Research and progress of mechanical seals operating with vaporization transition

Vaporization transition between mechanical seal faces plays an important role in the operation performance of mechanical seals, which is one of key issues in mechanical seals research and applications. A review on mechanical seals operating with vaporization transition is introduced from the aspects of physical principle, experimental research and theoretical research, respectively. The physical principle and possible damages of film vaporization in mechanical seals are described. The progress from original phenomenon observation to quantitative experiments on steady and transient states and the major achievements are presented. Mathematical models and their development from 2-D axisymmetry models to 3-D models, from steady state to transient state and from discrete boiling models to continuous boiling models are summarized. Based on the above review, the research directions of two-phase mechanical seals are proposed.