Designed to perform under volatile pressure and temperature conditions, Type 8628VL mechanical seal maintains sealing integrity in multiphase ethane and ethylene pipelines by using spiral-groove, non-contacting technology, as well as dual non-contacting seal faces in a tandem configuration. Its design was validated by research in Lubricants, a peer-reviewed, open-access journal from MDPI. It confirmed that spiral-groove, non-contacting seal faces deliver superior hydrodynamic lift, phase-change resilience, and zero-wear operation in volatile fluid applications, ultimately allowing ethane pipelines to eliminate friction and wear while using the process fluid in these different states to provide lubrication.
Type 8628VL also features:
- Enhanced reliability by operating nearly twice as long as conventional wet seals with liquid barrier fluid, with a mean time between repair (MTBR) of up to 48 months or more.
- Efficiency and sustainability by requiring only 2-3 GPM of flush fluid, which is a fraction of the 10-30 GPM fluid required when contacting-seal faces are applied.
- Simpler sealing support system with a dual unpressurised arrangement that eliminates the need for complex API Plan 54 or 53B systems. This eliminates liquid barrier fluids and the need for cooling water.