Author: John Smiddy, sales & technical support director, AESSEAL Ireland Ltd
AESSEAL is a global specialist in the design and manufacture of mechanical seals, bearing protectors and seal support systems. With operations in six continents, it is the world’s fourth-largest supplier of mechanical seals, achieving growth through its customer service and innovative products.
The company's latest development is the Easyclean vessel, which is part of the latest development in water and oil API plan 53a barrier fluid management systems. It is aimed at environments which require a higher level of hygiene. The vessel benefits from the ability to be disassembled for inspection and cleaning.
The development is a redesign of the standard water and oil management systems that are used in conjunction with double mechanical seals throughout a large number of industries. The current systems are an enclosed design, which cools and lubricates the seal faces by passing barrier fluid through the internal cavity of the seal.
Cold barrier fluid enters through the bottom of the seal, helping to keep the seal faces cool. As the barrier fluid heats up, it thermo-siphons up through the top of the seal and back into the vessel where it is cooled and recycled.
[login type="readmore"]
In many applications, this is a very efficient and effective method of ensuring that the running conditions of the seal are optimal. However, in industries such as the food and beverage markets, it is necessary that a there is high degree of cleanliness. It is equally necessary that all equipment used on site can be easily inspected whenever necessary, so as to ensure that cleanliness is being maintained.
CLEANING AND INSPECTION
[caption id="attachment_6532" align="alignright" width="437"]
AESSEAL's Easyclean technology[/caption]
With the current range of systems sold by most mechanical seal suppliers, it is impossible to properly clean and fully inspect the internal cavity of the vessel, thus rendering them inappropriate for these industries.
The Easyclean development gets around this problem by allowing the user to easily remove the bottom section of the vessel for cleaning and inspection routines. Using a pipe clamp, gasket and a ferrule assembly, the bottom section of the seal vessel is attached to the top section and clamped in place to form a complete vessel, which can be pressurised up to 10 Barg.
This development now allows complete access to the internal cavity of the seal vessel and ensures that proper procedures are no longer impeded by inappropriate design.
The Easyclean development is a complementary addition to AESSEAL’s product line and can be twinned with any of the water or oil management system set-ups that are currently available. On its release, it will become AESSEAL’s standard offering to applications in the food & beverage and pharmaceutical industries.
At present, there are four different variants that are designed as a direct alternative to the vessels that are currently used. These are as follows:
- For the 10-litre W2 system, there is the Easyclean;
- For the 10-litre W2 system with cooling coil, there is the Easyclean-CC;
- For the 12-litre P2 systems, there is the Easyclean-WP; and
- For the 12-litre P2 system with cooling coil, there is the Easyclean-WPCC.
For oil applications, the 12-litre seal vessel with weld pad has been redesigned. As a result, it now features a new graduated weld pad for easier level reading.
In the past, AESSEAL has strived to reduce product contamination through product development. One such innovation, which has been a standard offering in the all AESSEAL seal vessels for some time, is the sediment pipe.
SEDIMENT PIPE
[caption id="attachment_6534" align="alignright" width="626"]
The W2 Standard[/caption]
Most seal vessels take the seal feed line from the lowest point of the vessel. In contrast, the sediment pipe takes the feed from further up. This means that the risk of particulates re-entering the barrier fluid line is greatly reduced, as is with product contamination. This sediment pipe is now also included in all Easyclean developments.
Alongside the Easyclean development, several optional extras have been developed to complement the system. One such innovation that has been specifically made for the Easyclean development is a clean-in-place (CIP) attachment.
This is a special fitting that screws into the top of the Easyclean vessel and includes a CIP ball. In cleaning operations, the appropriate cleaning fluid is pumped through the CIP attachment and the CIP ball evenly distributes it, at pressure, around the internal surfaces of the vessel.
This is a recognised cleaning method throughout a number of industries and it helps to ensure that the internal surfaces of the vessel are clean and are free from unwanted deposits.
In addition to the CIP attachment, development is ongoing for a heater attachment that screws into the bottom of the vessel. This heater will allow the user to bring their barrier fluid, whether it be water or oil, up to a maximum temperature of 100°C and to hold it there for a pre-determined amount of time. This will give the user another method to effectively clean the internal cavity of their vessel.
AESSEAL’s Easyclean development offers new ways to add greater levels of cleanliness control and inspection compliance to a given product line. Through correct implementation of the system, product contamination can be reduced and reliability can be increased. In addition, greater efficiency can improve cost savings. These are benefits that are all part of what the Easyclean system can offer to users.