How does it work?

When a standard cartridge seal is installed there can be as little as 1mm between the outside of the seal and the inside of the seal chamber. This dramatically reduces the cooling power of the surrounding fluid and increases the power losses from ‘churning’.

When an ACS seal from aircooledseal.com is installed, the seal sits completely outside the seal chamber, dramatically increasing the volume and cooling power of the surrounding fluid. In addition, the ACS’s patented*, air-cooled features remove heat from the seal chamber and allow the ACS to run during process upsets such as dry running, cavitation or blockages in flushing flow.

The novel arrangement of the ACS allows the majority of the heat generated at the sliding interface to be conducted through the rotor and into the air cooled collar. The collar is rotating with the shaft and the cooling fins on the collar allow the heat to dissipate to atmosphere through forced convection. This is a step change in sealing technology and results in many cost benefits to the end-user (see table below). An additional benefit of the air-cooled features is that the ACS can be monitored in-situ using IR imagery. This can often pick up a problem installation before it fails allowing planned rather than unplanned maintenance.

view larger image	IR Image of Ø30mm ACS-GEN view larger image
* UK PATENT APPLICATION NUMBER: 1012263.8	Speed: 3000rpm Pressure: 10 Bar Piping plan: No recirculation Pumped fluid: Water, 60°C

	Feature	Benefit	Impact
1	Air cooled rotor results in a cooler seal	Increased life, tolerates process upsets, can be monitored in-situ with IR imagery, can often be installed without a flush	Reduces maintenance costs
2	Low swept volume in seal chamber	Lowers churning losses by up to 30%,	Reduces power consumption and costs
3	Sleeveless design with clean internal profile	Non- clogging, allows CIP	Reduces maintenance costs
4	No seal chamber required for installation	Increased cooling, increased potential applications	Reduces maintenance costs, reduces stock costs
5	Accepts 3° misalignment	More tolerant installation	Reduces maintenance costs
6	Requires no measuring or setting clips	Easy to install - less ‘infant mortality’	Reduces maintenance costs