Mechanical face seals, also known as heavy-duty, duo cone or toric seals, provide vital protection for rotating components in mining equipment, preventing ingress of abrasive contaminants and retaining internal lubrication, ensuring long service life and reliability.
Favoured for their simple design, durability and ease of assembly, they excel in gearboxes, transmissions and undercarriages, offering resistance to vibration and misalignment. They also support sustainability by extending equipment life and reducing waste.
Tough operating challenges
Mechanical face seals need to operate at up to 0.3 megapascal and require lubrication to reduce friction and cool components. Maintaining correct oil or grease levels while preventing the ingress of contaminants is essential.
Choosing exactly the right seal design in the right material to protect your specific mining application is a critical decision best made in partnership with an established sealing expert such as Trelleborg.
Design
These seals come in two main designs: one with an elastomeric O-Ring and another with a diamond-shaped elastomer. Both feature two identical metal rings mounted face-to-face, with one rotating and the other static.
The elastomer centres the rings, applies axial load, transmits torque, and absorbs vibration and misalignment.
Materials
Seal rings are typically made from bearing steel (100Cr6), cast iron or the newer Nexus spring steel. Bearing steel offers flexibility in muddy conditions, while cast iron suits high-speed applications due to its wear and corrosion resistance.
Trelleborg’s Nexus face seal provides enhanced flexibility and performance in low-speed, mud-prone environments.
Elastomeric materials include nitrile rubber, HNBR (hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber), silicone and fluoroelastomers, selected according to the required chemical compatibility and temperature parameters.
Right first time
“Choosing a sub-optimal sealing solution can be an expensive mistake,” Trelleborg Sealing Solutions APAC (Asia-Pacific) business development manager Dirk Moessner said.
“To avoid the pitfalls of premature failure, unscheduled maintenance and associated costs, it’s always best to partner with an established sealing expert like Trelleborg who can provide expert input on material selection, testing and installation.”
Click here for more information on Trelleborg solutions for the mining industry or herefor more on Trelleborg’s extensive range of mechanical face seals.