An Analysis of Mechanical Face Seal Vibrations

Abstract

The motion of a flexibly mounted ring in a mechanical face seal is described in its major three degrees of freedom. The equations of motion include fluid film as well as flexible support forces and moments. These equations are linearized using small perturbation analysis. It is shown that for small perturbation the axial motion is uncoupled with the two angular ones and is always stable. A condition for angular stability is derived relating seal operation conditions to its geometry and other design parameters.