Alexandria Engineering Journal (2018) 57, 2719–2728

H O S T E D BY
Alexandria University

Alexandria Engineering Journal

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www.sciencedirect.com

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Experimental and numerical investigation of axial

single scroll integral pumping devices for dual
mechanical seals
H.A. Warda, E.M. Wahba, A.B. Rashad, A.A. Mahgoub *

Mechanical Engineering Department, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21544, Egypt

Received 30 May 2017; revised 24 September 2017; accepted 21 October 2017

Available online 15 November 2018

KEYWORDS Abstract Radial flow pumping rings receive the flow radially which is perpendicular on the shaft
Dual mechanical seal; while axial flow pumping rings receive the flow in a direction parallel to the shaft (axially). An
Axial pumping ring; experimental investigation is carried out to evaluate the single axial pumping ring performance with
Numerical study; a non API design radial clearance. The experimental setup is constructed according to API plan 53B
Experimental; with an accumulator-based seal support system in the barrier circuit loop. Furthermore, a numer-
Computational fluid ical investigation is conducted to provide a reliable numerical model represented by ANSYS Fluent
dynamics by creating an acceptable meshing and turbulence modeling using the experimental results as a val-
idation method. As for the numerical investigation, it is indicated that K-epsilon realizable turbu-
lence model is the best numerical model in terms of the least error deviation between the numerical
model’s performance curve and the experimental performance curve.
Ó 2018 Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an
open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

1. Introduction While the secondary seals are crucial to leakage prevention

in any metal to metal contact inside the mechanical seal.
Any simple mechanical seal has three basic components; rotat- Single mechanical seals may not be enough to achieve the
ing part, stationary part and secondary seals. The rotating part proper seal to some process fluids, since single mechanical seals
is the section which is attached to the shaft and rotates along have minimal lubricating film in the primary for lubrication
with the shaft. This part mainly consists of primary ring which and necessary facilitation for heat losses from the rotating pri-
is usually made of carbon. The rotating assembly’s position is mary ring. Even though the leakage may not be visible for
maintained by means of springs to uphold the small clearance some process fluids due to its flashing, this may even lead to
required for sealing. The stationary part consists of a mating further complication safety wise if the flashed process fluid is
ring which is made of a harder material normally ceramics. either toxic, flammable or highly corrosive which jeopardizes
the safety of personnel and field operators in contact with that
* Corresponding author. pump. Furthermore, the most obvious reason for double
E-mail addresses: hassan.warda@usa.net (H.A. Warda), akram.
mechanical seal is that process fluid is quite expensive and los-
alaa90@gmail.com (A.A. Mahgoub). ing this fluid decreases the plant efficiency. From a mechanical
Peer review under responsibility of Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria point of view, this type of seal is considered a backup option in
University. case the inboard mechanical seal is damaged; this application
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.2017.10.007
1110-0168 Ó 2018 Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
2720
Nomenclature
BI Barrier Inlet
BO Barrier Outlet
DAQ Data acquisition
e turbulent dissipation rate
FI Flow meter indicator
I unit tensor
k turbulence kinetic energy
MRF Multiple reference frame
P Pressure
PI Pressure Indicator
PS Pumping Scroll
PT Pressure Transmitter
Q Flowrate
can be applied to critical pumps in the plant where high relia-
bility is required in order for the pump to operate for higher
running hours. A single seal will not function correctly if the
process fluid is not suitable for lubricating the running faces.
Therefore, a separate fluid must be supplied to cool and lubri-
cate the mechanical seals, especially if the fluid changes state or
is highly unstable.
Dual mechanical seals have both inboard and outboard
seals. Inboard seals are lubricated by means of the process
fluid normally as any single mechanical seals while the out-
board seals are lubricated by means of separate fluid in a
closed loop. This fluid’s condition is being specified according
to the planned arrangement for the dual mechanical seal at
hand.
Dual mechanical seals have two arrangements; Arrange-
ment two in which the outboard fluid’s pressure is lower than
the inboard fluid’s pressure so as the outboard pressure acts
as a buffer (which makes the common name known for it is
‘‘buffer fluid”), while as in Arrangement three ,the outboard
fluid’s pressure is higher than the inboard fluid acting as a bar-
rier fluid [1].
In fact, the performance of integral pumping devices and
the flow dynamics inside the dual seal cavity is considered to
be one of the topics that not many researchers tackled espe-
cially the axial pumping scroll since the double mechanical seal
was introduced to industrial applications. Clark and Azibert
[2] concluded by utilizing FLUENT to simulate flow field in
the barrier fluid domain that large radial gap can increase
the mechanical seal leakage risk despite the fact that large
radial clearance is quite essential for the barrier fluids axial cir-
culation for cooling the primary seal between the rotating and
stationary rings to improve the seal’s lifetime and reliability.
Moreover, Carmody et al. [3]as well utilized FLUENT to
simulate the barrier fluid flow characteristics of double
mechanical seals in API 682 sealing arrangements aiming to
improve the flow characteristics through the internal cavities
of standard seals by providing adequate head and flow rate
requirements. Roddis and Carmody [4] researched the impact
of using Bi-directional premium pumping rings and demon-
strated the possibilities of saving energy and resources by using
the pumping rings as well as testing the effect of different bar-
rier fluid types on the rings performance.
H.A. Warda et al.
RO Radial Outlet port
RSM Reynolds stress model
TI Tangential Inlet port
TO Tangential Outlet port
TT Temperature Transmitter
VI Virtual Instruments
l molecular viscosity
!
m aboslute velocity
!
vr relative velocity
q density
¼
s stress tensor
!
x angular velocity
Furthermore, Smith [5] has investigated the challenge of
using the highest reliable configuration of the mechanical seal
by reviewing the advantages and the disadvantages of different
types of arrangements for the double mechanical seal as well as
the importance of using the integral pumping devices for cool-
ing and circulation of the barrier fluid inside the outboard
mechanical seal chamber. Richard also used FLUENT to sim-
ulate the baffle deflector in order to investigate the efficiency of
the deflector in providing cooling effect for the inner seal thus
improving the lifetime of both seals inner and outer.
Finally, Warda et al. [6] experimental study was done dif-
ferent types of integral pumping devices radial and axial in dif-
ferent operating conditions - i.e. rotational speed, barrier fluid
inlet temperature, barrier fluid pressure as well as outlet port
configuration and radial clearance value - and they concluded
that varying these conditions can in fact has an impact of the
pumping ring performance in most cases. Added to that, they
have conducted a CFD study utilizing FLUENT software to
simulate the flow characteristics of radial pumping rings. It
is concluded that k-epsilon standard equation produced
acceptable results and radial outlet configuration has a lower
performance output than the tangential due to separation phe-
nomenon created at the radial outlet port causing eddies to
form.
Warda et al. [7] have conducted as well the effect of the
kinematic viscosity on the radial integral pumping rings per-
formance by measuring experimentally the ring’s performance
against three barrier fluid types (Propylene Glycol-water mix-
tures and Diesel fuel (Grade D2) which impacted both maxi-
mum flow and differential pressure for the same pumping
ring type and configuration and the significance of fluid density
in the total differential pressure deduction.
In the present study, an experimental investigation will be
taking place in order to address the accuracy of the axial
pumping scroll measurement as well as an improvement
method in the pressure reading instrumentation in order to
produce more reliable and accurate results. A numerical study
will be performed as well in order to figure out which turbu-
lence model would produce the numerical performance curve
which matches the best with the experimental performance
curve with by observing the least error deviation between both
curves deduced in the experimental study. This numerical
study will be performed by using ANSYS FLUENT software.
Experimental and numerical investigation
2. Experimental study
The experimental setup is aimed at providing an indication of
the integral pumping rings’ performance in Arrangement three
configuration.
In the following section, the barrier loop system which sup-
plies the outboard seal with barrier fluid for the seal’s lubrica-
tion and cooling will be demonstrated in details.
2.1. Barrier loop system
This system specifies the barrier flow from and to the outboard
mechanical seal. As it was established the barrier loop will flow
up to the specifications of API 682 plan 53B. Fig. 1 demon-
strates a photographic and schematic overview of the barrier
loop system. One of the barrier fluid loop’s main functions is
to provide adequate flow to the outboard mechanical seal to
ensure efficient cooling and lubrication supply to the seal.
Therefore, the barrier loop system consists of several
components:
 Ball bladder type accumulator
 Shell and tube heat exchanger
 Coriolis mass flow meter (FI)
 Barrier Inlet and Outlet Pressure and Temperature trans-
mitters (PT and TT)
 Accumulator pressure indicator (PI)
 Ball valves
 Interconnecting pipes
 Mechanical seal
API 682 has used the term ‘‘Accumulator-based seal sup-
port system” in describing both bladder type accumulator
and a shell and tube heat exchanger. This indicates the impor-
tance of these components in supplying barrier fluid to the out-
board seal, ensuring adequate conditions is being given to the
barrier fluid, thus extending the Mechanical seal life time as
well as its reliability.
Fig. 1 Photographic view of the barrier fluid loop setup (left) and Schematic drawing of the barrier fluid loop (right).
2721
The ball bladder accumulator main function is to provide
the barrier loop the pressure needed to exceed the process fluid
pressure thus maintaining the mechanical seal assembly to
work in the arrangement three configuration. The pressure
should be high enough to overcome the leakage rate in the
pumping ring itself which is being achieved with a pre-
charged ball bladder accumulator which provides a constant
pressure.
Another challenge the outboard mechanical seal encounters
are the barrier fluid rising temperature once the pump runs.
This is due to the rotation of the rotating assembly with the
pumping ring thus heating up the primary seal clearance
between the rotating and stationary part same as any conven-
tional single mechanical seal. The ‘‘Accumulator-based seal
support system” has provided the user to control the fluid tem-
perature or more specifically the inner barrier temperature.
This is achieved by controlling the heat load on the shell and
tube heat exchanger by controlling the supply of the shell fluid
into the heat exchanger which is in this case water. The barrier
fluid passing through the tube side and throughout the barrier
loop system in this experimental investigation is water as well
(density 998.2 kg/cm3 at 25 °C).
2.1.1. Mechanical seal
The test seal is John Crane type 48. It is 1.87500 diameter,
multiple-spring dual pusher seal with Carbon/SiC/Carbon/
SiC faces and Fluorocarbon Rubber elastomers throughout.
The mechanical seal is following the schematics of API 682
Arrangement 3 in which two assemblies (inboard and out-
board seal) in one cartridge face to back position. As it was
established, the barrier fluid is passing through the outboard
seal in the cartridge where the pumping ring is installed. In
the present study, the pumping ring type in which the perfor-
mance test is investigated is the single scroll ring shown in
Fig. 2. This ring is classified as axial ring type in which fluid
enters the seal chamber in tangential direction through tangen-
tial inlet TI port. The flow then travels axially to the pumping
ring, providing the fluid with pressure energy and flow. The
fluid then exits the seal chamber through outlet port. The out-
let port can be either radial or tangential port. Radial port
2722 H.A. Warda et al.

the different outlet port configuration tangential outlet (TO)

and Radial outlet (RO) to ensure more reliable results.
In experimental setup, the pressure transmitter was
replaced and installed on the mechanical seal’s inlet and outlet
sides as shown in Fig. 3. This action was due at that the differ-
ential pressure output is at the range of 0.01 to 0.25 bar which
considered being too low in relative to the transmitter installed
so the transmitter is replaced with another one with a lower
ranged pressure transmitter and lower error span (measure-
ment range 0–10 bar with accuracy ±0.10%) as well as
inverted U-tube to improve reading which are in the second
decimal place. The Coriolis flowmeter (measurement range 0–
20 lit/min with accuracy ±0.15% of actual measured flow
rate) is not replaced in the current study [7].
As expected, the rotational speed is considered a significant
factor that affects the performance output of the pumping ring
Fig. 2 Three dimensional drawing of the single pumping scroll either in terms of the maximum flowrate value or overall pres-
PS which is installed on the rotating part of the outboard seal sure output value [6,7].
using Solid works software. The results match the deductions of Warda et al. [6,7] that
the tangential outlet offers higher flow rate and pressure in the
same speed than the radial outlet. In the radial outlet port con-
figuration, the fluid has to change direction in order to exit the
indicates that the port is radial or perpendicular on the shaft
seal chamber through the radial port leading to flow separa-
direction while the tangential port is inclined at a specific angle
tion and subsequent flow reduction while the tangential outlet
which can be considered to be the best angle to align with the
port is aligned with the fluid direction as it exits the pumping
flow direction as it exits from the scroll ring in the seal cham-
ring which means neither flow separation nor flow reduction
ber. In the present study, experimental investigation will be
occur in this configuration.
performed on the pumping ring bearing a radial clearance of
0.5 mm (non-API pumping scroll).
4. Numerical study
3. Experimental accuracy and validation method
In the present study, a CFD model will be formulated to
deduce the most accurate representation to the flow in the out-
Repeatability is a term that indicates overall consistency of the
board seal in terms of the turbulence modeling equations. Each
results extracted from a specific instrument or experimental
turbulence modeling equation has its own characteristics with
procedure. It is imperative that the experimental setup which
advantageous and disadvantageous components in predicting
was discussed in the previous section is both accurate and reli-
the flow fields with adverse conditions (i.e. separation, swir-
able without the need to rebuild a new laboratory setup. This
ling). In the current numerical study, the outboard mechanical
can be achieved by the test-retest reliability method. The con-
seal with a non API single pumping scroll ring has been sub-
cept that user has ensured that the laboratory setup piping is
jected to the k-epsilon group stated in the next section for both
cleaned up and all the conditions are the same since it was first
outlet port configurations tangential and radial outlet. The val-
built Warda et al. [6] including recalibrating the transmitters
idation reference is the experimental results which were
and the data acquisition system.
acquired from the experimental setup described in the previous
The first form of repeatability test is purely instrumental.
section. These results are shown in Fig. 4.
Each and every single transmitter connected to the National
Instrument’s Data Acquisition system, i.e. DAQ assistant in
LABVIEW software, has been put into its settings that the sig-
nal which will be received on the user’s computer has 10,000
sample readings which means that the user has ten thousand
readings by the time the signal is received. Afterwards, this sig-
nal is to be averaged in another Virtual Instruments (VI) file to
receive only one last reading. Furthermore, another form of
repeatability test retest method is to measure a previously
known and measured pumping ring performance curve and
validate it by the previous measurements. The selected pump-
ing ring is the non API single pumping scroll since this will be
the pumping ring type in which the numerical investigation will
take place. The previous results have been acquired as a cour-
tesy from Warda et al. work [6]. The same barrier pressure
transmitter (measurement range 0–16 bar with accuracy
±0.10%) used in the repeatability test-retest method so as to
maintain all variables constant and recreate the same Fig. 3 . Photographic view of the mechanical seal area illustrat-
conditions as the previous experiments had on investigating ing the two pressure transmitters.
Experimental and numerical investigation
0.3
Pressure difference (bar)
0.25
0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
0 1 2 3
Barrier flow rate (L/min)
Fig. 4 Graphical representation of the experimental results of the single pumping scroll performance curve tangential outlet (left) and
radial outlet (right).
4.1. Governing equations and numerical methods
The CFD model is based on the Reynolds–averaged Navier -
Stokes equations:
@q
þ r  q!
mr¼0
@t



@ !
q m þ r  q! m þq !
m r! x !
¼
m ¼ rp þ r  s
@t
  2  flows involving rotation, boundary layers under strong adverse
s ¼ l r! m r þ r!mr  r!
¼ T
m rI
3
Eq. (1) represents the conservation of mass where qq : is the
density. Equation two represents conservation of momentum
which consists of pressure gradient term, two additional accel-
eration terms: the Coriolis accerleration (2! x  ! m r ) and the
! ! !
centripetal acceleration ( x  x  r ) which can be represented


in absolute velocity formulation by q ! x ! m and the conven-
tional stress tensor term on the equation’s right side. Equation
three represents stress tensor term identification where l is the
molecular viscosity, I is the unit tensor, and the second term on
the right hand side is the effect of volume dilation [8].
In modeling, the turbulence equations are classified into
both time and space averaging. In the time-averaged approach,
the equations are classified into both turbulent stress model
(RSM) which has 5 to 7 equations to solve and Eddy viscosity
approach which has variety of equations from zero equation
model to two equation model either k-epsilon or k-omega.
In this study the k-epsilon approach is being used. There are
three forms of k-epsilon approach equation: k-epsilon stan-
dard, k-epsilon realizable and k-epsilon RNG. According to
Jones and Launder [9], the standard k-e model is a semi-
empirical model based on model transport equations for the
turbulence kinetic energy (k) and its dissipation rate (e). The
model transport equation for k is derived from the exact equa-
tion, while the model transport equation for e was obtained
using physical reasoning and consists of similarities to its
mathematically exact counterpart. This approach has several
known limitations: separation prediction, swirling flows and
flow with strong streamline curvature. The RNG k-e model
was derived using a rigorous statistical technique (called renor-
malization group theory). It is similar in form to the standard
k-epsilon model, but includes an additional term in its epsilon
equation that significantly improves the accuracy for rapidly
strained flows as well as effect of swirl on turbulence is
2723
0.2
Pressure difference (bar)
0.15
0.1
TO 3600 rpm RO 3600 rpm
0.05 RO 3000 rpm
TO 3000 rpm
RO 1500 rpm
TO 1500 rpm
TO 1000 rpm 0 RO 1000 rpm
4 5 6 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Barrier flow rate (L/min)
included in the RNG model, enhancing accuracy for swirling
flows.
According to Shih et al. [10], the realizable k-epsilon model
differs from the standard k-epsilon model in two ways; new
equation expressing the turbulent viscosity as well as the dissi-
ð1Þ pation rate, e, which has been derived from an exact equation
for the transport of the mean-square vorticity fluctuation. An
immediate benefit of the realizable k-epsilon model is that it
ð2Þ more accurately predicts the spreading rate of both planar
and round jets as well as providing superior performance for
ð3Þ pressure gradients, separation, and recirculation.
The commercial software ANSYS FLUENT [8] is used in
this numerical study employing finite volume discretization
of the governing equations. Convective terms are discretized
using a second-order upwind scheme [8]. The SIMPLE algo-
rithm [11,12] is used for pressure–velocity coupling. In the pre-
sent study, the scalable wall function [13] is used as well.
4.2. Pre processing
In the following section, the pre-processing stage of the CFD
model for the non API single pumping scroll for both tangen-
tial and radial outlets will be discussed in details. The pre-
processing is the first crucial stage in creating a viable CFD
numerical model and it consists with both geometry as well
as meshing. One of the difficulties encountered while creating
the geometry is its complexity which was in two separate vol-
umes; tangential inlet ports as well as scroll geometry.
One of the unique properties that the axial integrated
pumping device has is the tangential inlet in order to adjust
the flow direction towards the scroll part of the ring in order
to minimize the eddy losses which may occur otherwise. The
tangential inlet geometry is quite tricky when drawing since
the inclination of the port is not in the XY plane only but in
both XY and YZ planes as shown in Fig. 6.
Tangential inlet also contains another unique characteristic
which is that the inlet area in the outer gland of the outboard
mechanical seal contains two inclined ports to accommodate
any different designs the scroll ring may have either left hand
scroll or right hand scroll which is considered to be due to
John Crane’s interest in making its outer gland case for this
type of pumping ring generalized to be used in more than
one application with any type of scroll.
As for the scroll ring geometry, its complexity lies in two
different challenging aspects. First of all, the scroll geometry
2724 H.A. Warda et al.

has unique geometrical dimensional input in order to draw the

correct scroll ring geometry i.e. (helix angle, cutting tool width,
axial lead as well as scroll teeth depth). All of the previous
properties helps define the actual scroll ring which provided
the performance curve deduced from the experimental setup
in Fig. 4. The geometry has been drawn using Solid Works
2015 software as shown in Fig. 2 utilizing the actual pumping
ring as a reference.
Furthermore, the non– API pumping scroll radial clearance
is 0.5 mm. Therefore, when drawing the fluid volume as a part
of the pre-processing stage the scroll cavities as well as the
0.5 mm radial clearance is the fluid volume representing the
rotating scroll ring volume which increased the complexity of
the three dimensional model drawn. This is considered to be
Fig. 6 A screenshot of 3-D model of the tangential inlet port
the primary reason for author’s choice to use tetrahedral mesh
volume using Design Modeler software in ANSYS 14.0 software.
cell type for representing such complex volume.
In meshing, the geometry’s complexity is taken into consid-
eration as well as the necessity to represent in a valid way the different outlet port geometry, the mesher deduces a higher
change of fluid volume alongside the assembly. Soft behaviors number of elements to represent the radial outlet geometry
as well as the proximity and curvature properties are being than that of the tangential outlet configuration while using
implemented in the CFD model in order for the mesher to the same body sizing value as an input. This data has been
adapt against complex geometry conditions. Figures 5 and 7 deduced after performing the grid independence test success-
illustrate the Meshing geometry in non API pumping scroll fully which be described in details in the next section.
in both tangential and radial outlet port utilizing the proximity As shown in Figures 5 and 7, unstructured meshing tech-
and curvature function to deduce a high quality mesh. Table 1 nique was used for adapt meshing and to allow mass distribu-
states some of the statistics of the Mesh for both outlet port tion on complex geometry of the scroll part in the CFD
configurations for the fine mesh. It is noticed that due to the domain. Furthermore, similar to the previous work of Warda

Fig. 5 (a) Grid generation view of the radial outlet port assembly indicating the fluid volume meshing around the pumping ring, (b)
Frontal view of the assembly revealing the grid generation around the radial port, (c) sectional view indicating the grid generation around
three interfaces of three different subdomains in the radial outlet assembly.
Experimental and numerical investigation 2725

Fig. 7 (a) Grid generation view of the tangential outlet port assembly indicating the fluid volume meshing around the pumping ring, (b)
Grid generation view of the tangential inlet port while suppressing the rest of the assembly (c) Frontal view of the assembly revealing the
grid generation around the tangential port, (d) sectional view indicating the grid generation around three interfaces of three different
subdomains in the tangential outlet assembly.

rate) is added as an input and pressure outlet where the pres-

Table 1 Summary of the significant statistics of the fine mesh
sure output value is deduced numerically.
used to represent both tangential and outlet port configuration.
Outlet configuration Tangential Radial 4.3. Grid independence test
Body sizing 5e-004 m
Number of Nodes 2,132,625 2,353,325 In the following section, the validity of the meshing grid in rep-
Number of elements 11,176,869 12,333,240 resenting both tangential and radial outlet will be tested by
Max. Aspect ratio 10.484 11.257 using grid independence test.
Min. Element quality 0.204 0.2035
This test is a measure of the discretization accuracy of the
Max. Skewness 0.8214 0.8240
numerical model. This is achieved by running the numerical
model on several different grid specifications: coarse, medium,
fine meshes and comparing the numerical model outcome
[6] in the radial integrated pumping ring meshing representa- results. Once the results are constant among the meshes, this
tion, the multiple reference frame (MRF) technique has been indicates that the grid is not considered a variable factor that
used in this study to represent the zone domains of the CFD affects the discretization accuracy of the numerical solution.
model. In the current study, the grid independence test is per-
The rotating zone or frame has been selected for the scroll formed on both tangential and radial outlet port numerical
ring zone. The distinct difference in that approach is that since models. The results are shown in Table 2 and 3 where the
the non-API radial clearance from the scroll teeth to the wall meshes results are being deduced utilizing the maximum flow-
of the outer gland is too small (0.5 mm), MRF approach
was used in such a way that the whole zone above the ring is
in fact the rotating zone while the wall outer gland is the sta- Table 2 Details of grid used in grid independence test in
tionary zone as well as stationary wall which will be considered tangential outlet numerical model.
as a boundary condition. The rest of the ring geometry which
Grid Number of Number of Pressure output
has no teeth in it is considered to be a rotating wall as an addi-
nodes elements (bar)
tional factor in the boundary condition input. The rest of the
zone starting from the inlet and the outlet piping, fittings as Coarse 1,025,845 5,234,189 0.230957
well as ports are to be stationary frame. The approach used Medium 1,492,879 7,601,932 0.211589
Fine 2,132,625 11,176,869 0.206957
in the numerical study is velocity inlet where velocity (i.e. flow
2726 H.A. Warda et al.

These three points are the zero flow, mid-flow and maximum
Table 3 Details of grid used in grid independence test in
flow. Furthermore, the CFD model is to be subjected to two
radial outlet numerical model.
different rotational speeds; 1500 rpm and 3600 rpm consider-
Grid Number of Number of Pressure output ing that these are the common used rotational speeds used in
nodes elements (bar) the industrial applications.
Coarse 1,123,562 5,565,754 0.084596 Tangential outlet configuration CFD numerical model
Medium 1,578,462 8,024,186 0.089112 results shown in Fig. 8 shows that k-epsilon RNG and k-
Fine 2,353,325 12,333,240 0.087807 epsilon standard modeling results are significantly close but
not accurate while the k-epsilon realizable results are relatively
the least error deviation. It is noticeable as well that by
rate value of the tangential (5.2 lit/min) and radial outlet (3.8
decreasing the rotation speed, the numerical models are more
lit/min) as an input.
successful in producing relatively more accurate results in rela-
It is deduced that as the number of cells increases, from
tion to the experimental performance curve with the k-epsilon
coarse to fine mesh, the steady state value of the pressure out-
realizable being the most accurate turbulence model of the
put almost remains constant for the same flow rate input value
three k-epsilon equations as well.
which indicates the fine mesh size stated in Table 1 converges
As for the radial outlet configuration, the numerical results
on the most accurate results. Therefore, the fine mesh
in Fig. 9 reveal as well the same conclusion about the k-epsilon
approach will be used in the current study to deduce numeri-
realizable turbulence equation being relatively the highest in
cally the best turbulence model that represents the flow field
the accuracy of the three equation with the remaining two
inside the outboard seal. The numerical investigation is per-
being close but not accurate. The three turbulence model is
formed on a computer with specifications of 32 GB RAM
more successful in the deduction the performance curve in
and processor IntelÒ XeonÒ Processor E5-2630 v4 with run
three flow points with lower rotational speeds. It is noticeable
time reaching 9–12 days till convergence.
that radial outlet CFD model has relatively higher error devi-
ation from the experimental performance curve for the same
5. Results and discussions
turbulence model equation that the tangential outlet numerical
model which was the same deduction in previous work of
In order to extensively test the compatibility of the turbulence Warda [6] for the radial integral pumping ring.
model to the CFD model, three flow points were investigated.

Fig. 8 Graphical representation of the tangential outlet performance curve against all three k-epsilon equations in speeds 3600 rpm (left)
and 1500 rpm (right).

Fig. 9 Graphical representation of the radial outlet performance curve against all three k-epsilon equations in speeds 3600 rpm (left) and
1500 rpm (right).
Experimental and numerical investigation 2727

Fig. 10 Pressure distribution on the scroll ring wall.

Fig. 11 (a) radial pressure distribution in the non API clearance around the pumping ring, (b) pressure distribution in one of the helical
scrolls in the pumping ring, (c) Frontal view of the axial pumping ring exit indicating the barrier fluid’s maximum pressure value on each
scroll.

Utilizing CFD-Post software, the numerical investigation is
extended to comprehend the pressure distribution along the
single axial pumping scroll assembly. One of the main observa-
tions on the post processing results, the symmetrical replica-
tion of all the flow field properties as it is considered nearly
the same for each tooth alongside the circumference of the
ring. Fig. 10 is considered as one of the crucial pressure con-
tours representations to help understand the flow field inside
the outer seal. It is noticeable that the pressure is almost con-
stant outside the scroll teeth region on the scroll ring except for
certain low pressure spots alongside the circumference of the
ring. The number of these spots matches exactly the number
2728
of scroll teeth in the circumference which indicates that due to
the fluid flow inside the scroll teeth which rotates with the
assembly acting as a rotor pump, these spots are considered
to be suction region for each of the scroll cavity. These spots
have a concentric nature in pressure distribution decreasing
gradually as shown in Fig. 10 reaching its minimum value in
its center.
As the flow field advances toward the exit side of the pump-
ing scroll, the pressure varies in an exponential increase reach-
ing its maximum at the tip of the teeth midway the scroll lead.
The maximum pressure area increases alongside the tooth until
it overwhelms the whole side of the tooth at the end of each
tooth.
As predicted from the results of Fig. 10, the barrier fluid
pressure increases exponentially as fluid progresses towards
the exit port. This is revealed in Fig. 11a which shows the pres-
sure contour distribution axially as the fluid moves along the
ring assembly as well as in side view position revealing the cir-
cumferential pressure distribution of the barrier fluid on the
ring as it exits. Fig. 11b also illustrates the pressure contour
plane captured in the mid area of one of the scroll cavity which
indicates an increase of the pressure value as it progresses
through the cavity reaching its maximum at the exit end which
is shown in Fig. 11c.
It is noticed that at the beginning of the scroll’s helical
tooth, the radial plane in CFD-Post captures the pressure of
its minimum value which matches the previous conclusion in
Fig. 10 being the lowest possible pressure value of the assem-
bly. As the fluid progresses axially alongside the radial plane,
the barrier fluid pressure value increases normally until it
reaches its maximum value on the exit side. It is also noticeable
that the pressure at the topside of the radial clearance is higher
than the pressure near the wall which is due to the centrifugal
pressure building up from the pumping scroll rotation.
Furthermore, when observing the side view indication, the
pressure distribution of all the exit barrier fluid pressure in
each of the scroll cavities in the exit, few conclusions are made:
First of all, the pressure in each of scroll cavity is relatively
the highest on the left wall side and decreases slightly when
progressing to the cavity’s right wall. This occurs due to the
stagnation pressure of the barrier fluid as the ring rotates in
a clockwise direction.
Last but not least, when observing each of the pressure val-
ues of each of the scroll cavities, it is observed that the pressure
distribution profile is symmetrical on each of the scroll tooth
along the circumference.
6. Conclusions
The experimental results vary according to the shaft speed as
well as the outlet port configuration. The experimental perfor-
mance curve results have been used as a validation method
while undergoing the numerical investigation for both tangen-
tial and radial outlet model. Moreover, the numerical results
have shown acceptable performance curve using the k-
epsilon realizable model which has higher accuracy in repre-
H.A. Warda et al.
senting the experimental performance curve than the rest of
the k-epsilon family. Finally, the post processing data reveals
that the barrier fluid pressure increase as it progresses through
the scroll teeth until it reaches the maximum at the ring exit.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge E.A.Selim and M.W
Gamal Aldin for their assistance and support in the experimen-
tal and the numerical investigations respectively and John
crane UK for providing the mechanical seal assembly.
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