increase the concentration level of soybean oil, boric
acid powder mixed with oil at the percentage of 1, 3, and 5 (Jianxin, D., et al 2012).
According to the percentage of 1, For the Initial load of 100N the friction coefficient
attains it stable value of µ=0.0953 approximately after 300s the friction coefficient
increased up to 0.1001. After the load 300N the friction coefficient is about 0.0903, and
400N 0.0806 and 500N 0.0764 this decrease of friction coefficient shows the soybean oil
and the additive of boric acid powder ability to form a strong tribo chemical film on the
metal surface this tribo chemical film is the reason for lowering the friction coefficient.
When boric acid powder mixed with soybean oil with the percentage of 3,5 the initial
friction coefficient µ=0.0729 and µ=0.0655 according to the tribo chemical film formation
on the metal surface the friction coefficient is gradually decrease in terms of µ=0.0803,
µ=0.0701, µ=0.0694, µ=0.0716 and µ=0.0793, µ=0.0734, µ=0.0676, µ=0.0611
respectively. Compare to 1% of boric acid powder 3% and 5% friction coefficient value is
low because of the oil concentration. Fig 9 shows the tribo film formation on the sliding
44
surface. After running in test for 3000s the surface roughness of WC seal ring found to be
Ra =0.016 to 0.063 µm, Ra=0.016 to 0.044 µm and Ra=0.16 to 0.041 µm respectively. The
microstructure of the sliding surface of the tungsten carbide and resin impregnated carbon
under Boric acid powder mixed with oil running-in test shown in Figure 5.6(c) and tribo
film was found and thereby no traces of wear scar was found.

Figure 5.2 Variations of friction coefficient for Boric acid powder mixed with Soybean oil
lubrication

5.2 FRICTION TORQUE

Fig 5.3 & 5.4 shows a frictional torque comparison between the canola oil and
boric acid powder mixed with canola oil, soybean oil and boric acid powder mixed with
soybean oil with the percentage of 1, 3 and 5. Friction coefficient has a direct dependence
of the frictional torque. The detachment of wear debris increases resulting in the increase
in surface roughness, by which the sliding resistance of the mating surface also increases.
So hence the increase in normal load (N) will increase the frictional torque which was
confirmed from the Fig 5.3. Among the two lubricants (WC seal against resin impregnated
carbon) soybean oil exhibits lowest friction torque.

45
 Figure 5.3 Variations of friction torque for dry and Canola oil lubrication

Figure 5.4 Variations of friction torque for dry and Soybean oil lubrication

5.3 FACE TEMPERATURE RISE

The face temperature increase of the mechanical was the important parameter to be
examined to investigate the frictional characteristics between the seals. In general, the face
temperature rise was commonly seen in all two lubricants. Fig 5.5 & 5.6 shows the face
temperature increase for two lubricants. Among which soybean oil mixed with boric acid
powder with percentage of 5, exhibited the lowest face temperature increase of 89 oC.
Whereas 1%, 3% of boric acid powder mixed with soybean oil exhibited 96oC, 95oC.
Soybean oil alone exhibited 110oC and dry condition 123oC. In case of canola oil mixed

46
with boric acid powder with the percentage of 1,3and 5 exhibited 105oC, 103oC, 92oC
respectively, and canola oil alone exhibited 114oC.

Fig 5.5 Variation of face temperature increase for Canola oil

Fig 5.6 Variation of face temperature increase for Soybean oil

47
 [a] [b]

[c]

Figure 5.7 Optical micrographs of tungsten carbide seal under (a) dry (b) Canola oil (c)
Soybean oil tribo film by Boric acid powder

48
 CHAPTER 6

CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE SCOPE

In this present work fundamental friction and interface temperature of carbon sliding
against tungsten carbide were evaluated using the mechanical seal test rig and the results
were summarized as follows

 From the above observed results, under dry running-in test condition, seals
produced high friction coefficient, high friction torque and high face temperature
which in turn reduce the life of the seal.
 Under canola oil and soybean oil running-in test, there was a decrease in the
friction coefficient, friction torque and face temperature than dry condition.
 Under 1wt%, 3wt%, 5wt% of boric acid powder individually mixed with canola oil
and soybean oil as lubricants, Soybean oil mixed with 5wt% of Boric acid powder
had exhibited the better frictional coefficient in the range of µ= 0.06 – 0.05.
 The fundamental molecular structure of boric acid allows it to act as an effective
solid lubricant film. When crystallized, boric acid forms weak Vander walls bonds
between individual layers and strong hydrogen (covalent) bonds within a layer.
Such a bonding structure makes the structural properties of boric acid highly
anisotropic.
 When tangentially loaded, the individual lamellae slide relatively easily over one
another. This was in contrast to the normal direction where the boric acid had a
relative high loaded carrying capacity. Hence, when properly aligned with a
substrate, boric acid will exhibit minimal friction and provide effective separation
between surfaces

6.1. Future Scope

 Alternate composite material can be employed as a stationary seal, hence can

increase the service life of seal, reduce the cost of the seal and reduce the leakages
drastically.
 Design optimization of spring and drive mechanism can also improve the service
life of the seal.

49
 Tribological behavior of PVD and CVD coated seals, composite seals can be
studied by developing various eco-friendly lubricants.

50
REFERENCES

1. Adhvaryu, A., and S. Z. Erhan. "Epoxidized soybean oil as a potential source of

high-temperature lubricants." Industrial Crops and Products 15.3 (2002): 247-254.
2. Allen, D., Bauer, D., Bras, B., Gutowski, T., Murphy, C., Piwonka, T., & Wolff, E.
(2002). Environmentally benign manufacturing: trends in Europe, Japan, and the
USA. Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering, 124(4), 908-920.
3. Al-Samarai, Riyadh A., Khairel Rafezi Ahmad, and Y. Al-Douri. "Effect of Load
and Sliding Speed on Wear and Friction of Aluminum–Silicon Casting Alloy."
International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications 2 (2012): 1-4
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Buss, W. (2007). Microlubrication effect by laser-textured steel
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53
PUBLICATIONS OUT OF THE PROJECT
Three Science Citation Indexed international Journals were published
[1]. Shankar, S., S. Kavinprasad, and M. Karthic, “Experimental and CFD
investigations of carbon/SS316 mechanical face seals under different lubricating
conditions.” Industrial Lubrication and Tribology 67.2 (2015): 124-132. (IF – 0.402)
[2]. Shankar, S., G. Praveenkumar and P. Krishna Kumar. “Frictional study
of alumina, 316 stainless steel, phosphor bronze Vs carbon as mechanical seals
under dry sliding conformal contact.” Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical
Engineers Part J: Journal of Engineering Tribology 229.11 (2015): 1292-1299. (IF
– 0.916)
[3]. Shankar, S., G. Praveenkumar and P. Krishna Kumar. “Experimental study on
frictional characteristics of tungsten carbide versus carbon as mechanical seals
under dry and eco-friendly lubrications.” International Journal of Refractory Metals
and Hard Materials 54 (2016): 39 – 45. (IF – 1.989)

54
 Industrial Lubrication and Tribology
Experimental and CFD investigations of carbon/SS316 mechanical face seals under different lubricating
conditions
S. Kavinprasad S. Shankar M. Karthic
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 Experimental and CFD investigations of
carbon/SS316 mechanical face seals under
different lubricating conditions
S. Kavinprasad and S. Shankar
Department of Mechatronics Engineering, Kongu Engineering College, Erode, India, and
M. Karthic
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kongu Engineering College, Erode, India

Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test mechanical face seals made of carbon/SS316 with different coolants for evaluating its tribological
performance. The reliability of a mechanical seal mainly depends on the seal materials and the type of coolant used for the lubrication.
Design/methodology/approach – Compressed air, vacuum and nitrogen are the main coolants utilized for the experimental work, and the
obtained results are compared with the dry running case for a specified period. The experimental results are also validated with the computational
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fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation results.

Findings – The results shows that the sealing pressure, sliding speed and materials used would be the predominant factors for the seal design. Over
compressed air, vacuum and nitrogen cooling techniques were found to be more efficient.
Originality/value – The experimental results are also validated with the CFD simulation results. This paper also emphasizes the usage of vacuum
as a cooling medium in industries, which will enhance the seal life at an economical cost over nitrogen.
Keywords CFD, Lubrication, Compressed air, Nitrogen, Seals, Vacuum
Paper type Research paper

Nomenclature service life of mechanical seals, thus providing better

Ri ⫽ Radius of inner flow surface, m
Rr ⫽ Radius of rotary ring outer surface from the axis of
revolution
Ro ⫽ Radius of outer flow surface
Rs ⫽ Radius of stationary ring outer surface from the axis
of revolution
EP ⫽ Power loss due to friction, W
PG ⫽ Sliding pressure, Mpa
VG ⫽ Sliding velocity, m/s
AF ⫽ Area of sliding faces, m2
f ⫽ Coefficient of friction
1. Introduction
Mechanical seals serve an essential role in high-pressure
centrifugal pumps, especially for the continuous running process.
More specifically paper industries rely on mechanical seals to
prevent pulp and black liquor leakages. The Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA, 2006) suggests that the improvement
of mechanical seal design is mandatory for controlling toxic
emission leakages from the pump. Lebeck (2008) enhanced the
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on
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environmental conditions and zero maintenance requirements.
Yu et al. (2003) found that the primary cause for mechanical seal
failure is the temperature rise due to friction at the interface,
which in turn influences the average service life of the seals.
However, the proper material selection, spring pressure,
installation and alignment play a key role in reliability of the face
seals; among these, the temperature rise has a drastic effect on
seal failure. The excessive temperature rise may be due to
improper material selection or sudden start-up and stop
conditions, but in most cases, the rise in temperature at the
interface will be due to the dry running conditions, i.e. in absence
of lubrication. Eagle Burgman (2006) damage analysis survey
presents that about 55 per cent of the mechanical seal breakdown
is due to dry running conditions. Hence, lubrication at the seal
face interface is a major criterion to avoid seal failure. The seal
designers suggest that both liquid and gas lubrication systems
reduce majority of the wear based on the usage and applications.
Ruan et al. (1997) showed that even the mixed lubrication of
liquid and gas has a better effect in the heat removal between the
interfaces. Water is the most commonly used economical coolant
for the mechanical seal lubrication system. Chang and Wu
(1996) concluded that water lubrication results in an effective
heat removal rate and lower coefficient of friction as compared to
oil. Conversely, the disadvantages of water lubrication are its
corrosive properties, scale formation and limited area of
application. In addition, the water used for the lubrication cannot

Industrial Lubrication and Tribology

67/2 (2015) 124 –132 Authors wish to thank University Grants Commission (UGC) INDIA, for
© Emerald Group Publishing Limited [ISSN 0036-8792] their financial support to execute this project work through Major
[DOI 10.1108/ILT-03-2013-0037] Research Project Scheme.

124
 Carbon/SS316 mechanical face seals
S. Kavinprasad, S. Shankar and M. Karthic
be expended for edible purpose, as the toxic pumping fluid may
mix with the coolant and it affects the environment. Henceforth,
gas lubrication is the budding trend in pioneering process
industries due to its green technology, according to World
Pumps (2001). Gas lubrication may either be induced draft or
forced draft. In this work, the performance of the mechanical seal
faces is tested under dry, compressed air, nitrogen and vacuum
lubricating conditions. Despite the fact that the air and nitrogen
are similar, nitrogen has some enticing figures. Kato et al. (2002)
suggest that the friction coefficient is effectively reduced by
blowing nitrogen (N2) gas for carbon nitride coating for the
tribo-testing process. It is a very complex process to study the
whole environment of the mechanical seal for different working
conditions experimentally, but (Meck and Zhu, 2008) a
computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation has provided
promising results in the mechanical seals. In this work, an
experimental setup is designed and developed to simulate the
real-time mechanical seal performance. The effects of
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temperature rise and coefficient of friction for different loading
conditions are evaluated for varying sliding speeds with different
cooling mediums such as air, N2 and vacuum. Also, a CFD
approach is used to optimize the lubricant’s mass flow rate for
effective heat transfer at different sliding speeds, and also, the
simulation is further utilized to study the thermal behavior of seals.
2. Experimental setup and testing procedure
The developed mechanical seal test rig is shown in Figure 1. The
test rig includes the air compressor, N2 cylinder and vacuum
pump for testing the seals under different lubricating conditions.
Seal test setup shown in Figure 2 is enclosed with a dynamic
annular ring made of antimony carbon constrained and pressed
against a stator ring made of SS316. The test rig consists of a
control system which will systematically and periodically monitor
and control rotation, loading and the cooling system. During the
operation, the frictional torque is monitored with the help of a
friction load cell attached to the tension bar analogous to the
experimental setup in the study by Qiu and Khonsari (2011)),
and the corresponding speed is monitored and controlled using
the variable-frequency drive. The coolant rate and the pressure of
the fluid at the inlet and outlet are monitored using the Lab
VIEW software. The temperature at the inlet and outlet can be
monitored by interfacing a 6221 data acquisition (DAQ) card
Figure 1 Mechanical seal test rig – photographic view
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Industrial Lubrication and Tribology
Volume 67 · Number 2 · 2015 · 124 –132
Figure 2 Schematic diagram of mechanical seal test setup
with a J-type thermocouple. The loading system consists of a
lever arm attached with the overhanging load. The load control
can be done manually by changing the known weight, and the
load can be monitored with the help of a load cell with a
maximum capacity of 392 N. The air velocity is measured using
anemometer AM-4201.
The experiment is allowed to run for an equal interval of 5
minutes for each set of speed. The sliding speed is varied from
200 to 1,200 rpm for three different loading conditions, 58, 67
and 76 N, respectively. Selection of these loads depends on the
leakage and maximum load factor of the seals used. The inlet gas
velocity is maintained between 3 and 3.2 m/s for all the three
cooling mediums, with an inlet pressure of 200 kPa and outlet
pressure at atmospheric conditions. The inlet and outlet coolant
flow pipe diameter of the seal chamber is 6 mm. The experiment
is conducted at room temperature (30°C) at a relative humidity
of 40-60 per cent (Wan and Xiong, 2008). The entire setup is
maintained (allowed to cool) at 28°C before carrying out each
test. The interface temperature is measured by using the
thermocouple system at 3 mm above the surface contact between
the primary and mating rings. The temperature is measured at two
opposite points, and the maximum temperature is taken for the
experimental study. The material characteristics used for the
experimentation are shown in Table I. The temperature is
measured at the contact interface between the mating rings,
similar to the experiments done by Brunetière and Modolo
(2009) and Luan and Khonsari (2009a, 2009b).
Seals are first tested under dry line contact for different speeds
and loading conditions based on the experiments done by Jones
(2004), and the results are compared with the three different
lubrications. Conventionally, the compressed gas is used as the
gas lubrication system in the mechanical seals. N2 gas is known
for its cooling property and has been taken for the test and
compared with dry, compressed air and vacuum.
Vacuum-assisted cooling, on the other hand, is a new technology
of cooling at a reliable cost compared with nitrogen. Seal rings
 Carbon/SS316 mechanical face seals Industrial Lubrication and Tribology
S. Kavinprasad, S. Shankar and M. Karthic Volume 67 · Number 2 · 2015 · 124 –132

Table I Material characteristics (thermal properties at 30°C)

Surface roughness (␮m)
Serial no. Material Thermal conductivity W/mK Density kg/m3 Specific heat J/kg.K Ra Rz Rq
1 SS316 16.8 8,000 506 0.21 1.3 0.27
2 Carbon 1.7 2,267 700 0.06 0.5 0.08
3 Air 0.0272 1.227 1,006 –
4 Nitrogen 0.023 1.1267 1,039
5 SS306 16.2 8,000 500

used for the test were machined and lapped for fine surface
roughness, and the roughness parameters were tested using
MITUTOYO SJ-400 series and the values are listed in Table I.
3. Results and discussions
3.1 Influence of various lubricating conditions over the
interface temperature
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measured. Figure 3(a) shows the effect of dry running,
compressed air, nitrogen and vacuum conditions over the
temperature rise at a load of 58 N. It is apparent that the
temperature rise at the interface is very minimal at lower
speeds up to 400 rpm for all lubricating mediums. It is also
noted that at lower loads, there is a negligible temperature
difference between air and vacuum. The nitrogen lubrication

The experiments were conducted, and the temperature rise shows effective heat removal rate with the lowest temperature rise
at the interface for the various lubricating conditions was of 37°C at 1,200 rpm. Figure 3(b and c) shows the interface

Figure 3 Temperature rise at (a) 58 N load; (b) 67 N load and (c) 76 N load

126
 Carbon/SS316 mechanical face seals
S. Kavinprasad, S. Shankar and M. Karthic
temperature for 67 and 76 N loading conditions. It is noted
that at a peak load of 76 N, vacuum lubrication has the least
temperature rise compared with the other lubricating
mediums. Even though the temperature rise of vacuum
lubrication at 1,200 rpm is a little higher than nitrogen, the
temperature rise is very minimal from 200 to 1,200 rpm. The
seal running under dry condition produces a temperature rise
as high as 66°C at 1,200 rpm for the closing force of 76 N,
whereas the vacuum lubrication produces 43°C, similar to air
lubrication (nearly 43°C) at same flow velocity.
3.2 Influence of various lubricating conditions over the
coefficient of friction
From the experimentation, the friction coefficient was
calculated and plotted as the function of speed and loading
conditions. From Figure 4(a, b and c), it is evident that the
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coefficient of friction is strongly dependent on speed rather
Figure 4 Coefficient of friction at (a) 58 N load; (b) 67 N load and (c) 76 N load
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Industrial Lubrication and Tribology
Volume 67 · Number 2 · 2015 · 124 –132
than the load of the driven system. The friction coefficient
value decreases exponentially when the sliding speed increases
from 200 to 1,200 rpm. The friction coefficient value
decreases around 4-5 per cent at lower speeds. Mostly, at all
loading conditions, the coefficient of friction value is in
between 0.08 and 0.09 for the dry condition, whereas for
vacuum, the value is in between 0.0055 and 0.05. Even
though the nitrogen produces the least coefficient of friction
value, vacuum provides better result than the compressed air
lubrication. The main advantage of using vacuum lubrication
is that it is cost-effective when compared to nitrogen
lubrication in large-scale industries. In all the three loading
conditions, the lubrication effect of the compressed air is not
appreciable when compared with vacuum or nitrogen
lubrication. Hence, the reduction in interface temperature
results in lowering the thermal expansion and distortions at
the contact region, and it improves the service life of the
mechanical seal.
 Carbon/SS316 mechanical face seals
S. Kavinprasad, S. Shankar and M. Karthic
3.3 Measurement of power loss due to friction
Luan and Khonsari (2009a, 2009b) found that power loss or
heat generation rate (EP) due to friction at the seal interface
depends on the sliding pressure, velocity of sliding faces,
contact area and coefficient of friction, and the relationship is
given as:
EP ⫽ PG ⫻ VG ⫻ Af ⫻ f (1)
A comparison is made with the power consumption against the
angular velocity to study the heat generation rate for different
operating conditions (Brunetière, 2010). Figure 5(a, b and c)
shows the change in heat generation rate for various coolants for
the three loading conditions with respect to change in speed. The
power loss due to friction has a sustainable rise during the dry
condition, and it attains a maximum of 5.5 W at 1,200 rpm at an
applied load of 58 N. In all the three loading conditions, vacuum
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Figure 5 Heat generation rate due to friction at (a) 58 N load; (b) 67 N load; and (c) 76 N load
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Industrial Lubrication and Tribology
Volume 67 · Number 2 · 2015 · 124 –132
lubrication produces better results than air lubrication. It is also
evident that the power loss occurs when the speed increases.
4. CFD modeling and simulation
The complex time-dependant mechanical seal problems can
be easily solved using the CFD simulation software package
(Clark et al., 2002). A three-dimensional model of the seal
chamber is modeled and analyzed using ANSYS 14 Fluent®.
Figure 6 shows the sectional view of the mechanical seal
chamber. Figure 7 shows the hybrid mesh with 8.32 lakh
finite-volume elements is utilized to mesh the model and
around 6,400 iterations are taken for the convergence. The
results from the CFD simulations are utilized to optimize the
mass flow rate for the mechanical seal. The operating
conditions and the principal dimensions utilized for modeling
the seal chamber are given in Tables II and III. The flow rate
 Carbon/SS316 mechanical face seals Industrial Lubrication and Tribology
S. Kavinprasad, S. Shankar and M. Karthic Volume 67 · Number 2 · 2015 · 124 –132

Figure 6 Sectional view of the mechanical seal
is varied from 0.01 to 0.2e⫺4 kg/s. It is found that the flow
rate has a significant role in the heat transfer. At the initial
stage, from 0.01 to 0.11e⫺4 kg/s, the heat transfer rate
increased substantially, but beyond 0.11e⫺4 kg/s, the
increase in mass flow rate does not have an effective heat
removal efficiency because the fluid flows with high velocity
without removing the heat at the surface of the seal. The
temperature distribution is comparatively less in the bottom
ring, as the thermal conductivity of the carbon is very low
when compared with SS316. re-normalisation group
(RNG) k – ␧ model was utilized, as it gives more accurate
results (Xiao and Khonsari, 2011). The inlet velocity is
given as 3 m/s for the diameter of 0.006 m, assuming a
turbulent intensity of 5 per cent. The convective heat

Figure 8 Experimental and CFD results of vacuum cooling at

different loads
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Figure 7 3-D Mesh model of the mechanical seal

Figure 9 Experimental and numerical results of nitrogen cooling at

different loads

Table II Operating conditions and principal dimensions

Elements Dimensions
Baffle plate 2 mm thick
Rotary ring (mm) – outer radius 42
Rotary and stationary ring (mm) – inner radius 18
Stationary (mm) outer radius 46
Mass flow rate (kg/s) 0.004-0.0000117
Velocity of gas (m/s) 2.8-3

Table III Dimensions of the mechanical seal

Name Ri Ro Rs Rr L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6
Dimensions in mm 18 26.5 23 21 5 29 32 36 53 66

129
 Carbon/SS316 mechanical face seals Industrial Lubrication and Tribology
S. Kavinprasad, S. Shankar and M. Karthic Volume 67 · Number 2 · 2015 · 124 –132

Figure 10 Interface temperature distribution at 67 N for a speed of 800 rpm

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130
 Carbon/SS316 mechanical face seals
S. Kavinprasad, S. Shankar and M. Karthic
transfer coefficient for the walls of rotating and stationary
rings is given as 15 W/m2K with a free stream temperature
of 300 K. The pressure outlet of the coolant line at the
atmospheric condition is assumed with backflow turbulent
intensity of 5 per cent. Heat generation rate is calculated
using equation (1) to analyze the temperature at the
interface. Xiao and Khonsari (2011) calculated the heat
generation rate in the form of the energy equation,
assuming that there is no radiation effect. Similar
conditions are utilized to solve this problem.
5. Comparison between experimental and CFD
results
Simulations are made for nitrogen, air and vacuum cooling
conditions. Figures 8 and 9 show the comparison between
the experimental and simulated results for nitrogen and
vacuum cooling at three loading conditions The
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experimental results almost follow a similar trend with the
CFD results. The difference between the experimental and
CFD simulation is negligible, and the difference is around
1-2°C for all the cases. The difference is due to the slight
variation in actual coefficient of friction, fluid pressure,
variation in natural convection and other environmental
factors. Figure 10(a) shows the interface temperature
distribution for air at 67 N for a speed of 800 rpm. From the
figure, it is evident that the heat transfer is very high in the
upper ring when compared with the bottom ring, and this is
due to the fact that the thermal conductivity of SS316
(upper ring) is almost 10 times higher than that of carbon
(lower ring). It is also noted that the heat carried out by the
coolant at the surface of the seal chamber is much higher
than at the center of the coolant. Figure 10(b and c) shows
the interface temperature distribution for vacuum and
nitrogen at 67 N for a speed of 800 rpm. Similar
observations are made for all the cases.
6. Conclusions
In this work, an experimental setup is designed and
developed to simulate real-time mechanical seal
performance. The effects of temperature rise and coefficient
of friction for different loading conditions were evaluated
for varying sliding speeds with different cooling mediums
such as compressed air, N2 and vacuum. Tribological
investigation of carbon against stainless-steel rings was
made, and the results show that the atmospheric air had the
least effect in cooling the seal face interface under all
applied loads and speeds. There was only 3-5°C
temperature difference between the dry running and
compressed air. But, the nitrogen cooling made a
predominant effect in temperature when compared with the
other lubricants. Vacuum, in contrast, showed appreciable
temperature reduction almost equal to nitrogen. Though
nitrogen stands best out of three, there were some practical
difficulties in implementation of nitrogen lubrication in all
industries due to its expensive production cost. Further, the
optimization of mass flow rate using CFD was made; heat
transfer was efficient when the flow rate was 0.11e⫺4 kg/s.
When it was increased further, the coolant had a minimum
effect over the boundary lubrication. The experimental and
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Industrial Lubrication and Tribology
Volume 67 · Number 2 · 2015 · 124 –132
CFD results almost follow a similar trend with negligible
variations. Further, the coefficient of friction plays a key
role in heat generation rate. It can be seen that the power
loss due to friction is almost similar for nitrogen and
vacuum. Though the flow rate and pressure of air and
vacuum were same, the heat transfer rate was good in the
case of vacuum.
References
Brunetière, N. (2010), “An analytical approach of the
thermoelasto hydrodynamic behavior of mechanical face
seals operating in mixed lubrication”, Proceedings of the
Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part J: Journal of
Engineering Tribology, Vol. 224 No. 12, pp. 1221-1233.
Brunetière, N. and Modolo, B. (2009), “Heat transfer in a
mechanical face seal”, International Journal of Thermal
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simulation of mechanical seal leads to design change that
improves coolant circulation”, Materials and Design, Vol. 23
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Eagle Burgman (2006), “Application of mechanical seals”,
62E, p. 6.
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mechanical seal face materials in dry line contact: part II.
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Kato, K., Umehara, N. and Adachi, K. (2002), “Friction,
wear and N2-lubrication of carbon nitride coatings”,
Proceedings of the NordTrib Conference, Uppsala.
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leakage backward pumping mechanical face seals”,
Tribology Transactions, Vol. 51 No. 4, pp. 389-395.
Luan, Z. and Khonsari, M.M. (2009a), “Analysis of conjugate
heat transfer and turbulent flow in mechanical seals”,
Tribology International, Vol. 42 No. 5, pp. 762-769.
Luan, Z. and Khonsari, M.M. (2009b), “Heat transfer
correlations for laminar flows within a mechanical seal
chamber”, Tribology International, Vol. 42 No. 5,
pp. 770-778.
Meck, K.D. and Zhu, G. (2008), “Improving mechanical seal
reliability with advanced computational engineering tools,
part 2: CFD and application examples”, Sealing Technology,
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investigation of tribological performance of laser textured
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 Carbon/SS316 mechanical face seals Industrial Lubrication and Tribology
S. Kavinprasad, S. Shankar and M. Karthic Volume 67 · Number 2 · 2015 · 124 –132

Yu, X.Q., He, S. and Cai, R.L. (2002), “Frictional
characteristics of mechanical seals with a laser-textured seal
face”, Journal of Materials Processing Technology, Vol. 129
No. 1, pp. 463-466.
Further reading
Garlock Sealing Technologies, “Technical manual”, pp. 3-15.
(2001), “GD - a new generation of gas lubricated mechanical
seals for vessels in the chemical industry”, World Pumps,
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Wan, Y. and Xiong, D.S. (2008), “The effect of laser
surface texturing on frictional performance of face seal”,
Journal of Materials Processing Technology, Vol. 197 No. 1,
pp. 96-100.
Corresponding author
S. Shankar can be contacted at: shankariitm@gmail.com

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132
Original Article

Proc IMechE Part J:

J Engineering Tribology
Frictional study of alumina, 316 stainless 2015, Vol. 229(11) 1292–1299
! IMechE 2015
steel, phosphor bronze versus carbon Reprints and permissions:
sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav

as mechanical seals under dry DOI: 10.1177/1350650115577116

pij.sagepub.com

sliding conformal contact

S Shankar1, G Praveenkumar1 and P Krishna Kumar2

Abstract
This paper presents an investigative study on the frictional characteristics of alumina, 316 stainless steel, and phosphor
bronze materials against resin-impregnated carbon in the form of mechanical seals. An experimental setup was designed
and fabricated to study the frictional characteristics of the seal for varying normal load and speed. Pairing of stationary
seal and rotary seal was done among the three combinations among which alumina versus resin-impregnated carbon
exhibited the superior frictional characteristics. Whereas in comparison with 316 stainless steel versus resin-impreg-
nated carbon and phosphor bronze versus resin-impregnated carbon, the latter exhibited the better frictional charac-
teristics. Phosphor bronze pair and 316 stainless steel pair resulted in low and stable friction coefficient in the range of
0.07–0.08 and 0.12–0.13, respectively. This work highlights that the phosphor bronze might be an alternate substitute for
the applications involving 316 stainless steel as a seal face material, where the frictional characteristics was a major
concern.

Keywords
Mechanical seal, friction, 316 SS, alumina, phosphor bronze, carbon

Date received: 24 December 2014; accepted: 19 February 2015

Introduction techniques involving the deposition of nanocrystalline

Mechanical seals were the machine elements designed
to form a running seal between a rotating and station-
ary part, especially designed to prevent leakages of
liquid or gases in centrifugal pumps, mixers, or
other rotating equipments.1,2 The performance and
reliability of the mechanicals seals mainly depends
upon the wide range of factors such as equipment
design, operation conditions, pumped or sealed
fluid, pressure and pump speed, support system,
material characteristics, choice, and pairing of seal
faces.3,4 However, it was reasonable to conclude that
the material properties limit the severity of the appli-
cation that mechanical seals can withstand.2,5 For the
past two decades, tremendous efforts were put in to
develop many newer exotic materials to meet the
increasing demand for higher performance of mech-
anical seals to meet harsher and tougher operating
conditions.6,7 In general, researchers had tried two
approaches to improve the frictional characteristics
of the mechanical seals. First approach tried improve
the bulk properties of the seal face materials and
second approach focused on the surface engineering
techniques such as surface laser texturing,8–11 physical
vapor deposition, and chemical vapor deposition
diamond films (NCD),5,12 ultra-nanocrystalline dia-
mond films (UNCD), and diamond-like carbon
(DLC) films on the mating seal face.13–15 This tech-
nique had shown a significant improvement in the
characteristics of the mechanical seals.
Many researches were devoted to explore the
mechanical and tribological properties of mechanical
seals by altering the material properties of the seal
faces and altering the surface sensitive properties of
the seal faces by surface engineering techniques. To
ensure a long service life, high-quality materials must
be paired and they must be sufficiently hard to oppose
wear, resist corrosion, and be capable of producing a
very flat and smooth surface when lapped.3,16 Most
materials exhibit poor wear behavior when in sliding
1
Department of Mechatronics Engineering, Kongu Engineering College,
Erode, Tamil Nadu, India
2
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kongu Engineering College,
Erode, Tamil Nadu, India
Corresponding author:
S Shankar, Department of Mechatronics Engineering, Kongu Engineering
College, Erode 638052, Tamil Nadu, India.
Email: shankariitm@gmail.com

Downloaded from pij.sagepub.com by guest on September 24, 2015

Shankar et al.
conformal contact with a surface fabricated from the
same material. Therefore, two dissimilar materials i.e.
one softer than the other was usually chosen. Most
often, the rotating part of seal faces was chosen as the
softer material.3,4 The choice of the stationary part
determines the frictional characteristics and reliability
of the mechanical seals. Generally, wide range of
materials were chosen as an option for stationary
part of mechanical seal.16 The most commonly
employed materials were ceramics such as silicon car-
bide (SiC), silicon nitride (Si3N4), tungsten carbide
(WC), aluminum oxide (Al2O3), steel alloys, copper
alloys, and many more.
Ceramics were good choice for stationary ring of
mechanical seals, not only due to their superior cor-
rosion resistance17 but also due to their low density,
relatively high-fracture toughness, and high hardness.
Wide ranges of ceramics were used for the application
of mechanical seals depending upon the high load and
tougher operating conditions.16 Ceramic based on
alumina used for the application of mechanical seals
for many years because of their availability and low
cost, also it was a sintered polycrystalline material
ranging in purity between 95% and 99.5%. The
grains sizes were 1–5 mm, variably separated by
glassy phase. The properties were mostly dependent
on microstructure which varies with the powder
purity, firing temperature, and its duration. On the
one hand, copper alloys were metal alloys with the
major constituent of copper used for many applica-
tions such as bearing, bush, spring, condenser tube,
gears, marine fitting, diaphragms, bellows, lock-
washers, and cotter pins applications.18,19 As well,
utilized as poorly lubricated bearings in corrosive
environments19 because of their good corrosion resist-
ance, wear resistance, and anti-friction properties.20
The most commonly used copper alloys were
leaded-tin bronzes, phosphor bronzes, aluminum
Figure 1. Photography of stationary seal: (a) phosphor bronze; (b) 316 stainless steel; (c) alumina.
Downloaded from pij.sagepub.com by guest on September 24, 2015
1293
bronze, and silicon bronze.21,22 Among which phos-
phor bronze was one of the important categories of
these alloys, due to their high tensile strength, good
corrosion and resistance to wear, and excellent elastic
properties. The presence of lead in the phosphor
bronze also provides the solid lubrication in sliding
wear applications. Hence, it is suitable as softer
material option for the application of mechanical
seals. On the other hand, steel alloys were also good
candidates for the application of mechanical seals.16,17
Among which, 316 stainless steel were used as the seal
face materials for the applications such as sea water
desalination, power generation, agriculture irrigation,
and sewage pump, because of their good tribological
properties such as high wear and corrosion resistance
and good sliding properties. However, to our know-
ledge, there were no works reporting results obtained
in a tribological test configuration that simulates the
real functioning of mechanical seals by employing dif-
ferent seal face material, which had different hardness
level combinations. So, proper pairing of rotating and
stationary seal faces will exhibit efficient frictional
characteristics.
The present study investigates the friction charac-
teristics of different combinations of stationary seals
such as alumina, 316 stainless steel, and phosphor
bronze as shown in Figure 1, which comprises differ-
ent hardness levels against the rotating seals of resin-
impregnated carbon. Most of the previous frictional
characteristics study had been investigated using a
three ball-on-rod tester, pin-on-ring tester, roller
tester, four ball tester, ball-on-disc and dry ball-on-
flat reciprocating tribometers, and so on. But in this
work, a specially designed mechanical seal test rig had
been utilized to study the frictional characteristics of
the mechanical seal. Also in specific seal applications
like agitators and boiler feed pumps, an abrupt
change in speed and load occurs23 resulting in
1294
abnormal friction and unexpected wear. So, in this
work the seals were tested for various loads ranging
from 75 N to 325 N at a constant speed.
Experimental method
Material and specimen preparation
The ceramic rings were processed from alumina (99.4
to 99.6 wt%), magnesia (0.02 to 0.03 wt%), calcium
oxide (0.02 to 0.03 wt%), manganese oxide (0.03 to
0.05 wt%), with dispersing agent (0.3 to 0.5 wt%). It
was then pulverized and mixed uniformly with pure
water using the material: water volume ratio of 0.8
was diluted into stirred slurry, slurry to milling in a
ball mill at room temperature in sealed 2 to 4 h. The
slurry was placed in a ball mill at pump pressure of
1.5–3 MPa, inlet temperature of 320–360 C, and
outlet temperature of 110–140 C spray granulation.
The spray granulated powder on the steel mold was
subjected to 80–200 MPa / cm2 pressure molding
blank, which had been pressed and sintered in an
oxidizing atmosphere. The temperature was con-
trolled between 1650  C and 1750  C, and incubated
for 1 to 4 h. Finally, the alumina rings were ground to
obtain the final dimensions of Ø43Ø33 mm  8 mm
(OD  ID  Thickness). The sliding surfaces were
diamond polished and the surface roughness was mea-
sured using Mitutoyo SJ-410 roughness tester and was
found to have an initial roughness of 0.07–0.09 mm.
Phosphor bronze (ASTM B139) is an alloy of copper
whose chemical composition is shown in Table 1; the
round bar of diameter 52 mm was commercially
purchased. The chemical composition of 316 stainless
steel (ASTM A240) is shown in Table 2; the round bar
of diameter Ø50.8mm was commercially purchased.
Both the round bar of respective sizes was machined
using CNC turning center to a hollow ring of
Ø43Ø33 mm8 mm (OD  ID  Thickness). The
sliding surfaces of the seal ring were given a lapping
finish and the initial surface roughness was measured
using Mitutoyo SJ-410 roughness tester. The phos-
phor bronze and the 316 stainless steel seal ring
were found to have an initial surface roughness of
0.026–0.028 mm and 0.17–0.19 mm, respectively.
Table 1. Typical chemical composition of phosphor bronze.
Element Copper Lead Iron Tin Zinc Phosphorus
Weight (%) Rem 0.05 0.10 5.8 0.30 0.35
Table 2. Typical chemical composition of 316 stainless steel.
Element Carbon Manganese Silicone
Weight (%) 0.08 2.0 0.75
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Proc IMechE Part J: J Engineering Tribology 229(11)
In this study, resin-impregnated carbon—widely
used seal face material—was used as a rotating
ring16,24 because of its superior wear resistance and
anti-corrosion properties. The rotating ring was
purchased commercially with the dimensions of
Ø45  Ø38 mm9.52 mm (OD  ID  Thickness).
The compiled mechanical and physical properties of
the stationary and rotary seals are listed in Table 3.
Mechanical seal test rig
The mechanical seal test rig was designed in such a
manner so as to conduct test on various sizes of seals
and also of different kinds of seal materials, as shown
in Figure 2. The test rig was equipped with a top
holder fitted with the rotary seal, which was pressed
over the stationary seal. The lower chamber holds the
stationary seal, which was locked and made to press
against rotary seal rotated by spindle; proper spring
pressure between rings was maintained to ensure full
engagement. The spindle, which holds the rotary seal,
was rotated by a motor with belt drive, and the speed
of motor was controlled by a variable frequency drive
to provide uniform torque at all speeds. Load was
applied by placing dead weights on the pan at the
end of lever arrangement. The face temperature
raise of the stationary seal was measured by the
thermocouple, which was mounted on the side of
lower holder with the tip touching the outer diameter
of stationary seal. The speed of the spindle carrying
the rotating ring was measured by using the proximity
sensor. The mechanical seal test rig was incorporated
with the data acquisition card (I-DAS), which does
the sampling of signals obtained through the above
mentioned sensors, which can be recorded in the com-
puter by using the software program.
Testing procedure
All the tests were carried out on the designed mech-
anical seal test rig, as shown in Figure 2. The different
pairing of stationary seal and rotary seal was done
based on the hardness level, as shown in Table 4.
On the chosen pair 1, the stationary seal was mounted
on the lower chamber that allows the self-alignment of
the ring and also permits axial loading of the station-
ary seal against the upper rotating seal. Initial load of
75 N was applied at the end of the lever for the full
engagement of the stationary and rotary seal. Each
test includes a 3600 s running-in period with a con-
stant speed of 1500 r/min for six loading conditions.23
After running-in, the load between the rings was
Chromium Nickel Molybdenum Phosphorus Sulphur
18.0 14.0 3.00 0.045 0.03
Shankar et al. 1295

Table 3. Mechanical and physical properties of the seals.

Mechanical and physical properties

Elastic Specific heat Thermal conductivity

Material description Density (kg/m3) Hardness modulus (GPa) (J/kg K) (W/m K)

Resin-impregnated carbon 1850 95 Shore A 22.76 856 10.37

Phosphor bronze 8.86  103 65 HRB 110 380 84
316 Stainless steel 8.07  103 185 HV 193 500 16.2
Alumina 3.89  103 1500 HV 300 880 18

Figure 2. Mechanical seal test rig: (a) placement of rotary and stationary seal.

Table 4. Pairing of stationary and rotary seal.

Hardness level
S. No. Stationary seal Rotary seal (Stationary vs. Rotary)

Pair 1 Alumina Resin-impregnated carbon High vs. Low

Pair 2 316 Stainless steel Resin-impregnated carbon Medium vs. Low
Pair 3 Phosphor bronze Resin-impregnated carbon Low vs. Low

varied from 75 N to 325 N (in a step of 75 N, 125 N,
175 N, 225 N, 275 N, 325 N). For each loading, the
running-in period was 600 s. After each loading con-
dition, the test was halted for 5 min. The seal face
temperature, friction torque, and coefficient of friction
were recorded for every 1 s using data acquisition
software program in the computer. The same proced-
ure was repeated for the pair 2 and pair 3.
Result and discussion
Friction coefficient
Friction was essentially a surface phenomenon and
mostly depends on the properties of two materials in
contact and it was an important consideration in the
application of mechanical seals. All the tests were
repeated with three samples in each pair and their
average friction coefficient were computed. Figure 3
shows the variation of friction coefficient with various
normal loads ranging from 75 N to 325 N at a con-
stant speed of 1500 r/min. In case of 316 stainless steel
seal ring against resin-impregnated carbon (pair 2),
for the initial load of 75 N, the starting coefficient of
friction attains its stable value of m ¼ 0.016, approxi-
mately after 200 s, which was found to be in agree-
ment with the previous studies.25 The presence of
foreign materials like moisture and oxides of metals
on 316 stainless steel seal layer was the reason for the
low friction value of m ¼ 0.016 at the start of the

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1296
Figure 3. Variation of frictional coefficient for different seals.
Table 5. Variation of surface roughness.
Before running-in test, surface roughness, Ra (mm)
After running-in test, surface roughness, Ra (mm)
running-in test. The presence of these foreign mater-
ials will make a little or minimum metallic contact at
the junction and also the oxide film had lower shear
strength resulting in low coefficient of friction. After
initial running-in, approximately after 300 s, the sur-
face layer got deteriorated and the clean surface came
in contact. At the same time, due to plowing action
shown in Figure 6, there may be a chance of inclusion
of wear trapped particles that resulted with the
increase in roughness,25 face temperature, and friction
force. These factors contribute with the increase in
frictional coefficient values. After certain duration of
running-in, the increase in roughness and other par-
ameters reached the steady-state value resulting in
constant friction coefficient for the rest of the run-
ning-in period. The average of those friction coeffi-
cients (m ¼ 0.182) had been calculated and shown in
Figure 3. The same phenomenon was found in all the
other loading conditions of 125 N, 175 N, 225 N,
275 N, and 375 N. In some cases, the friction coeffi-
cient at specific load was less compared to the other
loads, due to the formation of tribofilm caused by
wear particles of resin-impregnated carbon on the
stationary seal. At the normal loads of 125 N,
175 N, 225 N, 275 N,325 N, the initial starting friction
coefficient at each of their respective load was
found to be m ¼ 0.109, 0.127, 0.096, 0.094, 0.118 and
attains the stable friction coefficient value of
m ¼ 0.144, 0.129, 0.120, 0.107, and 0.103. All the
above stable friction coefficient values at each specific
loading conditions are shown in Figure 3. After run-
ning-in test for 1 h, the surface roughness of the 316
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Proc IMechE Part J: J Engineering Tribology 229(11)
Phosphor bronze Alumina 316 Stainless steel
0.026  0.011 0.082  0.012 0.170  0.011
0.153  0.012 0.095  0.015 0.185  0.014
stainless steel seal ring was found to be Ra ¼ 0.171–
0.199 mm (Table 5).
In case of the phosphor bronze seal ring against
resin-impregnated carbon (pair 3), three specimens
were tested for various normal loads at a constant
speed of 1500 r/min and their average friction coeffi-
cient is shown in Figure 3. For the initial normal load
of 75 N, the starting friction coefficient value was
found to be m ¼ 0.041 and attains the stable value of
m ¼ 0.053, approximately after 200 s.25 The reason for
the low starting friction was the presence of foreign
materials on the phosphor bronze seal ring and these
foreign materials will make a little or minimum metal-
lic contact at the junction as mentioned in above case.
Approximately after 300 s, there was an inclusion of
wear particle from the resin-impregnated carbon due
to the mild plowing action as visible in Figure 6, thus
resulting in the increase of surface roughness of the
phosphor bronze seal ring, which in turn results in the
increase of friction coefficient.25 The same phenom-
enon was found at all loading conditions. At the
normal loads of 125 N, 175 N, 225 N, 275 N, 325 N,
the starting friction coefficient value at each of their
respective load was found to be m ¼ 0.111, 0.127,
0.103, 0.057, 0.065 and attains the stable friction coef-
ficient value of m ¼ 0.114, 0.110, 0.082, 0.081, 0.071.
All the above stable friction coefficient values at each
specific loading conditions are plotted in Figure 3.
Most of the friction coefficient values of phosphor
bronze were lower than the friction coefficient of
316 stainless steel against resin-impregnated carbon
at the various loading conditions. This was due to
Shankar et al.
the presence of lead in the phosphor bronze,26,27
which acts as a solid lubricating agent, resulting in
the improvement of antifriction properties under dry
sliding conditions. After running-in test for 1 h, the
surface roughness of the 316 stainless steel seal ring
was found to be Ra ¼ 0.141–0.165 mm (Table 5).
In case of alumina seal ring against resin-impreg-
nated carbon (pair 1), similar to the above testing
conditions, three specimens were tested and their
average friction coefficient is computed in
Figure 3.28 The high hardness, low density, and rela-
tively high fracture toughness of the alumina seal ring
resulted in the higher wear resistance and low friction
coefficient compared to other two pairs (pair 2 and
pair 3). The same phenomenon as stated for pair 2
and pair 3 was also found to be true for pair 1.25
There were no traces of plowing action in alumina
seal ring as like in phosphor bronze and 316 stainless
steel seal ring as seen in Figure 6. For the initial
normal load of 75 N, the starting friction coefficient
value was found to be m ¼ 0.167 and attains the stable
friction coefficient value of m ¼ 0.079, approximately
after 300 s. Whereas at the normal loads of 125 N,
175 N, 225 N, 275 N 325 N, the starting friction coef-
ficient value at each of their respective load was found
to be m ¼ 0.096, 0.079, 0.075, 0.065, 0.057 and attains
the stable friction coefficient value of m ¼ 0.087, 0.069,
0.073, 0.069, 0.059. All the above stable friction coef-
ficient values at each specific loading conditions is
plotted in Figure 3. After running-in test for 1 h, the
surface roughness of the 316 stainless steel seal ring
was found to be Ra ¼ 0.080–0.110 mm. So in dry slid-
ing conditions, phosphor bronze might be a better
alternative for 316 stainless steel for enhanced fric-
tional performance of the seal.
Friction torque
Figure 4 shows a frictional torque comparison among
the 316 stainless steel, phosphor bronze, and alumina
Figure 4. Variation of frictional torque for different seals.
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1297
seal ring. Friction coefficient had the direct depend-
ence on friction torque.9 As the normal load
increases,25 the detachment of wear debris increases
resulting in the increase in surface roughness, by
which the sliding resistance of the mating surface
also increases. So the increase in normal load (N)
will increase the frictional torque, which is confirmed
from Figure 4. Among the three pairs, pair 1 (alumina
seal ring against resin-impregnated carbon) exhibits
the lowest friction torque. Alumina seal ring had
high hardness, which eventually resulted in lowest
frictional torque. Whereas in case of 316 stainless
steel seal ring and phosphor bronze seal ring, the
hardness of 316 stainless steel seal ring was greater
than the phosphor bronze seal ring, but still the phos-
phor bronze seal ring exhibited lower frictional torque
than 316 stainless steel seal ring. This was due to the
presence of lead (soft phase) in the phosphor bronze
seal ring,26,27 which acts as the solid lubricating agent,
resulting in improvement of the friction characteris-
tics. Hence in the case of dry sliding conditions,
phosphor bronze seal ring might be a better alterna-
tive for 316 stainless steel seal ring.
Face temperature increase
The face temperature increase of the mechanical was
the important parameter to be examined to investigate
the frictional characteristics between the seals.9 In
general, the face temperature rise was commonly
seen in all three pairs. Figure 5 shows the face tem-
perature increase for all three pairs, among which alu-
mina seal ring exhibited the lowest face temperature
increase of 90.5  C. However, in comparison between
316 stainless steel and phosphor bronze seal ring (pair
2 and pair 3), phosphor bronze (pair 3) seal ring
exhibited the lower face temperature raise of
93.1  C, whereas 316 stainless steel exhibited the max-
imum face temperature increase of 110.1  C. So, hence
under dry sliding condition, phosphor bronze seal
1298
Figure 5. Variation of face temperature increase for different seals.
Figure 6. Microstructure of the sliding path surface: (a) 316 stainless steel; (b) phosphor bronze; (c) alumina, after running-in test.
ring might be a better alternative for 316 stainless steel
seal ring. Also, the weight loss in the material after the
experimentations was measured. The loss seems to be
negligible while comparing with the combinations.
Conclusions
In the present study, the frictional characteristics of
alumina, 316 stainless steel, and phosphor bronze seal
ring against resin-impregnated carbon were evaluated
using the designed experimental seal test rig. Pairing
of stationary seal against rotary seal was done for all
the three combinations. Overall, pair 1 exhibited the
lowest frictional coefficient, friction torque, and face
temperature rise than other cases. However, in com-
parison with other pairs, the presence of lead (soft
phase) in phosphor bronze (pair 3) acted as a solid
lubricating agent and hence exhibited the better fric-
tional characteristics. Hence, phosphor bronze
became a dependable mechanical seal, which had effi-
cient corrosion resistance (especially sea water) and
high wear resistance, and can be a substitute material
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Proc IMechE Part J: J Engineering Tribology 229(11)
for the applications like sea water desalination pump
involving 316 stainless steel as a seal face material.
Conflict of interest
None declared.
Funding
Authors wish to thank University Grants Commission
(UGC) INDIA, for their financial support to execute this
project work through Major Research Project Scheme.
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 Int. Journal of Refractory Metals and Hard Materials 54 (2016) 39–45

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Int. Journal of Refractory Metals and Hard Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/IJRMHM

Experimental study on frictional characteristics of tungsten carbide

versus carbon as mechanical seals under dry and
eco-friendly lubrications
S. Shankar a,⁎, G. Praveenkumar a, P. Krishna kumar b
a
Department of Mechatronics Engineering, Kongu Engineering College, Erode, Tamil Nadu 638052, India
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kongu Engineering College, Erode, Tamil Nadu 638052, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Lubrication reduces the friction between the interfaces of sliding surfaces in the mechanical seals that operate for
Received 13 May 2015 extended period of time. Due to environmental issues caused by mineral oil-based lubricants, the use of organic
Received in revised form 10 July 2015 based vegetable oils had increased worldwide due to the nontoxic and biodegradable characteristics. In this work
Accepted 13 July 2015
an experimental study was carried out by employing a seal pair of tungsten carbide and resin impregnated car-
Available online 17 July 2015
bon mechanical seals, its frictional behaviour was studied under the eco-friendly lubricant from the class of veg-
Keywords:
etable oils — soybean oil and canola oil with an eco-friendly solid lubricant i.e. boric acid powder. An
Mechanical seal experimental setup was designed and fabricated to study the frictional characteristics of the seal for varying nor-
Friction mal load and constant speed. The friction characteristics was studied under unlubricated conditions, independent
Tungsten carbide paraffin oil, soybean oil, canola oil lubricating modes and finally 1 wt.%, 3 wt.% and 5 wt.% of boric acid powder
Soybean oil mixed individually with soybean and canola oil. After all running-in test of all lubricating conditions, 5 wt.% of
Canola oil boric acid powder mixed with soybean oil had contributed a hybrid tribofilm and resulted in the lowest friction
Boric acid powder coefficient value in the range of 0.06–0.07.
© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction contamination [7,8]. The industrial applications of mechanical seal

Biodegradable, bio-based, eco-friendly, renewable, non-toxic, and
green were the recent powerful words echoing throughout the industry
[1]. In particular to the lubricants, the industrial sector had been quietly
looking into biodegradable, eco-friendly and non-toxic fluids in all engi-
neering system without replenishment. Increased concerns about envi-
ronmental damage caused by mineral oil based lubricants had created a
growing worldwide trend of promoting vegetable oil as base oil for en-
gineering lubricants [2]. To initiate and boost the use of biodegradable
and eco-friendly products, government incentives and mandatory regu-
lations were needed to put pressure on the industries that release toxic
lubricants into the environment [1,3]. The bureau of Indian standards
had issued a certification mark named “Eco-mark”, in a motive to in-
crease awareness among consumers to use eco-friendly and among pro-
ducers to produce products that had minimum environmental impact
[4]. These eco labelling schemes include ecological test requirements,
prohibitions and manufacturer's declarations which often differ and
were being continually updated [5,6].
Mechanical seal is a device that helps in joining systems or mecha-
nism together preventing leakage, containing pressure, and excluding
⁎ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: shankariitm@gmail.com (S. Shankar).
were innumerable such as for pumps, mixers, dryers and other specific
equipment, commonly used anywhere, in which liquid and gases were
transferred by rotating equipment [9]. Usually mechanical face seals
were composed of two mainly flat rings, a stationary ring (harder mate-
rial) and a rotating ring (softer ring) which was in relative motion, sep-
arating a pressurized fluid from the atmosphere, with a compression
spring and a drive mechanism [10]. The stationary ring was considered
as one of the important components which influence the frictional
properties and hereby deciding the life span of mechanical seals. The
most commonly employed materials for stationary ring of mechanical
seal were ceramics such as silicon carbide (SiC), silicon nitride (Si3N4),
tungsten carbide (WC) [11], aluminium oxide (Al2O3) and many other
tailored alloys were being tested as a future material [12–14]. In the ap-
plication of mechanical seal, lubrication was one of the important factor,
which plays a crucial role in improving the tribological properties and in
preventing the friction and wear related problems. In the absence of ad-
equate lubrication, sliding between mating surfaces in extended opera-
tions will result in high levels of friction, wear and ultimately results in
the failure of the materials in contact. These high frictional values were
primarily caused by the inherent roughness of the materials in contact
and the large pressures that developed between them. To reduce the
undesirable effects of wear, lubricants were generally applied along
the interface of contacting materials. The load rather than being carried

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrmhm.2015.07.016
0263-4368/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
40 S. Shankar et al. / Int. Journal of Refractory Metals and Hard Materials 54 (2016) 39–45
by individual asperities, lubricant films separate asperity interaction
and allow contact pressures to be more evenly distributed over the con-
tact interface. The conventionally used lubricants for the application of
mechanical seals were water, ethylene glycol/water (50/50 mixture),
propylene glycol/water (50/50 mixture), propanol, diesel, and various
tailored synthetic oils considering the loading and running conditions.
Upon the detailed literature study, as far our knowledge is concern,
there was not enough study showing the frictional behaviour of me-
chanical seal under the eco-friendly lubrication modes. So in this pres-
ent work, an attempt was made to study the frictional performance of
mechanical seal involving an effective pair of tungsten carbide (station-
ary seal) and resin impregnated carbon (rotating ring) under eco-
friendly lubrications. Vegetable oils were being considered as the poten-
tial source of environmentally friendly lubricants and they primarily
consist of triglycerides [5,15], which were the glycerol molecules with
three long chain fatty acids attached at the hydroxyl groups via ester
linkages. This triglyceride structure provides desirable qualities for
boundary lubrication. It was due to their long and polar fatty acid chains,
which provide high strength lubricant films that interact strongly with
metallic surfaces, reducing both friction and wear [4,5]. The polarity of
fatty acids produces oriented molecular films, which provides oiliness
and imparts antifriction properties. Fatty acids were thus believed to
be key substances with regard to lubricity [16]. The most commonly
used vegetable oils were castor oil, canola oil, palm-oleic oil, soybean
oil, pongamia–pinnata oil, olive oil, neem oil and coconut oil [17,18]. An-
other category, which was found to significantly reduce friction and
wear during sliding contacts, was solid lubricants. Most of these lubri-
cants [19], which include graphite, molybdenum disulphide, tungsten
disulphide and calcium fluoride [20], belong to a specialized class of
materials known as lamellar solids, boric acid was another often
overlooked lamellar solid that was found to be an effective lubricant
[21]. Two of the most important characteristics of boric acid in using
as a lubricant were readily available and environmentally safe. Because
of boric acid's lamellar structure, it was concluded that it had self-
lubrication properties like MoS2 and graphite and that they can be
used in practice as solid lubricants. Erdemir [22] stated that boric acid
as an additive had better lubrication properties than MoS2 in humid
conditions. In its solid form (boric acid), a weak acidic white powder
that was soluble in water (about 27% by weight in boiling water and
about 6% at room temperature), soft, ductile, stable, free flowing and
can be easily handled exhibits good lubricious properties and can be
readily mixed with many oils in reducing the friction between the mat-
ing surfaces [23]. It was very inexpensive, as finely ground technical
grade boric acid powder (N 99% pure) was commercially available for
less than INR 50/kg.
Fig. 1. Photography of stationary seal & rotary seal. [A] Tungsten carbide [B] Resin impregnated carbon.
In this present work, an eco-friendly lubricant consisting of soybean
oil and canola oil mixed individually with varying weight proportions of
1%, 3% and 5% of boric acid powder was tested with the mechanical seal
involving tungsten carbide (stationary ring) against resin impregnated
carbon (rotating ring). Also the seal pair was tested under the paraffin
oil lubrication, in a motive to evaluate and compare with the conven-
tional base oil, which has been traditionally used for mechanical seal ap-
plications. The frictional behaviour of the mechanical seals was
investigated under dry, paraffin oil, canola oil, soybean oil and boric
acid powder mixed individually with soybean and canola oils at various
normal loads up to 500 N for a constant speed of 1500 rpm. The reason
behind the testing of mechanical seal for various normal loading condi-
tions was that for some specific seal applications like agitators and boil-
er feed pumps, an abrupt change in load occurs at working condition,
resulting in abnormal friction and unexpected wear [24]. Also a special
experimental test rig was designed and fabricated with the real-time
running-in features of mechanical seal comprising of all real-time phys-
ical features, thus the real-time frictional behaviour can be obtained.
2. Experimental method
2.1. Seal and lubricant preparation
Tungsten carbide, a most commonly employed seal face material,
known for its high hardness and high strength was selected as the sta-
tionary seal and manufactured to circular hollow ring of Ø43 × Ø33 ×
8 mm (od × id × thickness) through sintering process. The sliding sur-
faces were diamond polished and the surface roughness was measured
using a Mitutoyo SJ-410 roughness tester and found to have an initial
roughness of 0.03 to 0.04 μm. Resin impregnated carbon, a widely
used rotating seal face material was used as a rotating ring, because of
its superior wear resistance, anti-friction properties and corrosion prop-
erties. The rotating carbon ring was purchased commercially with the
dimensions of Ø45 × Ø38 mm (od × id). The stationary seal and rotating
seal were shown in Fig. 1. The compiled mechanical and physical prop-
erties of the stationary and rotary seals were listed in Table 1. Eco-
friendly lubricants were selected from the class of vegetable oils, canola
oil extracted from the seeds of rape plant and soybean oil extracted from
the seeds of soybean was used as base oil for lubricant. All the classes of
oils were commercially purchased from the Scientific Lubricants Private
Limited, India and their properties are given in Table 2. Eco-friendly lu-
bricant from the class of vegetable oil was premixed with 1 wt.%, 3 wt.%
and 5 wt.% of boric acid powder individually, heated to 40 °C and mixed
using a magnetic stirrer for 3 h until the boric acid powder was evenly
spread throughout the lubricant and becomes completely soluble. The
 S. Shankar et al. / Int. Journal of Refractory Metals and Hard Materials 54 (2016) 39–45
Table 1
Mechanical and physical properties of the seals.
Material description Mechanical and physical properties
Density Hardness Specific heat
(kg/m3) (J/kg K)
Resin impregnated carbon 1850 95 shore A 856
Tungsten carbide 15.66 ∗ 104 2800 HV 12.22 ∗ 104
kinematic viscosity of each lubricant was measured at 40 °C and 100 °C
using Saybolt viscometer (efflux cup viscometers). Finely grounded
technical grade of boric acid powder was commercially purchased and
its properties are shown in Table 3.
2.2. Mechanical seal test rig
The mechanical seal test rig was designed in such a manner to con-
duct a test on various sizes of seals and also of different kinds of seal ma-
terials, as shown in Fig. 2. The test rig was equipped with a top holder
fitted with the rotary seal which was pressed over the stationary seal.
The lower chamber holds the stationary seal which was locked and
made to press against a rotary seal rotated by a spindle, proper spring
pressure between rings was maintained to ensure full engagement.
The spindle which holds the rotary seal was rotated by a motor with
belt drive. The speed of the motor was controlled by a variable frequency
drive to provide uniform torque at all speeds. Load was applied by plac-
ing dead weights on the pan at the end of a lever arrangement. The face
temperature rise of the stationary seal was measured using the thermo-
couple that was mounted on the side of a lower holder with the tip
touching the outer diameter of the stationary seal. The speed of the spin-
dle carrying the rotating ring was measured by using the proximity
sensor. The mechanical seal test rig was incorporated with the data
acquisition card (I-DAS), thus the sampling of signals was obtained
through the above mentioned sensors which can be recorded in the
computer by using the software programme (WINDUCOM).
2.3. Testing procedure
All the tests were carried out on the designed mechanical seal test
rig, shown in Fig. 2, under dry, paraffin oil and eco-friendly lubrication
running-in test with atmosphere air at room temperature 31 °C and hu-
midity 55%. The stationary seal was mounted in the lower chamber that
allows the self-alignment of the ring and also permits axial loading of
the stationary seal against the upper rotating seal. Initial load of 100 N
was applied at the end of the lever for the full engagement of the sta-
tionary and rotary seals. Lubricant was made to flow over the sliding
surface of stationary and rotating rings; flow was controlled by a throt-
tle valve at the rate of 35 drops/min. Each test includes a 3600 s
running-in period with a constant speed of 1500 rpm for six loading
conditions. For each loading, the running-in period was 600 s. After
running-in, the load between the rings was varied from 100 N to
500 N (in a step of 100 N) [24]. The seal face temperature, friction torque
and friction coefficients were recorded for every 1 s using data acquisi-
tion software programme (WINDUCOM). For the entire testing, resin
impregnated carbon was used as rotary ring.
Table 2
Properties of canola oil and soybean oil.
Properties Canola oil Soybean oil
Dynamic viscosity at 40 °C (mm /s)2
33 38.6
Dynamic viscosity at 100 °C (mm2/s) 7.34 8.52
Viscosity index (VI) 158 160
Flash point (°C) 275 324
Pour point (°C) −18 −16
41
Table 3
Properties of boric acid powder.
Properties Boric acid powder
Thermal Molecular formula H3BO3
conductivity Physical state @ 20 °C Solid
(W/m K) Odour Odourless
pH value 3.8–4.8
10.37
Melting point (°C) 160
12.76
Boiling point (°C) 300
Density (g/cm3) 1.44
Solubility in water (%weight) Soluble in water
3. Result and discussion
3.1. Friction coefficient
3.1.1. Unlubricated condition
Friction was a surface phenomenon which depends on the proper-
ties of two materials in intimate contact. Also it was one of the impor-
tant parameter that determines the performance and life span of
mechanical seal. All the tests were repeated with three samples and
their average friction coefficient were computed. Figs. 3 and 4 show
the variation of friction coefficient under dry, paraffin oil, canola oil, soy-
bean oil, boric acid powder of 1 wt.%, 3 wt.%, and 5 wt.% mixed individ-
ually with canola and soybean oil. For dry running-in test, at the initial
normal load of 100 N, the starting friction coefficient was low. Then fric-
tion coefficient values was trending in a fluctuating manner for some
period of time and then approximately after 300 s, it attains a stable
value in the range of μ = 0.171. This friction behaviour and factors af-
fecting the dry running-in test was found to be in agreement with the
previous studies. In the absence of lubricants, there were considerable
asperity interactions between the stationary and rotating seal resulting
in the wear debris particles formed from the resin impregnated asperi-
ties being sheared off by the tungsten carbide, thus at unlubricated
running-in test, higher friction coefficient values were obtained [25].
The same frictional behaviour was seen at the other normal loads of
200 N, 300 N, 400 N and 500 N, in reference to the previous studies.
The average friction coefficient values at each individual normal load
was computed and shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The microstructure of the
sliding surface of the tungsten carbide against resin impregnated carbon
was shown in Fig. 5[A], and shows the severe ploughing action resulting
in the high friction coefficient values for unlubricated conditions.
3.1.2. Paraffin oil lubrication
The main motive to evaluate the frictional behaviour of the mechan-
ical seal under paraffin oil lubrication was to compare the frictional char-
acteristics of eco-friendly lubricants (soybean and canola oils) with the
conventional base oil (paraffin oil), which had been used for the seal ap-
plications. So, further tailoring of the eco-friendly lubricant can be car-
ried out to obtain the best frictional performance. Upon investigation
the friction coefficient values under paraffin oil lubrication, at the initial
load of 100 N, due to ineffective oil film formation between the mating
surfaces, the starting friction was high and fluctuating trend was ob-
served and approximately after 200 s, the friction coefficient attains a
stable value of μ = 0.0997 [9]. The presence of mixture of n-alkanes cy-
clic chain in the paraffin oil results to this frictional behaviour [26]. The
same phenomenon and friction behaviour were seen for the other nor-
mal loads. The friction coefficient values of mechanical seal under the
paraffin oil lubrication at each individual load of 100 N, 200 N, 300 N,
400 N, 500 N were shown and compared with other cases in Figs. 3 & 4.
Paraffin oil
32 3.1.3. Soybean and canola oil lubrication
6.12 The friction behaviour of the mechanical seal was tested with the
129 soybean and canola oil and the compiled results were shown in Figs. 3
180 and 4. In comparison with the unlubricated conditions, both soybean
−12
and canola oil lubrication had shown better frictional characteristics as
42 S. Shankar et al. / Int. Journal of Refractory Metals and Hard Materials 54 (2016) 39–45

Fig. 2. Mechanical seal test rig. [A] Placement of rotary and stationary seal.

Fig. 3. Variation of frictional coefficient for soybean oil combined with boric acid powder lubrication.

expected. For soybean oil lubrication, at the initial load of 100 N, the
starting friction was high, because at the initial stage an effective oil
film had not formed yet. The static friction was effective and then a fluc-
tuating trend of friction coefficient was found. Approximately after
200 s, it forms a stable oil film and hence attains a stable value of μ =
0.1113. The reason for this friction behaviour was justified by the fact
that the major constituent of the soybean oil was the unsaturated
fatty acids, which include 7–10% of poly-unsaturated alpha-linolenic
acid (C-18:3), 51% of linoleic acid (C-18:2), 23% of mono-unsaturated
oleic acid (C-18:1), 4% of saturated stearic acid (C-18:0) and 10% of sat-
urated palmitic acid (C-16:0). This triglyceride structure forms a high
strength lubricant film between the tungsten carbide seal and the
resin impregnated carbon seal, hereby avoiding the direct metal to
metal contact and reducing the molecular interaction between them,
resulting in less friction coefficient values [5,17]. Whereas for the canola
oil lubrication, at the initial load of 100 N, the starting friction was low

Fig. 4. Variation of frictional coefficient for canola oil combined with boric acid powder lubrication.
 S. Shankar et al. / Int. Journal of Refractory Metals and Hard Materials 54 (2016) 39–45
[A]
[C]
Fig. 5. Microstructure of the sliding path surface of tungsten carbide seal against resin impregnated carbon. [A] Unlubricated condition [B] Canola oil lubrication [C] Soybean oil lubrication
[D] Boric acid powder-tribo film.
and the trend fluctuates, approximately after 200 s, it attains a stable
value of μ = 0.099. The same phenomenon as in soybean oil lubrication
resulted in better frictional values. Canola seeds contain approximately
40–50% of oleic acid, 65% of oleic acid (C18:1), 20% linoleic acid (C18:2),
9% linolenic acid (C18:3), 4% palmitic acid, and 2% stearic acid (C18:0)
[22]. So it was concluded that this triglyceride structure of canola oil
forms thin film lubrication between the tungsten carbide seal and
resin impregnated seal, resulting in lesser molecular interaction and
hereby better friction coefficient values [4]. This same phenomenon
and friction behaviour were seen for the other normal loads. The micro-
structure of the sliding path surface of the tungsten carbide against resin
impregnated carbon under canola and soybean oil lubrication was
shown in Fig. 5[B] and [C]. Only mild ploughing action was inferred in
the image when compared with unlubricated conditions.
3.1.4. Boric acid powder mixed with soybean and canola oil lubrication
The vegetable oils i.e. soybean and canola oils with eco-friendly class
of solid lubricant boric acid powder were added in the weight propor-
tions of 1%, 3%, and 5% individually. The average friction coefficient
values at each normal load were computed and shown in Figs. 3 and
4. Compared with pure soybean and canola oil lubrication, boric acid
powder mixed with soybean and canola oil lubrication had shown bet-
ter frictional performance. For the initial load of 100 N, the soybean oil
mixed with 1 wt.%, 3 wt.%, and 5 wt.% of boric acid powder had resulted
in a stable friction coefficient values μ = 0.095, 0.072, 0.065 respectively.
Whereas for the canola oil mixed with boric acid powder had resulted in
Fig. 6. Variation of friction torque for soybean oil combined with boric acid powder lubrication.
43
[B]
[D]
a stable friction coefficient values μ = 0.129, 0.183, 0.176 respectively.
The phenomenon for this friction behaviour was due to the formation
of hybrid tribofilm from the lubricant oil and boric acid powder [4]. A la-
mellar solid and its molecules were bonded together by hydrogen
bonds, consisting of layers which were weakly bonded by Van der
waals forces which resulted in tribofilm formation [22,23,25]. This
event causes these molecules to slide easily and results in reduced
shear strength and low friction. This same phenomenon and friction be-
haviour were seen for the other applied normal loads. The microstruc-
ture of the sliding path surface of the tungsten carbide against resin
impregnated carbon under boric acid powder mixed with canola and
soybean oil lubrication was shown in Fig. 5[D]. Boric acid powder results
in tribofilm formation, hence an effective separation of sliding surface of
tungsten carbide and resin impregnated carbon seal had contributed
less interaction between the asperities of both seals which resulted in
low friction coefficient values among all lubricating surfaces. Among
all combinations, soybean oil mixed with 5 wt.% of boric acid powder
had formed an optimum tribofilm which resulted in the lowest friction
coefficient in the range of μ = 0.06–0.07.
3.2. Friction torque
Figs. 6 and 7 show the frictional torque comparison between the
unlubricated conditions, paraffin oil, canola oil, soybean oil and 1 wt.%,
3 wt.%, 5 wt.% of boric acid powder mixed with canola and soybean oil
modes. Friction coefficient had a direct dependence on the frictional
44 S. Shankar et al. / Int. Journal of Refractory Metals and Hard Materials 54 (2016) 39–45

Fig. 7. Variation of friction torque for canola oil combined with boric acid powder lubrication.

torque. When the normal load increases, the tungsten carbide seal
shears the asperities of the resin impregnated carbon, thereby the de-
tachment of wear debris increases [24], resulting in the increase in sur-
face roughness, by which the sliding resistance of the mating surface
also increases [25]. So the increase in normal load (N) will increase
the frictional torque which was confirmed in Figs. 6 and 7. Overall,
5 wt.% of boric acid powder mixed with soybean oil had exhibited the
lowest friction torque in the range of 0.32–0.34 Nm. Thereby, this low
frictional torque at 5 wt.% of boric acid powder mixed with soybean
oil had resulted in low frictional coefficient values.
3.3. Face temperature increase
The face temperature increase of the mechanical seal was the impor-
tant parameter to be investigated, in order to determine the frictional
characteristics and lifetime of the seals [24,25]. In general, the face

Fig. 8. Variation of face temperature rise for soybean oil combined with boric acid powder lubrication.

Fig. 9. Variation of face temperature rise for canola oil combined with boric acid powder lubrication.
 S. Shankar et al. / Int. Journal of Refractory Metals and Hard Materials 54 (2016) 39–45
temperature rise was commonly seen under all lubrication conditions
and 1 wt.%, 3 wt.%, 5 wt.% of boric acid powder mixed with canola and
soybean oil, shown in Figs. 8 and 9. Among which, soybean oil mixed
with 5 wt.% of boric acid powder exhibited the lowest face temperature
increase of 89 °C. Whereas 1 wt.% and 3 wt.% of boric acid powder mixed
with soybean oil exhibited 96 °C & 95 °C. Pure soybean oil had shown a
face temperature of 110 °C than in dry condition i.e. 123 °C. In the case of
canola oil mixed with 1 wt.%, 3 wt.% and 5 wt.% boric acid powder it had
shown a face temperature rise of 105 °C, 103 °C, 92 °C respectively, and
pure canola oil had shown a face temperature rise of 114 °C. As inferred,
high friction coefficient values during the unlubricated condition had
shown the maximum face temperature rise of 123 °C, whereas in case
of paraffin oil lubrication, face temperature rise of 116 °C was observed.
In this work, the starting behaviour of tungsten carbide versus resin
impregnated carbon as mechanical seal under dry and vegetable oil
mixed with boric acid lubrication was studied. Incorporating EP (ex-
treme pressure) additives and friction modifiers will modify the load
carrying capacity of any class of oil. The main motive of employing veg-
etable oil was to generate an eco-friendly lubricant, though vegetable oil
had lower applicability for heavy duty applications. Modifying the prop-
erties of vegetable oils by various treatments and addition of various
conventional and new eco-friendly friction modifiers can make it a
handy option and substitute to mineral oil in the near future.
4. Conclusion
Overall, it was concluded that boric acid can be used as an additive to
the eco-friendly lubricant from the class of vegetable oils — soybean and
canola oils, due to its lamellar structure which slides easily and resulted
in low friction coefficient values. Upon investigating the frictional per-
formances of tungsten carbide versus resin impregnated carbon under
unlubricated condition, paraffin oil, soybean and canola oil lubrications,
1 wt.%, 3 wt.% and 5 wt.% of boric acid powder mixed with soybean and
canola oil lubrication, the following conclusions were obtained.
• Compared to unlubricated condition, eco-friendly and bio-degradable
lubricant — soybean and canola oils had shown better frictional per-
formance, by forming a thin tribofilm of triglycerides structure from
the lubricant oil between the sliding surface, thereby reducing the
friction coefficient values.
• On comparing the frictional behaviour of conventional paraffin oil and
eco-friendly lubricants from the class of vegetable oils – soybean and
canola oil lubrications for the tungsten carbide versus resin impreg-
nated carbon seal, soybean and canola lubrications have shown better
frictional performance, which was experimentally confirmed. The
usage of paraffin oil as lubricant will cause environmental impact on
the seal working environment and so effective processing and
recycling of working lubricant should be done, which will indulge in
more cost. Whereas, the implementation of eco-friendly vegetable
oil–soybean and canola oil will not cause any environmental impact
on the seal environment.
• When the 1 wt.%, 3 wt.%, 5 wt.% of boric acid powder mixed with soy-
bean and canola oil lubrications, unlike the independent soybean and
canola oil lubrications, boric acid powder combined with the lubricant
oil case had exhibited lower friction forces and hence better friction
coefficient and lower face temperature rise.
• Based on the success of the boric acid combined with soybean and ca-
nola oil experiments, an environmental friendly lubricant combina-
tion of boric acid and canola oil was investigated. This lubricant also
exhibited excellent friction behaviour and confirmed as a potential
natural lubricant for the application of mechanical seals and can be
an alternative in many engineering applications.
45
Acknowledgement
The authors wish to thank University Grants Commission (UGC)
India (42-871/2013), for their financial support to execute this project
work through Major Research Project Scheme.
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