HI releases 'Mechanical Seals for Pumps' reference book

The Hydraulic Institute (HI) announced plans to release a new guideline entitled "Mechanical Seals for Pumps: Application Guidelines" in January 2007.

HI's "Mechanical Seals for Pumps: Application Guidelines" is a 300-page comprehensive and authoritative reference book that provides pump and seal professionals, end-users and consulting engineers with useful and current pump mechanical seal knowledge. The institute's comprehensive guideline is packed with user-friendly descriptions and explanations, tables, and photographs that rotating equipment OEMs, EPC professionals, plant engineers, and maintenance and reliability specialists need to ensure system reliability and increase Mean Time Between Repairs (MTBR).

Among the many highlights of "Mechanical Seals for Pumps" is Chapter 23 - "Troubleshooting Mechanical Seals." Photographs of the various seal face and elastomer failure modes are provided along with a list of possible seal failure causes. Understanding the mode of seal failure can lead to extending the life of rotary equipment by improving seal design and material selection, installation and operating procedures, and environmental controls.

For plant management and systems engineers, no chapter is more valuable than Chapter 24 - "Life Cycle Cost." It has been recognized that running seals "hot" have certain economic advantages that can save companies hundreds of thousands of dollars per year by eliminating or reducing the energy sources used to cool the mechanical seal. Several examples are provided at length to demonstrate the extensive cost-saving opportunity.

Based on the guideline, the Hydraulic Institute and the Fluid Sealing Association (FSA) will jointly offer a mechanical seals short course during the Texas A&M Pump Users Symposium on March 5, 2007 in Houston. The course will focus on mechanical seal designs and arrangements, basic operating principles and application limits, seal chamber design and pressures, installation, troubleshooting, and life-cycle costing. All students will be provided with a copy of the new guidebook with their registration fee. Registration details can be found at www.Pumps.org.

Copies of "Mechanical Seals for Pumps: Application Guidelines" are available for $195 by visiting the HI e-store on the Hydraulic Institute Web site at www.Pumps.org or by calling the purchasing line at 973-267-9700, ext.18.

The 90-year old Hydraulic Institute, the largest association of pump producers in North America, is a global authority on pumps and pumping systems. Information on the Hydraulic Institute, its services, standards, publications and meetings, can be found at www.Pumps.org and www.PumpLearning.org, and the new energy-savings and life-cycle-cost-focused site, www.PumpSystemsMatter.org.