Thermal fluid-solid interaction model and experimental validation for hydrostatic mechanical face seals

Hydrostatic mechanical face seals for reactor coolant pumps are very important for the safety and reliability of pressurized-water reactor power plants. More accurate models on the operating mechanism of the seals are needed to help improve their performance. The thermal fluid-solid interaction (TFSI) mechanism of the hydrostatic seal is investigated in this study. Numerical models of the flow field and seal assembly are developed. Based on the mechanism for the continuity condition of the physical quantities at the fluid-solid interface, an on-line numerical TFSI model for the hydrostatic mechanical seal is proposed using an iterative coupling method. Dynamic mesh technology is adopted to adapt to the changing boundary shape. Experiments were performed on a test rig using a full-size test seal to obtain the leakage rate as a function of the differential pressure. The effectiveness and accuracy of the TFSI model were verified by comparing the simulation results and experimental data. Using the TFSI model, the behavior of the seal is presented, including mechanical and thermal deformation, and the temperature field. The influences of the rotating speed and differential pressure of the sealing device on the temperature field, which occur widely in the actual use of the seal, are studied. This research proposes an on-line and assembly-based TFSI model for hydrostatic mechanical face seals, and the model is validated by full-sized experiments.