Fluid Sealing

With this 13th in the series of International Conferences on Fluid Sealing these meetings move into their third decade. To be precise it is now thirty-one years since BHRA, as it then was, convened, with no little trepidation, the first of these Conferences in Ashford, England. The massive set of proceedings now occupies a considerable length of shelf in my bookcase and represents a tremendous technological resource - over 400 separate papers. It is interesting that I seem to refer most often to the earlier volumes, probably most of all to the very first. Perhaps this is because this volume marks the beginning of "historic times", AD 0, for fluid sealing technology. There were of course important publications in this field even before 1961. A notable example is the seminal work of my predecessor at BHRA, Dr D. F. Denny, whose researches on reciprocating fluid power seals, "The sealing mechanism of flexible packings", was published in 1947 by a long since defunct government department, the Ministry of Supply. Another notable source is the Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers' 1957 Conference on Lubrication and Wear. However, there is more to fluid st". aling technology than just tribology, as we must now call lubrication and wear, interest in static seals has really come to the fore in recent years - witness the large batch of papers dealing with this subject in the present Conference.

Inhalt

Abstract of Opening Address: Seals - Machine Elements of Increasing Importance.- Lip Seals.- Keynote Address: Understanding the Sealing Mechanism of the Radial Lip Seal for Rotating Shafts.- Computation and Measurement of Sealing Contact Stress and its Role in Rotary Lip Seal Design.- On the Sealing Mechanism of Lip Seals Containing Microundulations.- Dynamic Mapping of Radial Lip Seal Lubricant Films by Optical Resonance Techniques.- Static Seals.- Duty Limits of Sheet Gaskets in Steam Joints.- Fundamental Study of Static Sealing Characteristics of Solidified Oils at High Pressure.- Sealing of Large Size Vessels.- Low Pressure System High Integrity Seal Concept - The Low Stress Spiral Wound Gasket.- Water and Steam Tightness Tests of Expanded Graphite Static Gaskets for Nuclear Power Plant Steam Generators.- EDF Approach to the Design and Maintenance of Leaktight Bolted Assemblies.- Selco Seal - Applications and Test Results.- Development of Test Procedures for Fire Resistance Qualification of Gaskets.- Recent Developments in Elevated Temperature Gasket Evaluation.- Testing of Gaskets in a Din Flange Before and After Storage at Elevated Temperature.- Development of Test Facility to Characterize Static Seals at Temperature up to 800°C.- Non Circular Pressure Vessel Flanges - New Design Methods.- Mechanical Seal Research.- Experimental Analysis of the Optimum Lubrication Conditions for Mechanical Seals.- Identification of Friction Modes and Analysis of Friction Characteristics of Mechanical Face Seals.- Cavitation - A little Noticed Factor in the Operation of Mechanical Seals.- Mechanical Seal Application and Performance.- Mechanical Seal Performance for Low Emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds.- Mechanical Seals for Abrasive and Clogging Medias.- A Statistical Review of Mechanical Seal Failures in Process Plant Pumps.- Predicting and Ensuring the Performance of Hard Faced Seals.- Analysis, Design and Laboratory Testing of a High Pressure High Speed, Reduced Axial Length Gas Seal.- Mechanical Seal Qualification.- Mechanical Seal Review.- Mechanical Seals Qualification Procedure of the Main Pumps of Nuclear Power Plants in France.- Performance Testing of Mechanical Seals.- A Lubrication Number for Mechanical Seals.- Materials and Thermal.- Study of Mechanism and Controlling Factors of Carbon Blister Generation on Mechanical Seals.- Investigation on Surface Failure of Hard Materials for Mechanical Seals.- Thermal Cycling in Mechanical Seals - Causes, Prediction and Prevention.- A Study of the Mechanochemical Factors Degrading the Performance of Rubber Seals.- Packings.- A New Mechanical Packing Concept Brings Secure Stem Sealings with Rapid Response to Modulating Control Valves.- Sealing Performances of Gland Packings for Valves in Nuclear Plant.- Seal System Development for Large Centrifugal Pumps in Arduous Conditions.- Theoretical Analyses and Experimental Studies of Reliability and Stability of the Gland Packing.- Fluid Power.- Compatibility of Elastomeric Seal Materials in Modern Hydraulic Pressure Fluids.- Contact Hydraulics in the Sealing Footprint - Effects on Deformation, Leakage and Friction of Soft Seals.- Finite Element Redesign of Reciprocating "PTFE" Rod Seals.- PTFE-Shaft Seal for Higher Pressures.- Valve Emissions and Clearance Seals.- Emission Control in Control Valves & Related Equipment.- Liquid Collecting Labyrinth Seals for Machine Tool Spindles.- The Design and Development of a Novel Low Cost Elastomeric Mechanical Seal.