Mechanical seals are an integral component in centrifugal pumps used throughout the pipeline industry. While they are often thought of as a secondary component, mechanical seals can have a significant impact on the reliability of pumping equipment and the availability of the entire pipeline. In addition, mechanical seals and their related support systems are directly exposed to the pipeline products. Therefore, their performance can have a direct impact on the environmental and safety objectives of the user. This investigation was directed towards the reduction of seal leakage in unmanned pipeline stations. These stations are located across a geographically wide area and can be in remote locations. Pipeline operators and maintenance personnel make periodic inspections of these stations but they are primarily unmanned. This implies that the operation of the equipment, monitoring of equipment condition, and detection of equipment failure must be done remotely. Failure of any piece of equipment with the potential to leak pipeline product to the environment must be addressed in a manner which is consistent with the remote location and time required to have maintenance personnel arrive at the station.
The final report provided recommendation in five distinct areas relating to mechanical seals: prevention, prediction, detection, containment, and disposal. The project evaluated methods to reduce leakage that captured opportunities across all phase of pipelines activities and explored the underlying foundation of how seals are specified and purchased through the selection of piping plans, operations, and monitoring programs. It also addressed systematic as well as hardware based factors. Two complementary efforts are put forth on the 2011 ballot to address performance improvement of mechanical seal system in viscous fluid service and to predict seal failure through continuous monitoring of the seal operational parameters.