Anatomy of a Seal

By: Pat Petrisky & Bill LaPointe

C-400
Stein Seal
(Stein is name of Company that makes the seal)
 Overview
• Purpose
• Stationary parts of seal cartridge
• Moving parts of seal cartridge
• Seal types
• How to seal gas in the compressor utilizing
clearance and contacting sealing devices
 C-400 Mechanical Seal Purpose
• To provide an annulus of oil about the shaft to
prevent process gas from leaking to
atmosphere and remove heat due to oil shear

• Also a shutdown piston to prevent gas leakage

after shutdown and allow a safe mechanical
block in of the machine
 Stationary Parts of the Seal
• The mechanical seal is an unassuming piece of
equipment….It is simple yet complex.
• The whole cartrige is held together with a
“top” and bottom section
 Stationary Parts of the Seal
Bushing Housing
Clamp plate holds seal in
place…not actually part
of sealing technology

Axial Movement Direction when running

Impeller Side Motor Side

Bushing Housing
Clamp plate holds seal in
place…not actually part
of seal
 Stationary Parts of the Seal
Yellow portion is Face
Seal Housing…pretty Bushing to minimize oil
much the “TOP” of the leaking out of seal (oil
cartridge. Other pressure centers the ring
stationary parts are and provides a controlled
bolted to inner part of it flow of oil to the drain
vent ) …pin prevents the
bushing from rotating.
Impeller Side Motor Side
Labrynth piece is bolted
to Face Seal Housing.
Prevents oil from
leaking to process when This is a spring to
used in combination keep bushing in
with buffer gas same place while
machine runs
 Stationary Parts of the Seal
Shutdown Piston
Blue area is the retainer Housing….stationary
for the face seal. piece used to hold
shutdown piston.
Since shaft moves axially
when running, this is a pin
that has a spring around it.
The spring that keeps the
seal pressed against “dam”
of mating ring
Motor Side
Shutdown Seal
Face. Viton (rubber)
Impeller Side Seal

FACE SEAL…THIS IS
MAIN REASON FOR
WHOLE CARTRIDGE. Shutdown piston, gas plus Spring
THIS IS A CARBON FACE. keeps it up against “dam” of
Mating ring when shutdown. Oil
pressure keeps piston open
 Stationary Parts of Seal
• The impeller side is actually clamped with
screws to the casing

• The motor side has an antirotation pin mating

to the compressor case
Stationary Parts of Seal

Anti-rotation pin
prevents the seal
housing from rotating.
 Moving Parts of Seal
• The green highlighted area is the part of the
seal that moves with the shaft.
• It has a sleeve with a key to attach it to the
shaft and bolts to attach it to the mating ring.
• The mating ring has a radial and axil interface
for the face and bushing. Oil is injected
through the oil inlet at a pressure higher the
process gas to prevent gas from escaping
through the drain vent to atmosphere.
 Moving Parts of Seal

Shaft adapter
rotates with shaft
thanks to “key”

Mating Ring is bolted to

shaft adapter
 Moving Parts of Seal
• The mating ring has 2 sides:
– Shutdown side
– Face side

The Face side is on the Impeller side

The shutdown side is on the motor side
Face side of
Seal Face

Shutdown Side
of Seal Face
 Moving Parts of Seal
• The moving parts of seal are held onto the
shaft via a keyway on the shaft.
Key for seal to fit in Shaft
Key way in shaft
 Seal Face Types
• The “face” side of the seal face is on the impeller side
of the seal face. (Carbon type)
– This is the normal running position of the seal because the
oil pressure injected between the face seal and the mating
ring, becomes a wedge to lift the face off and allow the
face to glide on a film of oil.
• The “shutdown” side of the mating ring is on the
motor side of the seal face. (Viton [rubber] type)
– This is the shutdown side of the mating ring because when
the compressor shuts down and the oil pressure decays,
the gas settle out pressure in the compressor is applied to
the back side of the shutdown piston closing off the
leakage path allowing for a safe block in of the machine.
Carbon Face Oil injected between the two
compresses the spring and gas
allowing high pressure oil through
Viton rubber Face
 How the seal operates
• The seal oil needs to be maintained at a pressure
higher than the discharge pressure to prevent the
flow of process gas into the seal oil and drain vent.
• If oil pressure is lost (all seal oil is gone) then the gas
behind the shutdown piston will push the shutdown
seal against the mating ring and prevent process gas
from passing to the oil reservoir through the oil
return line or the drain vent to atmosphere.