Redesign and Fabrication of a Mechanical Seal for Pumps

For this project, the main objective is to redesign a new mechanical seal that will
last longer and reduce the possibility of leak. The redesign process is based on the
previous case histories and the "sequence-of-events" records, which categorize the
possible root causes for the mechanical seal failure. The problems for this
mechanical that has been identified from "sequence-of-events" are it generates
excessive heat at the mating face; leak and its design do not follow the standard of
American Petroleum Institute 682. The excessive heat will lead to the leak of the
pump when the heat melts the o-ring. Beside that, excessive heat will vaporize the
sealing fluid. The bubble produced, will reduce the efficiency of the pump. The
solution for excessive heat is by redesigning the rotary face. To reduce the effect of
back pressure subjected on the rotary face, proper balance ratio be used as a basis to
design this rotary face. For API standard, the seal face has been changed to the solid
seal face instead of inserted seal face. Beside that, the deflection of the shaft is
reduced by simplified the design and reduce the weight of parts that subjected on the
shaft. The main outcome of the project is the fabrication of a new mechanical seal
which has been tested under a pressure test based on API 682 standard.
Consequently, all the design requirements been met successfully.