PHYSICAL MODELING AND DATA-ANALYSIS OF THE DYNAMIC-RESPONSE OF A FLEXIBLY MOUNTED ROTOR MECHANICAL SEAL

The dynamic behavior of mechanical face seals has been an active area of research over the past three decades. Analytical and experimental i nvestigations have exclusively been devoted to the flexibly mounted st ator (FMS) seal. Recent theoretical work on the dynamics of the noncon tacting flexibly mounted rotor (FMR) seal has proven that it excels in every aspect of dynamic behavior compared to the FMS seal. The advant ages of the FMR seal, however, have to be experimentally verified. Thi s work introduces a physical model (i.e., test rig) for an experimenta l investigation of the dynamic behavior of a noncontacting FMR seal. F eatures of the test rig, a new method of modeling and measuring the st iffness and damping of elastomeric O-ring secondary seals, and data an alysis procedures will be introduced. Finally, experimental results wi ll be compared with theory.