An Experimental Study on the Effect of Squeeze Motion at the Elastomeric Radial Lip Seal Interface on Pumping

In this work the role of the squeeze motion, which is the relative radial motion between the seal lip and the shaft, as a part of the pumping mechanisms of the elastomeric radial lip seal has been studied. Six operational factors; shaft speed, fluid temperature, dynamic runout, seal wear track width, rubber material and shaft surface roughness have been considered. The results reveal that the shaft runout and the shaft speed are the most important influential factors on the squeeze pump rate. However, the squeeze pump rate is less than 10% of the total pump rate of the seal. Therefore, the squeeze pumping is not a dominant pumping mechanism.