First Operating Experiences With The Integration Of Split Sealing Constraints To A Gas Seal Challenge

Abstract

Split mechanical sealing technology has lagged nonsplit seal applications because of the many difficulties introduced by the requirement of assembling separate parts to a high degree of precision in the field. It has at first been applied to equipment that simply cannot be practically disassembled such as stern tubes in boats. Then the migration was made to packing replacement for larger pumps handling mostly water. But recently, many complex chemical, pharmaceutical, and other applications have been successfully addressed with split seals. This paper deals with the design and field application of a completely split mechanical gas lubricated double seal in a challenging situation by overcoming various new hurdles.