What Are Oil Seals?

Oil Seals, also known as grease, fluid or dirt seals, are essential mechanical components responsible for closing the spaces between stationary and moving parts in mechanical equipment. Oil seals are critical mechanical components responsible for preventing harmful elements from entering into the machinery, especially in severe environments.

An engine contains many rotating and sliding shafts such as crankshafts, camshafts, valve stems, etc. Their motion is lubricated by oil. Oil Seals help prevent the flow of the lubricating oil along the shaft to the other engine areas, where it can cause significant damage. Oil seals also prevent the intermixture of two different mediums like lubricating oil and water.

Application Of Oil Seals:

Oil seals have a wide range of applications in Oil, Gas, Petrochemicals Industries and several other prominent industries. These seals can be of critical use in several industrial applications like electric motors, gearboxes, paper rolls, industrial pumps and fans, various equipment, oil refiners, power transmitters, etc.

Various Types Of Oil Seals

The Various types of oil seals include:

1. Single & Double Lip
2. Metal Cased
3. Rubber Or Polymer
4. Internal, External & Axial Orientation
5. Spring Loaded

As oil seals are used in almost every type of machinery, including vehicles, they can easily be custom-made for matching the bearings in several new kinds of applications.

Materials Used For Manufacturing Oil Seals

• Carboxylated Nitrile (XNBR)

Working Temperature Range: -55℃ to +135℃

Carboxylated Nitrile oil seals are created from a low temperature tolerant compound and offer excellent abrasion resistance. They also offer high resistance to water and petroleum oils.

• Hydrogenated Nitrile (HNBR) / Highly Saturated Nitrile (HSN)

Working Temperature Range: -30°C to +170°C

HNBR based oils seals offer high sour gas and petroleum oil resistance.HSN has an extensive temperature range, so it is one of the most preferred materials for oil seals having applications in oil industries.

• Silicone (VMQ)

Working Temperature Range: -60°C to 250°C (unique grades up to +300°C)

Silicone-based oil seals offer high lubricant absorbency and minimize wear and frictions within specific applications. It also provides high resistance to several acids and petroleum oils.

• Viton (Fluoropolymer FKM)

Working Temperature Range: -20°C and +205°C or -45°C and +230°C (intermittent/compound-specific)

FKM based oil seals offer good resistance to solvents and petroleum oils.

They are the perfect choice for high-temperature installations and also offer low compression set attributes. FKM based oil seals are often preferred in applications where they are exposed to significant chemical exposures and in complex vacuum applications.

• Polyacrylate (ACM)

Working Temperature Range: -20°C to +150°C

Polyacrylate oil seals offer higher temperature resistance than Nitrile Oil seals and are ideal for high surface speed oil applications, along with providing high resistance to freon and petroleum oils.

• Polyurethane (AU)

Working Temperature range: -15°C to +85°C (intermittent/compound specific between -50°C and +100°C)

Polyurethane oil seals are ideal for high-stress hydraulic applications where highly pressured components are often exposed to wear. Polyurethane offers high tensile strength and high abrasion resistance to hydraulic and petroleum oils.