Performance Analysis of a Mechanical Seal with Equilateral Triangular Textured T-Groove

Abstract

Abstract

Mechanical seals in rotating machinery require sufficient liquid-film support while limiting leakage and temperature rise. This study proposes an equilateral-triangle-textured T-groove seal face and establishes a thermohydrodynamic CFD model incorporating cavitation to evaluate its lubrication and sealing behavior. The novelty lies in coupling equilateral triangular microtextures with T-grooves and assessing their combined effects on pressure generation, cavitation, thermal response, leakage, and film stability. The effects of medium pressure, rotational speed, film thickness, T-groove number, and texture depth were analyzed. The results show that the triangular textures and T-grooves jointly enhance local hydrodynamic pressure and load-carrying capacity. Higher medium pressure increases both load-carrying capacity and leakage, whereas higher rotational speed improves load support while reducing leakage. The maximum film temperature first increases and then decreases with medium pressure, peaking near 2 MPa. As film thickness increases, the load-carrying capacity reaches its maximum at approximately 8 μm, while the temperature and frictional coefficient decrease. Increasing the number of T-grooves improves load-carrying capacity and film stiffness but also increases leakage and machining complexity. Under the investigated conditions, 10–14 T-grooves provide a practical compromise among load support, leakage control, stiffness, and manufacturability.