Sliding component

Abstract

Provided is a sliding component that, whilst reducing the leakage volume of a hermetically sealed fluid, can both seal and lubricate, operate during rotation via fluid lubrication, and significantly improve the lubrication properties at start-up or shut-down. The sliding component is characterized in that: on one of a pair of sliding surfaces of a sliding component that slide relative to one another, a plurality of positive pressure generating mechanisms are arranged independently in a circumferential direction, said positive pressure generating mechanisms comprising extremely shallow parallel grooves that are roughly parallel to the slide surface and have sub-micron level differences; the extremely shallow parallel grooves communicate with the high-pressure fluid side, and are separated from the low-pressure fluid side by a seal surface; and on the bottom part of the extremely shallow parallel grooves, extremely shallow narrow grooves are formed.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention relates to, for example, mechanical seals, bearings, and other sliding parts suitable for sliding parts. In particular, it relates to sliding parts such as seal rings and bearings that require fluid to intervene on the sliding surface to reduce friction and prevent fluid leakage from the sliding surface. Background technique [0002] In a mechanical seal as an example of a sliding member, in order to maintain the sealing performance for a long period of time, it is necessary to balance the two opposite conditions of "sealing" and "lubrication". In particular, in recent years, for the sake of environmental protection and the like, the demand for low friction has been further increased, and mechanical loss has been reduced while preventing leakage of sealed fluid. As a method of reducing friction, it is possible to achieve a so-called fluid lubrication state in which dynamic pressure is generated between sliding surfaces by rotatio...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

[0016] However, the purpose of the inventions described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 is to generate dynamic pressure between the sliding surfaces by relative rotation with the counterpart slider, which has the following problems: Low friction in the low pressure range, but in the low pressure and medium to high speed range, or sufficient dynamic pressure cannot be generated when starting or stopping, so sufficient lubricating properties cannot be exerted

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