Experimental study on the critical pressure of divergent stepped magnetic fluid seal with a small clearance and single magnetic source.

Herein, a divergent stepped magnetic fluid seal with a single magnetic source is designed to improve the pressure capability of ordinary magnetic fluid seal under small clearance. To explore the effects of injection volume, axial clearance, radial clearance, axial tooth number and radial tooth number on divergent stepped magnetic fluid seal, the pressure capability of magnetic fluid seal with an ordinary structure was comparatively analyzed through experimentation. According to the experimental results, there is no leakage or ejection of magnetic fluid from the sealing device when the critical pressure of divergent stepped magnetic fluid sealing is reached. The divergent stepped magnetic fluid seal structure performs better in pressure resistance the magnetic fluid seal with an ordinary structure. Also, the existence of axial teeth in the stepped magnetic fluid sealing structure leads to an increase in polar teeth, which not only extends the leakage path of the sealing medium but also exacerbates energy loss for the magnetic fluid carried by the sealed medium. This is effective in improving the pressure resistance of the magnetic fluid seal. When the axial tooth number reaches or exceeds the radial tooth number and the axial clearance falls below the radial clearance, the divergent stepped magnetic fluid seal with small clearance has a pressure capability that is 4.1–6 times higher than the critical pressure of ordinary magnetic fluid seal. When the axial clearance exceeds the radial clearance and the axial tooth number falls below the radial tooth number, the divergent stepped magnetic fluid seal has a critical pressure that is 1.9–3.6 times higher than that of conventional magnetic fluid seal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]