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On frictional performance of sintering materials used by mechanical seals in water

Ying Liu (State Key Laboratory of Tribology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China)
Xingyu Zhao (State Key Laboratory of Tribology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China)
Qingfeng Wen (State Key Laboratory of Tribology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China)
Yuming Wang (State Key Laboratory of Tribology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China)

Industrial Lubrication and Tribology

ISSN: 0036-8792

Article publication date: 4 February 2014

230

Abstract

Purpose

It is aiming at finding tribology performance laws and mechanism of sintering materials, including new materials, which are popular or potential materials of mechanical seals working under water condition with different working parameters, involving load and sliding speed.

Design/methodology/approach

Falex-1506 tribo-machine has been used. The upper sample is rotated against the stationary sample below. They are all rings. The samples are WNV2, sintered pressureless bonded; CHV1, graphite-added PLSiC; R, sintered reaction bonded; R2, graphite-added RBSiC, cemented carbide YN6 and graphite MSMG. Twenty kinds of hard/hard and soft/hard pairs were tested under water condition. Then, SEM was used to observe the sliding surface to explain their rubbing mechanism.

Findings

Friction coefficients decrease with the load increasing under water lubrication due to water holding by small holes on their surface. But the friction coefficients have no change with the varying of velocity. The hard alloy/sintered silicon carbon pairs may be better choice, where the lowest friction coefficient is only about 0.02, than soft/hard or silicon carbon/silicon carbon pairs under water lubrication, especially under heavy load.

Research limitations/implications

The test was carried under load from 89 N (0.7 MPa) to 356 N (2.80 MPa) and sliding velocity from 0.746 to 5.074 m/s where the lubrication is in mixed.

Originality/value

The detailed values of frictional coefficients of popular and potential sintered material of mechanical seals working under water lubrication were given by the experimental research which may be helpful for the choice of mechanical seal materials.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (973) (Grant No. 2009CB724304) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 50975157).

Citation

Liu, Y., Zhao, X., Wen, Q. and Wang, Y. (2014), "On frictional performance of sintering materials used by mechanical seals in water", Industrial Lubrication and Tribology, Vol. 66 No. 1, pp. 23-30. https://doi.org/10.1108/ILT-10-2011-0075

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2014, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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