Containment brings to mind emissions control, the elimination of product losses and the efficacy of sealing and packing. The diversity of applications and equipment that require containment ensures there is no "one size fits all" solution. Experienced manufacturers' recommendations, based upon a clear understanding of process conditions and operating characteristics, are most likely to result in successful containment. This column will highlight information available on the Internet from a variety of seals and packing sources.
Manufacturers
American Seals & PackingAnchor Seals Inc. supplies mechanical seals and packing. Brief product descriptions are provided. Services include mechanical seal tracking and custom gasket manufacturing. A white paper, "Effective Mechanical Seal Performance Monitoring: A Key Component to Reducing Fixed Plant Costs," is available via e-mail or hard copy.
The A.W. Chesterton Co. manufactures mechanical seals, mechanical packing and gaskets. The site's product section includes links to calculators and an engineer's toolbox, each with useful information, the latter with tables, guides and a sealing wizard. The site map includes a link to video-on-demand with streaming video.
Garlock Sealing Technologies' Web site is evolving into an integrated, seamless, global resource for innovative sealing solutions. It includes product specifications, catalogs, application data forms, installation instructions and the ability to request quotes. Product catalogs include a chemical industry product recommendation guide that you can download in Portable Document Format (PDF). A product selector is available upon registration, which is free.
The Flexitallic Group is a global supplier of spiral-wound, semi-metallic, ring-type joint (RTJ) sheet gaskets and dynamic and static packing. The product listings include detailed information about each type of gasket and packing. The frequently asked questions page indicates what information is required to recommend a gasket size. The design criteria manual, the "engineer's handbook" of static seals technology, is available for download (PDF).
Flowserve Seals are highly engineered mechanical shaft seals for containing corrosive, volatile, abrasive, precious or flammable fluids. A significant amount of literature is available, including brochures, installation instructions and technical information. A links page provides access to government, regulatory agency and trade association Web sites.
John Crane Inc. manufactures mechanical, packing and compressor seals lubrication, as well as seal support systems. The chemical process page includes brief descriptions and links to the details of products. A glossary provides definitions of terms applicable to seals and packing. The company offers training courses on technical topics at various locations.
The UTEX Industries Inc. Web site has a number of interesting products besides mechanical seals, compression and sheet packing. The list includes an array of packing tools, engineered plastics, pipe-repair patches and spring-energized seals. Competitive replacement recommendations are available, as are brochures and literature.
WOODEX Bearing Co. Inc. manufactures custom mechanical shaft seals that tolerate significant shaft misalignment. Product literature and case histories describing successful applications in the chemical industry are available for download in PDF format.
Other Seals andPacking Resources
The Liquid ContainmentRoy Beardmore's mechanical index includes a seals page. While the information is intended to be mainly for those in England, the explanations, tables and links are generally useful.
By Alan E. Hodel, Internet columnist
