Abstract

An extended Reynolds equation is presented to evaluate the effects of the fluid inertia and cavitation on the performance of spiral-grooved mechanical face seals under high-speed conditions. Segregated finite element procedures are employed to solve the fluid inertia terms and the fluid film pressure distribution with the artificial viscosity stabilization strategy and streamline-upwind/Petrov-Galerkin (SUPG) finite element method. The pressure jump is captured at the sudden variation in film thickness. The fluid inertia effect on the sealing performance is determined at different rotational speeds, groove depths, and spiral angles. The results show that the inertia effect due to the film thickness discontinuities improves the load-carrying capacity and increases the leakage rate. The convective inertia forces in the sealing gap flow promote fluid cavitation. The fluid inertia effect on the sealing performance is closely dependent on the spiral angles.

摘要

提出了扩展的雷诺方程，以评估高速条件下流体惯性和空化对螺旋沟槽式机械端面密封性能的影响。采用分离有限元程序，通过人工黏性稳定策略和流线上风/ Petrov-Galerkin（SUPG）有限元方法来求解流体惯性项和流体膜压力分布。在膜厚突然变化时捕获到压力跃变。在不同的转速，凹槽深度和螺旋角下确定流体惯性对密封性能的影响。结果表明，由于膜厚不连续而产生的惯性效应提高了承载能力，并增加了泄漏率。密封间隙流动中的对流惯性力促进了流体的空化作用。流体惯性对密封性能的影响与螺旋角密切相关。