What are mechanical seals made of?

What are mechanical seals made of?

The materials used in the design of a mechanical seal are determined by the conditions under which it will be operating. The body of a mechanical seal is typically made from stainless steel. The wearing, or contact face of the seal, can be made from a variety of corrosion-resistant materials, such as carbon, glass-filled Teflon, tungsten carbide, and silicon carbide. The other face, the hard face, can be made from ceramic, niresist, tungsten carbide, or silicon carbide. One face rotates, while the other remains stationary. Typically, the nature of the process, the pressure and velocity of the pump, and the temperature the seal is operating in will determine the seal face material.

There is also usually a shaft or sleeve packing. The material used in this element of the seal could be “O”- rings, Teflon wedges, metal bellows, rubber bellows or elastomers such as Viton‚ EPR, Neoprene, or Grafoil packing.