The Simulation Research on the Ferrofluid Boundary in the Eccentric Rotating Seals

The ferrofluid seals are widely used in rotating machinery, including some eccentric rotating machinery. However, few studies were conducted on the performance of ferrofluid seals with eccentric rotating shafts. In order to analyze the effect of eccentricity on the sealing performance quantitatively, a simulation method is presented for eccentric ferrofluid seals in this article. The magnetic-flow coupling model is calculated by the finite element method (FEM). Besides, the 3-D boundary variation in the seal clearance is calculated by the moving mesh method. The simulation result shows the inhomogeneous distributions of magnetic induction intensity, magnetic force, and magnetization pressure. Based on the analysis of weak points, the effect of eccentricity on the sealing performance of the ferrofluid seal is studied. The sealing performance decreases gradually with the increase of eccentricity.