A review of mechanical seals tribology and condition monitoring

Mechanical seals have become one of the most popular sealing systems for rotating machinery
because of low leakage and absence of a requirement for routine maintenance. Generally, a
mechanical face seal should operate with a fluid film as thin as possible, to reduce the leakage and to restrict friction and wear. Recent advances in a system of computer software based on finite element modelling and analytical approaches help in understanding of the working conditions of the mechanical face seals. This paper reviews tribological bahavior and condition monitoring of mechanical seals based on the literature of the recent years. It covers friction, wear and thermal characteristics of mechanical seals and the application of computational methods and other techniques to give good understanding of the tribological behavior and condition monitoring of seal
faces.