In the sealing technology, hard sealing and soft sealing are two common sealing methods, which have their own characteristics and are suitable for different application scenarios. This paper will make a detailed comparison and analysis of these two sealing methods.
First, hard seal
Hard seal usually refers to the use of hard materials made of seals, such as metal sealing rings, cemented carbide sealing rings, etc. These seals have high strength and hardness, can withstand high pressure and temperature, suitable for high temperature, high pressure and high-speed operation sealing applications.
The advantages of a hard seal are its high wear resistance, corrosion resistance and long service life. However, the sealing performance of hard seals is often affected by the machining accuracy and surface roughness of the sealing surface, so higher machining accuracy and surface treatment technology are required.
Two, soft seal
Soft seal refers to the use of elastic materials made of seals, such as rubber seals, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) gaskets. These seals have good elasticity and corrosion resistance, can adapt to large deformation and sealing surface irregularities, so it is suitable for low pressure, low speed and sealing surface accuracy requirements are not high.
The advantage of soft sealing is that it has better sealing performance and lower manufacturing cost. In addition, the soft sealing material has good self-lubrication, which can reduce friction and wear and reduce maintenance costs. However, the wear resistance and high temperature resistance of soft seals are relatively poor, and problems such as aging, hardening or deformation may occur under high temperature and high-speed operation.
Iii. Summary
Hard seal and soft seal have advantages and disadvantages, suitable for different sealing occasions. When selecting the sealing method, it is necessary to comprehensively consider according to the specific application environment and requirements. For example, in the case of high temperature, high pressure and high-speed operation, a hard seal may be more appropriate; In low-pressure, low-speed and sealing surface accuracy requirements are not high occasions, soft sealing may be more advantageous. In addition, it is also necessary to consider the corrosion resistance, wear resistance and high temperature resistance of the sealing material.