Reliability (Mechanical Seals Failure Modes 2): Particles and Deposits: Small amounts of hard particles on the seal faces result in
increased wear, especially when using hard/soft seal face material pairings. In such cases, small, hard particles might be squeezed into the soft seal ring from where they act as a grinding tool on the hard seal ring.

Question

Particles and Deposits: Small amounts of hard particles on the seal faces result in
increased wear, especially when using hard/soft seal face material pairings. In such cases, small, hard particles might be squeezed into the soft seal ring from where they act as a grinding tool on the hard seal ring.

Martin Mc Neill · Accepted Answer

Impurities between seal faces result in a high leakage rate, permanently or until the impurity has been grinded and flushed away. As an example, a human hair is 50 to 100 μm thick, as compared to the 0.3 μm (height) of a sealing gap operating under normal operating conditions.

Reliability (Mechanical Seals Failure Modes 2)

Impurities between seal faces result in a high leakage rate, permanently or until the impurity has been grinded and flushed away. As an example, a human hair is 50 to 100 μm thick, as compared to the 0.3 μm (height) of a sealing gap operating under normal operating conditions.

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