Technical Paper
Hydrodynamic Sealing with Radial Lip Seals
1966-02-01
660379
Conventional radial lip oil seals can be made more effective by utilizing helical grooving beneath the contact lip surface. Miniature hydrodynamic pumps so formed aid the radial lip seal in containing the oil by generating fluid forces opposite in direction to the leakage flow forces. This seal-shaft combination has been termed the Hydroseal. Four factorial experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of helix angle, groove depth, groove width, and number of grooves on sealing performance. The criterion used as a basis for selecting the optimum design were leakage, wear, hardening of the sealing surface, and pumping capacity. These data indicated that the best hydroseal design was one with three grooves, 0.0003 in. deep, 0.014 in. wide, having a helix angle of 45 deg.
