Testing shaft seals without pressuring system to operating pressure
AssigneePhillips Petroleum Company
InventorJ. B. Miller
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A seal on a rotatable shaft normally having high pressure sealant liquid behind same with a volatile fluid such as a monomer or light hydrocarbon diluent under high pressure being passed along an annulus in front of same, which annulus terminates in a pressurized vessel, is tested as follows. Before pressuring up the vessel, lubricant liquid under low pressure is passed through the annulus and the shaft is operated for a short time. The bearings are then inspected for vibration, smoking or a surge of sealant liquid along the annulus which would indicate seal failure. This is of particular utility in testing seals on pumps in olefin polymerization reactors.
Claims13
A seal test procedure comprising;
- introducing a lubricant which is liquid under test conditions into an annulus between a shaft and a surrounding sleeve, said introduction being at a point downstream of said seal, said introduction being under low pressure;
- passing said lubricant liquid along said annulus, through a downstream bearing and out to the atmosphere or the at least essentially unpressured interior of a vessel;
- maintaining a sealant liquid behind said seal under about normal operating pressure;
- and
- thereafter operating said shaft at about normal operating speed for a short time, and inspecting for vibration, smoking, or a surge of sealant liquid along said annulus which would indicate seal failure.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.