Heat transfer and thermal deformations in non-contacting face seals

The simulations conducted for non-contacting face seals show that performance-related parameters greatly affect the distribution of temperature in the fluid film causing thermal deformations of the sealing rings. The results indicate that the thermal deformations of the rings should be taken into account at the design stage, especially when non-contacting face seals are to be used in high-performance systems. The mathematical model of heat transfer used for the simulations consists of a system of coupled differential equations with partial derivatives, including heat equations and an energy equation with precisely defined boundary conditions. The calculated distributions of temperature were used to determine the values of thermal deformations of the sealing rings.