The leakage of mechanical seals has always been one of the common faults in water pumps. So far, major water pump manufacturers have not found completely effective solutions to this problem and can only handle it through fault exclusion and repair. Then, what are the causes of mechanical seal leakage in water pumps? In this article, Changsha Zoomlian Pump Industry, a water pump manufacturer, will summarize the main causes of mechanical seal leakage in water pumps, hoping to help you maintain mechanical seals.
1.Aging and Wear: Components such as sealing gaskets will age, wear, or corrode over time, leading to a decline in sealing performance and subsequent leakage.
2.Damage to Dynamic and Static Rings: The surfaces of dynamic and static rings are prone to scratching or wear, especially when installation is improper or operating conditions are harsh. Such wear will become more severe, causing water leakage.
3.Improper Installation: Mechanical seals require correct installation to ensure sealing effectiveness. For example, failure to maintain the parallelism and coaxiality of the face seal during installation, or installing it too tightly or loosely, will lead to seal failure.
4.Assembly Errors: If the pump cover is not installed flat, the shaft will not be perpendicular to the pump cover, causing the dynamic and static planes to fail to fit tightly, resulting in unilateral wear and water seepage.
III. Abnormal Operating Conditions
5.Overheating and Vibration: External factors such as excessively high water temperature, insufficient lubrication, or too fast rotation speed will cause the mechanical seal to overheat and vibrate, thereby affecting its sealing performance.
6.Water Quality Problems: Poor water quality, containing small particles or high levels of hydrochlorides in the medium, will form abrasive wear on the mechanical seal's plane or cause surface scratches, resulting in grooves, ring grooves, and other phenomena.
7.Operation under Water Shortage: Running in a water-shortage state will cause the friction surface of the mechanical seal to generate high temperatures due to high-speed operation without cooling, leading to dry grinding damage.
8.Cavitation: Mainly occurs in hot water pumps. Due to the medium being hot water, excessively high water temperature generates steam, and the gas in the pipeline enters the high part of the pump cavity. This part of the gas cannot be discharged, resulting in water-shortage operation and dry grinding failure of the mechanical seal.
9.Improper Material Selection: The material of sealing components should be selected according to specific usage environments and conditions. If the material selection is inappropriate (e.g., corrosion resistance or high-temperature resistance does not meet requirements), it will also lead to seal failure.
In summary, the causes of mechanical seal leakage in water pumps mainly include damage to sealing components, installation issues, abnormal operating conditions, and other factors such as cavitation and improper material selection. To effectively prevent mechanical seal leakage in water pumps, regular inspection and maintenance of mechanical seals are necessary to ensure they are in good working condition. Meanwhile, strict compliance with specifications is required when installing and selecting sealing components.
