Effect of Different Section Profile Micro-pores on Seal Performance of a Laser Surface Textured Mechanical Seal

A theoretical analysis model was developed for a fully laser surface textured mechanical seal(LST-MS) considering cavitation within the fluid film between two faces.Finite element method was used to study the effect of geometric parameters of micropores on seal performance of a LST-MS such as face opening force,fluid film stiffness and face frictional torque.Thousands of micropores with different section profiles,such as rectangle,ellipse,globe and parabola,were fully textured by laser on one of the mating faces.The optimum values of the area density and ratio of depth to diameter of the micropores were obtained under the condition of maximum film stiffness.Results show that a LST-MS with the rectangle section profile micropores or the column micropores exhibits the best performance.The results are of important theoretical and engineering application value.