Book chapter: Friction and wear of seals.
Author: George K. Nikas
Published in: ASM Handbook Vol. 18: Friction, Lubrication, and Wear Technology (Ed.: G. Totten), 2017, pp. 957-968. ASM International (American Society for Metals), Ohio, USA, December 2017. Chapter directly available from the publisher.
SummaryThis review was invited by Prof. Bojan Podgornik (Institute of Metals and Technology (Slovenia)), Division 7 editor, to replace article No. 92 - Friction and Wear of Seals - in volume 18 of the ASM Handbook under the editorship of George Totten. The review Dr Nikas' has submitted is entirely new and is not a revision of the previous article compiled in 1992 by James Dray. Every effort has been made to present a material that is up to date, compact and of value to technically minded readers as requested by the division editor and described in the author guidelines. This means that this new review article is focused on applied engineering (just as the original 1992 article) and not so much on academic or theoretical breakthroughs for which there are numerous journal articles. The review covers all main types of seals, both static (e.g. gaskets) and dynamic (rotary and reciprocating seals), including some special types such as diaphragms. Each type of seal is briefly presented in sub-sections and the issues of friction and wear it faces are discussed therein, with possible solutions for the particular type of seal. After finishing with that, there is a section (section 3) on seal wear and damage with 17 subsections, each dealing with a particular seal wear/failure problem and offering solutions. Most common failure causes are identified in that section. Another section follows (section 4) with guidelines on how friction and wear can be reduced in most types of seals. The review concludes with section 5, which contains suggestions for further reading from a selected bibliography on seals and sealing materials.