Rotary seal installation testing
This is a follow-up to our July 14, 2020 blog “Exploring installation of -318 Plastic Lined Seals™ in one-piece seal grooves”. In that blog we noted that 10.490” Plastic Lined™ rotary seals with a 0.415” nominal radial cross-section and an “extra wide” dynamic lip width could be installed in a one-piece seal housing without sustaining installation damage.
In that blog, we announced that we were going to manufacture 8.434” BDRP™-type rotary seals with a 0.335” nominal radial cross-section and attempt to install them in a one-piece seal groove. We expected that they would install without damage because they have about the same cross-section to diameter aspect ratio as 10.49” Plastic Lined Seals with a 0.415” nominal radial cross-section. The 8.434” BDRP Seals™ installed easily, even though the groove was 2.00” from the end of the housing, as shown by the video included below.
Interpreting the results of the rotary seal installation testing
Since BDRP type rotary seals have the same remarkable pressure capacity as 682-series Plastic Lined rotary seals, customers can confidently design one-piece high pressure seal housings for equipment with mandrel diameters as small as 8.434”. This provides a cost savings over the multi-piece seal housings that are necessary when incorporating removable groove walls.
The nominal axial width of the BDRP-type rotary seal was 0.220”, and the nominal axial width of the housing groove was 0.250”. The 8.434” BDRP Seal™ with a 0.335” nominal radial cross-section was easier to install than the 10.490” seal with a 0.415” nominal radial cross-section. We believe that the narrow axial width of the BDRP Seal contributed to the ease of installation by making the seal body more flexible. Conversely, the test results may not be perfectly applicable to seals having wider body width.
Please contact the friendly Kalsi Seal engineering staff to learn how the BDRP rotary seal can be deployed in your rotary equipment.
This 13-second video shows how easy it is to install BDRP-type high pressure rotary shaft seals.
