Integral Pumping Rings for Dual Mechanical Seals: Geometrical and Hydraulic Parameters Optimization Which Are Affected on Hydraulic Performance Using Numerical Simulation

A numerical investigation is carried out to evaluate the performance of pumping ring designed for dual mechanical seals. Both radial-flow and axial-flow pumping rings are considered in the present study due to optimization the geometrical parameters of pumping ring. Radial flow pumping rings receive the flow radially which is perpendicular on the shaft while axial flow pumping rings receive the flow in a direction parallel to the shaft. The actual radial-flow pumping ring setup is constructed according to API plan ۵۲ with an accumulator-based seal support system in the barrier circuit loop. Furthermore, a numerical investigation is conducted to provide a reliable numerical model represented by ANSYS CFX by creating an acceptable meshing and turbulence modeling using the previous studies based on the experimental results as a validation method. As for the numerical investigation, it is indicated that RNG k-epsilon turbulence model is the best numerical model in terms of the best turbulence prediction.