Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene, or UHMW, is an inexpensive easy to acquire seal material which, in the right environment, provides an excellent seal.
There are a set of operating criteria which designers should follow to take advantage of the many benefits that other materials like PTFE can’t offer.
In this article, we’ll explore the uses of UHMW, how and where to apply it, and the pitfalls to avoid.
What are the Best Uses for UHMW?
UHMW is used in a variety of seal and bearing applications.
Labyrinth seals are now available from Vesconite as a sealing device.
This follows the supply and successful use of Vesconite labyrinth seals by several large pump original equipment manufacturers in multiple labyrinth seal designs over the past 10 years.
Labyrinth seals are provide a long path for water to flow through to prevent leakage. As the name suggests, these seals may be composed of a large number of grooves acting as labyrinth chambers. The labyrinths help reduce the leakage flow through the seals.
What are the similarities and differences between these two special purpose low temperature FFKM compounds?
It's known that DuPont™ Kalrez 0040 and Kalrez 0090 are two of the most popular low temperature perfluoroelastomers in the marketplace.
Each compound has unique physical properties and can be better in certain applications. In fact, GFS engineers are often asked for compound guidance for these low temperature FFKMs.
This video discusses, at a very high level, the similarities and differences between Kalrez 0040 and Kalrez 0090.
High-Pressure, High Eccentricity Seal Solution Demonstrates 50% Improvement
On pressure and side-load performance of a fluid application
Recently, a customer was having difficulty with a seal failure on a fluid power application. The high-pressure, high-eccentricity seal operates in conditions up to 200,000 pv at 3000 psi and could not exceed maximum shaft deflection of 0.005″.
Unitized seals for input and output pinions in gear boxes, axle wheel ends, and trunnion seals
Vanseal works with these types of seal applications frequently and used a Unitized Seal that uses several components to address each of the various sealing challenges.
On January 1, 2023, Gallagher Fluid Handling, LLC completed the acquisition of Charts, Ltd. (Midland, TX). Charts manufactures high-quality American-made gas measurement devices and distributes a wide range of products used in the upstream production of oil and gas. Charts is the leading brand in the Permian Basin for Analog Chart Recording devices.
Gallagher Fluid Handling, LLC (GFH) is a subsidiary of Gallagher Industrial Products, LLC (GIP). Charts is the second acquisition for GFH, joining IEQ Industries which was acquired in April of 2022. IEQ is a distributor of reciprocating pumps and components. The Oil and Gas focus of IEQ makes these two companies’ a natural fit to grow in partnership together.
Gallagher Fluid Seals stocks a wide variety of GORE® Gasketing Products. Realizing that every application is different, use the infographic below to determine which GORE gasketing material product best fits your application.
If you’re uncertain which GORE product to use, please contact the Gallagher Engineering Department. Feel free to use this decision tree to assist as well.
The O-ring is a doughnut-shaped circular cross section seal that can be used nearly anywhere in the sealing industry. The Quad-Ring™, a 100% retrofit option for any O-ring application, can and will outperform an O-ring in many technical areas.
The Quad-Ring™ has four definitive sealing advantages over an O-Ring:
Hidden parting lines, or flash lines. The flash lines (a line of excess material where the compression mold tool comes together) on an O-ring is always on the outer most diameter, which consequently is a sealing surface. On a Quad-Ring™, that flash line is on the inside of the two outer lobes; therefore, it does not effect the sealing lips.
The Quad-Ring™ is more stable in dynamic applications. It is also more resistant to rolling as it has a wider footprint and takes up the corners of the hardware
Successful fluid sealing of valves and pumps cannot be accomplished without the appropriate sealing device. Whether using mechanical seals or compression packing, one must understand the specific needs of the application.
While mechanical seals in general are considered the superior sealing device, they are more expensive and less versatile than compression packing. Compression packing is more versatile due to the vast selection of materials used to make it and the various ways it is constructed. Materials such as vegetable fibers, man-made fibers, metals, graphite, and hybrids are all used to make packing. Construction types include braided, twisted, wrapped (rolled, folded), extruded, laminated, bulk, and die formed.
Construction types of compression packing each have variations within. This article will focus on braided