The right material of mechanical seal will make you happy during the application.
Mechanical seals can be used in a variety of materials depending on the seals application. By selecting the correct material for your pump seal, it will last a lot longer, prevent unnecessary maintenance and failures.
What are the materials used for mechanical seals?
Various materials can be used for seals depending on the requirements and environment they will be used for. By considering of material properties such as hardness, stiffness, thermal expansion, wear and chemical resistance, you are able to find the ideal material for your mechanical seal.
When mechanical seals first arrived, seal faces were often made from metals such as hardened steels, copper and bronze. Over the years, more exotic materials have been utilized for their property advantages, including ceramics and various grades of mechanical carbons.
List of the most Common materials for seal face
Carbon (CAR) / Ceramic (CER)
This material generally comprises of 99.5% aluminium oxide which offers good abrasion resistance due to its hardness. As carbon is chemically inert it can withstand many different chemicals, however it is not suitable when thermally ‘shocked’. Under extreme temperature changes it can shatter or crack.
Silicone Carbide (SiC) and sintered silicone carbide
This material is created by fusing silica and coke and is chemically similar to Ceramic, however it has improved lubrication qualities and is much harder. Silicone carbide’s hardness make it an excellent hard-wearing solution for harsh environments and it can also be re-lapped and polished to refurbish the seal multiple times over its lifetime.
Tungsten Carbide (TC)
A highly versatile material like silicone carbide but it is more suited to high pressure applications due to having high elasticity in comparison. This allows to to ‘flex’ very slightly and prevent face distortion. As with Silicone Carbide it can be re-lapped and polished.
Post time: Nov-04-2022