Temperature rise of magnetorheological fluid sealing film in a spiral grooved mechanical

Abstract

Purpose

In the magnetorheological fluid (MRF) sealing, a large amount of friction heat is generated in the fluid film with micron thickness due to the viscosity dissipation, which leads to seal failure and MRF deterioration. The purpose of this study is to investigate the mechanism of temperature rise of MRF film under the action of the three-field coupling of the flow field, temperature field and magnetic field.

Design/methodology/approach

The fluid film was simplified as a Couette flow in this work to simulate the temperature change in the sealing fluid film under different working conditions. The corresponding experiment for test the temperature rise was also carried out, and the temperature of the characteristic point of the stationary ring was measured to validate the model.

Findings

The results show that the temperature rise is mainly affected by the rotational speed, magnetic field strength and fluid film thickness. The magnetic field enhances the convective heat transfer in the MRF film. The thinner the fluid film, the more frictional heat generated. The MRF film reaches its maximum temperature at the contact with the end face of rotating ring due to frictional heat.

Originality/value

A method for temperature rise analysis of MRF fluid sealing films based on Couette flow is established. It is helpful for the study of liquid film frictional heat in MRF seals.

Citation

Zhang, C., Zhou, J. and Meng, X. (2022), "Temperature rise of magnetorheological fluid sealing film in a spiral grooved mechanical", Industrial Lubrication and Tribology, Vol. 74 No. 6, pp. 683-691. https://doi.org/10.1108/ILT-01-2022-0030