Split Mechanical Seal

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A Split Mechanical Seal is used to seal rotating equipment such as pumps (often vertical or horizontal multi-stage), mixers, agitators, stern tubes, and reactors. It is designed with a split rotating (5) and split non-rotating (3) lapped ring which combine to form the primary seal. These rings or seal faces are sealed to the drive element and gland element via split secondary seals (1). These secondary seals may be molded for easy installation or vulcanized in place for custom seal designs. A series of springs are used to load the seal faces to prevent leakage from the primary seal. The splits may be machined to a polished finish to form a seal or may be sealed by a gasket.
The Split Mechanical Seal is often mounted in place of mechanical packing or a conventional shaft seal because the equipment remains assembled while the seal is mounted.
It is primarily used to seal non-volatile fluids but can be used to seal aggressive fluids in top entry vessels via the use of a gas blanket.