Effects of surface topography on cavitation evolution of liquid film lubricated mechanical seals
Industrial Lubrication and Tribology
ISSN: 0036-8792
Article publication date: 27 January 2022
Issue publication date: 2 March 2022
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of surface topography, including surface roughness, waviness and taper, on the cavitation of liquid film lubricated mechanical seals (LFL-MS).
Design/methodology/approach
A universal governing equation considering cavitation is established, and an equivalent relative density is defined to characterize the cavitation degree. The equation is discretized by the finite volume method and solved by the Gauss–Seidel relaxation scheme.
Findings
Results indicate that both radial length and a circumferential width of the cavitation zone and cavitation degree are affected significantly by the waviness amplitude and taper, but the effect of surface roughness is limited.
Originality/value
Effect mechanism of surface topography on the cavitation of LFL-MS is investigated and cavitation degree is reflected by an equivalent relative density. The results further help to comprehensively explore the cavitation mechanism.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This work is supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2018YFB2000800), the Science Development Fund of Dongying (2020033) and the Undergraduate Teaching Reform Research Key Project of Shandong (Z2020057).
Citation
Li, Z.-T., Zhou, Y., Yin, X., Hao, M., Meng, D. and Ren, B. (2022), "Effects of surface topography on cavitation evolution of liquid film lubricated mechanical seals", Industrial Lubrication and Tribology, Vol. 74 No. 2, pp. 153-163. https://doi.org/10.1108/ILT-07-2021-0274
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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