Abstract: Vaporization transition between mechanical seal faces plays an important role in the operation performance of mechanical seals, which is one of key issues in mechanical seals research and applications.A review on mechanical seals operating with vaporization transition is introduced from the aspects of physical principle, experimental research and theoretical research, respectively.The physical principle and possible damages of film vaporization in mechanical seals are described.The progress from original phenomenon observation to quantitative experiments on steady and transient states and the major achievements are presented.Mathematical models and their development from 2-D axisymmetry models to 3-D models, from steady state to transient state and from discrete boiling models to continuous boiling models are summarized.Based on the above review, the research directions of two-phase mechanical seals are proposed.

Key words: two-phase mechanical seal, vaporization transition, stability

摘要： 端面液膜汽化现象对机械密封的工作性能具有重要影响,是机械密封研究与应用的焦点问题之一。从物理机制、实验研究、理论研究3方面介绍了机械密封液膜汽化问题的研究现状:阐释机械密封液膜汽化的物理机制及其可能造成的危害;从早期的简单现象观察到后来稳态及瞬态的定量化实验研究,总结各阶段的技术与成果;涵盖轴对称到全三维、稳态到瞬态、间断沸腾模型到连续沸腾模型的各种类型的数学模型和研究进展。在总结分析研究现状的基础上,对未来两相密封的研究方向进行了展望。

关键词: 两相机械密封, 汽化, 稳定性