Polymer wear rings were developed to offer an alternative to dissimilar metal wear rings.
One of the advantages to using a polymer material such as nylon or filled-Teflon instead of a metallic bearing . Whereas when you use bronze or metallic bushings, these materials are prone to point loading on the edges of the bearing.
This property of polymer bearings combined with solid lubricants can yield a product that is much less likely to damage moving components.
Vesconite, a market leader in grease-free polymer bushings and wear materials, has developed a food-grade, high-temperature, abrasion-resistant bearing poloymer.
The polymer is known as Hitemp 150 FG (food grade), and its name signifies that it can be used in applications that run at temperatures up to 150ºC and in which food contact is incidental or likely.
The previous version of Hitemp 150 did not explicitly use food grade ingredients, but, as a result from calls from the food industry to produce a similar hard-wearing product for use in food applications, alternative ingredients were sought for food safety.
“We have produced this Hitemp 150 FG product in which a food-approved ingredients have been used,” comments technical sales representative Eddie Swanepoel.
In chemistry, strong oxidizers are substances (like chromic acid) that can cause other substances (like seals and gaskets) to lose electrons. So, an oxidizer is a chemical species that undergoes a reaction that removes one or more electrons from another atom.
This causes a change in mass. Metals will turn into their respective heavier oxides, and the carbon in graphite will oxidize into carbon dioxide—which, although molecularly heavier, is a gas at room temperature.
This happens in pumps, valves, pipelines or any other equipment that have seals and gaskets carrying a strong oxidizer. It will cause pitting or rust and, depending on your choice of seal material, may require shorter service intervals. Ultimately, you may have to look for a more suitable material that can handle strong oxidizers.
More importantly, an oxidizing agent can cause or contribute to
The RoTechBooster ensures abundant, reliable, and consistent seal gas flow, through fluctuating operating conditions; thus, clean and dry gas is supplied to the gas seal in every situation.
The "Dock Sud“ combined power cycle plant in Buenos Aires, Argentina, is designed to adjust the power generation to the fluctuating electrical demand throughout all seasons. Managing the high demand during the summer months is particularly challenging, and the requirements for system component reliability are correspondingly high.
The power plant uses diesel engines and gas turbines to drive the generators. The diesel-driven generators run on a regular basis. The gas turbines are operated in start/stop mode so that they can respond quickly to high energy requirements or cope with peak loads.
As a low-pressure gas supply for the plant was only available to use for the gas turbines, a MAN Diesel & Turbo four-stage geared compressor with dry gas seals provided the means to increase gas pressure to the appropriate level for them. There is one geared compressor for each of the two gas turbines on site. Another geared compressor is used as back-up. Due to the nature of the operation, the turbines stop and start frequently placing the geared compressors in a pressurized stand-by mode when electrical demand drops.
Garlock has launched FLOOD-GARD Bearing Isolators for flooded applications. The patent-pending seal design provides bearing protection even in the most challenging flooded environments, extending the life of rotating equipment such as gearboxes, pumps, and motors.
“FLOOD-GARD™ allows Garlock to unlock value for our customers by taking industry leading bearing isolator technology, and advancing it even further, into a seal that excels in flooded conditions,” says Kevin Allison, Product Manager, KLOZURE®.
The latest addition to Garlock’s family of KLOZURE® Bearing Isolators, FLOOD-GARD™ is a revolutionary seal that combines improved safety and overall process efficiency with cost savings through
Article re-posted with permission from Parker Hannifin Sealing & Shielding Team.
Original content can be found on Parker’s Website and was written by Dorothy Kern, applications engineering manager, Parker O-Ring & Engineered Seals Division.
For some applications, a critical component of selecting a seal material is a phenomenon known
It’s time for maintenance at a beverage bottling facility. Different components of the equipment are opened up, and the seals on tubes, pumps and valves are checked. If they are worn out, they have to be replaced. But if they are still intact, the check itself – a common yet expensive process – is superfluous. What would happen if the seals themselves could autonomously measure and transmit information about the level of their wear? And determine the exact point – no sooner and no later – when little of the seal lip is left and the seal has to be replaced? The future of seals may lie
Valves are an important part of regulation in any system, and their seals are designed to be used in different types of engines for controlling oil consumption, and valve lubrication.The design and manufacturing of the seal is the key to ensure seal performance and longevity.
Valves have many uses and are found in virtually every industrial process, including water & sewage processing, mining, power generation, processing of oil, gas & petroleum, food manufacturing, chemical & plastic manufacturing and many other fields.
Some examples of valve seals include: ball valve seats,
Rubber seals are used in numerous industries to prevent the unwanted leakage of liquids and gases in various components such as pumps, valves, pipe fittings, and vacuum seals, to name only a few. However, all seals are not created equally. Rubber seal design consists of several elements to ensure that the seal delivers optimal performance in the given environment.
One of the most common types of industrial rubber seals, the O-ring, relies on mechanical compressive deformation to act as a barrier between mating surfaces, thus restricting the flow of fluid in predetermined areas. Several factors must, therefore, be taken into account in O-ring seal design to sustain the compressive force and maintain an effective seal.
Rubber seals are available in a large number of material compositions, each with its own set of advantages and limitations. The selection of the appropriate material involves the consideration of specific factors including:
Espey chamber seals have a modular design which means the seals can be composed using standard parts to meet individual application requirements. Espey chamber seals work with a very small operation gap between shaft and seal ring – leading to very low leakage – and are designed for dry-running and compensate radial and axial shaft deflections. Another advantage is that no sealing components which could generate additional shaft vibrations are actually fitted on the shaft. The seal rings are axially spring-loaded to prevent swinging up at pressure-less machine operation.
Espey chamber seals are applied in several turbo machines: integral gear, screw and chiller compressors, steam turbines, and shut-off valves for power plants. The main industries in which it is implemented are oil and gas, refining, chemical and petrochemical industry, power plants, and plants for iron and steel production. A further industry field with several references and successes is carbon dioxide