Experiment and Simulation on the Ferrofluid Boundary Deformation and Fluctuation Characters of a High-Speed Rotary Seal

Abstract

A ferrofluid seal is a rotary seal widely used in the chemical industry, shipbuilding, aerospace, aviation, and other fields, demonstrating various advantages, such as high reliability, low wear, and low leakage rate. The reason for sealing is that the ferrofluid ring isolates the sealed gas from the atmosphere. Hence, boundary deformation and fluctuation are two significant factors to consider for the design of a ferrofluid seal. However, the ferrofluid boundary is wrapped in the shell and pole shoe, which poses a challenge in direct observation. In this paper, an experimental ferrofluid rotary seal device is presented, which can be used to monitor the boundary changes at different rotational speeds and pressure differences. According to the simulation result, the boundary fluctuation affects the pressure transfer and causes the sealing performance to deteriorate. The ferrofluid boundary obtained through the experiment is essential for an in-depth investigation into the rotary seal failure mechanism for improving the design of the ferrofluid rotary seal.