Material for high pressure sealing in reciprocating service
Material for high pressure sealing in reciprocating service
(OP)
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I am looking for an alternative material for a tri-ring seal used in a high pressure reciprocating equipment.
The equipment is an intensifier that works with 1800psi ethylene @-32°C (liquid) during suction stroke and 35000psi @50~60°C during discharge stroke.
The rings of the tri-ring seal design are:
- Solid ring- during discharge stroke seals against plunger and axially against a spacer, and during suction stroke seals axially against a spacer
- M'Ring - seals against plunger during suction stroke and remains under hydrostatic pressure during discharge stroke.
- Radial ring - it does not seal; it is just a ring to maintain the radial and M'Ring in their position.
The material of construction of the rings is a 80Cu/7Sn/12Pb alloy. This is the original (end of 70's) alloy and does not have a good performance regarding wear resistance and also has a low mechanical strength. The lubricant used is the UCON-PE-320 and the lubrication conditions are very severe, specially for M'Ring that operates under boundary to dry lubrication however it is never exposed to a bearing pressure of more than 7000psi and operates most of the time at near 2000psi. The radial ring operates under quasi-hydrodynamic lubrication.
I am looking for an alternative material for a tri-ring seal used in a high pressure reciprocating equipment.
The equipment is an intensifier that works with 1800psi ethylene @-32°C (liquid) during suction stroke and 35000psi @50~60°C during discharge stroke.
The rings of the tri-ring seal design are:
- Solid ring- during discharge stroke seals against plunger and axially against a spacer, and during suction stroke seals axially against a spacer
- M'Ring - seals against plunger during suction stroke and remains under hydrostatic pressure during discharge stroke.
- Radial ring - it does not seal; it is just a ring to maintain the radial and M'Ring in their position.
The material of construction of the rings is a 80Cu/7Sn/12Pb alloy. This is the original (end of 70's) alloy and does not have a good performance regarding wear resistance and also has a low mechanical strength. The lubricant used is the UCON-PE-320 and the lubrication conditions are very severe, specially for M'Ring that operates under boundary to dry lubrication however it is never exposed to a bearing pressure of more than 7000psi and operates most of the time at near 2000psi. The radial ring operates under quasi-hydrodynamic lubrication.





RE: Material for high pressure sealing in reciprocating service
I would get with your intensifier manufacturer and see if he has anything new to offer. I would also checkout what is new with the waterjet industry as the machines are really proliferating.
Here is a breakdown of a seal similar to ours. There are several slight variations on this arrangement.
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Here is another company that supplies PAG’s for compressors and intensifiers that we have used.
http://www.cpieng.com/
Anecdotal:
Most of the UHP sealing strategies , static and dynamic, have been around for many years starting in the 10's by P. W. Bridgman.
RE: Material for high pressure sealing in reciprocating service
This is difficult and there may not be any materials that will work well. There is a material called ToughMet that might work. ht