Experimental research on axial thrust and the wearability of graphite bearing of a vertical canned motor pump

This research dealt with the axial thrust and the wearability of graphite bearing of a vertical canned motor pump, which are the two critical problems about the pump's working life. A measuring apparatus was established to find out the influence of the structure of seal ring and the operating point of the pump on the axial thrust, and these tests indicate that if double mechanical end face seal and balance holes are used, axial thrust will be greatly reduced. A series of abrasive experiments on the common graphite material and the infiltration epoxide resin graphite material were made by using Falex tribology test equipment, and CSM950, a scanning electron microscope(SEM) equipment, was used to analyze the fracture morphology on their surface. It is found out that the wearability of the infiltration epoxide resin graphite material is better than that of the common graphite material. These experimental results provide some references for the design of canned motor pumps.