Novel

Historical Fiction Company Summary of Enchanted Journal

My latest novel, “The Enchanted Journal: Adventure on the Oregon Trail,” has been reviewed by the Historical Fiction Company and was awarded four out of five stars. Here’s some of what they said about it.

“The Roberts family takes the Oregon trail to make a new future for themselves. But the six month-long journey is not an easy adventure; it needs endurance, tenacity, cunning, and patience to arrive at the destination alive. Incredible dangers are lurking on its path that could end someone’s life in hours, and there are many graves along the road. Does the Roberts family have what it takes to make it?

“The reader becomes deeply attached to the characters, watching out for dangers, predicting a plot twist (and being often wrong), or wishing the villain could forever disappear. While the reader can possibly foresee the turn of events, by the end, there is one more surprise to entice and entertain (no spoilers). Overall, The Enchanted Journal proved an entertaining reading which teaches a few history lessons along the way.”

Novel

Enchanted Journal

My third novel, Enchanted Journal: Adventure on the Oregon Trail is now available on Amazon. I still can’t believe it, but I actually dreamed the basis of this story.

The leather diary beckons Abigail Roberts from the ruts of the Oregon Trail. “Read me,” it teases, “I can help you,” but few pages contain writing. Mysteriously, a new page appears the next day to warn her of a dangerous river crossing and recommend a better one. The diary, written by teenaged Milli Madison in 1843, changes Abigail’s life as fresh pages of Milli’s adventure magically appear.

In 1859, fifteen-year-old Abigail Roberts begins her journey on the Oregon Trail. A farm girl and tomboy, she does not want the trail, but her father is eager for adventure and free land in Oregon.

Milli and William Anderson become sweethearts on the 1843 trail, but Abigail is determined to avoid romance and focuses on Oregon in 1859.

Captain Bridgewater, an experienced wagon master on his final trail, guides the caravan, and teaches the ways of the trail.

Follow Abigail’s adventures on the Oregon Trail in 1859 as she follows Milli’s adventures from 1843.

SealFAQs, Uncategorized

A Rant

Fair warning: This is a rant.

I had to stop all comments because a certain person continually entered fake comments just to promote his own websites. I don’t understand how or why this person does this, but the only way I could prevent it was to not allow comments on any posts.

I’ll leave this post open to comments so I can test my latest options for preventing spam. If your website or email address uses words like ‘hairstyle’, ‘hair’, ‘style’, ‘hairstylevip’, etc. then you may not be able to comment – at least I hope so.

Of course, the spammer does not actually read my posts, so this message may go unnoticed, but I’ll leave this post up for a few days and see what happens.

Novel, Uncategorized

The Viking Princess: College Romance in 1970

My second novel, “The Viking Princess: College Romance in 1970,” has been published on Amazon, see https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09MYSS2T1 . No, I didn’t crank it out in a couple of weeks. In 2021, I actually wrote two novels. Here’s the explanation.

In writing “Timepath: Nature Abhors a Paradox”, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09LGV94RL, I needed lots of study and help and signed up for online classes. Then I needed a practice novel for the online classes, so I created “Viking Princess”—a ridiculous “Hallmark Movie” kind of novel in which anything is possible. “Viking Princess” soon turned into a romance novel and, rather than change its genre, I determined to take on the challenge and finish it.

“Viking Princess” was a lot of fun to write and I was encouraged to publish it. Why not? I hired an artist and described the characters and scenes. Seeing her illustrations convinced me to publish “Viking Princess.”

*****

Fiona is an auburn-haired Scottish orphan called ‘Viking Princess’ because of her height, beauty and regal bearing. She is a serious, but shy, fine art student and keeps to herself. Fiona stereotypes football players as dumb bullies. Her new friend, Mary, wants to introduce Fiona to her best friend, Alexander.

Alexander is the Big Man on Campus. A handsome engineering student and star football player, his ambition is to become an inventor. Everything is easy for Alexander. Mary describes Fiona as ‘having a good personality’—intentionally not mentioning her beauty — and Alexander reluctantly agrees to meet her.

As they become acquainted, Fiona and Alexander must overcome cultural differences, jealousy, punishment for PDA, harassment, and family.

Uncategorized

Timepath: Nature Abhors a Paradox

Timepath

For the past year, inspired by my grandfather, J. W. Hale, I’ve been attempting to reinvent myself as a novelist. As an avid reader, I always wanted to write novels, and had made various unsuccessful attempts over the years. Finally, I realized that, at nearly age 24 °C, I had better get busy if I were ever to write my novel.

Time travel has always fascinated me and my own time travel novel was first on my bucket list of writing. I collected my pieces and snips and began writing my novel. It was a disaster–too much engineer, bad habits, and ignorance of organization. I signed up for several online novel writing classes and submitted many rough drafts and samples for criticism.

And now, I have finished my novel! “Timepath: Nature Abhors a Paradox” is entirely different from the novel I first imagined, but I can put a big check mark on my bucket list!

The paperback version is on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09LGV94RL

The ebook version is on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09LSM6YLC

“Timepath: Nature Abhors a Paradox”

When Greg learns that his romantic interest, Anne, is actually his sixth great-granddaughter and is susceptible to breast cancer, he joins an experimental time travel project based on the twisted string theory of time. Although his official mission is to be briefly transported to 1810, his personal mission is to remain and administer a cancer preventative. The time travel team is baffled by Greg’s disappearance and attempts to discover the reason. Anne remains in 2022 and defends Greg’s reputation. Greg and Anne devise a method for Greg to save artifacts, letters, and photographs from the early 1800s where he must learn to live. They each make a time capsule to record their lives.

Uncategorized

Drain and Bushing Flow in Piping Plans 66 A/B

Leakage detection and management is a major consideration in the application of mechanical seals.  Some arrangements and configurations can be fitted with drain connections and a throttle bushing to force leakage through that drain.  Leakage through the throttle bushing remains near the gland plate whereas leakage through the drain can be piped away from the seal/pump.  Piping Plans 65A/B and 66A/B are special piping plans for leakage detection and management but a simple run of pipe connected to the drain can also be used to route leakage to a disposal area.

An open drain means that all leakage will remain near the seal/pump.  A plugged drain means that all leakage will go through the throttle bushing and remain near the seal/pump.  Even a close clearance throttle bushing has little effect on reducing seal face leakage.

How large should the drain be in relation to the throttle bushing clearance?  API 682 4th Edition provides some guidance.  Fixed throttle bushings have a diametral clearance ranging from 0.025 to 0.040 inch.  Floating carbon bushings have a diametral clearance ranging from 0.007 to 0.011 inch.  A segmented variation of the floating carbon bushing typically rubs the sleeve slightly but performs as though the diametral clearance was 0.001 to 0.002 inch.  The drain connection is typically 3/8” NPT but the drill through to the connection is more like 1/4” or 3/8” diameter.  Piping Plan 66B uses either a 0.0625 or 0.125 inch diameter drilled hole in a plug placed in the drain connection.

Following is a simplistic procedure for estimating leakage rate and distribution to the drain and throttle bushing.

Plan 11 - with seal - Drain Calculations
Plan 11 – with seal – Drain Calculations

As shown in the figure above1, seal face leakage is from P1 to P2.  All seal face leakage must exit through either the throttle bushing or drain piping.  Throttle bushing and drain leakage is from P2 to P3.  The pressure P2 must be sufficiently high to force all the seal face leakage through the drain piping and bushing.  An increase in P2 also means a decrease (typically negligibly small) in seal face leakage.

There is no closed form algebraic solution for the analysis of this problem.  However, by combining simple equations for seal face leakage, throttle bushing leakage and pipe flow, a trial and error approach can be developed to approximate the various flows.  First, an estimate is made for P2.  Using this estimated P2, seal face leakage can be determined.  Next the flow through the drain piping is determined based on P2.  Flow through the bushing is also calculated based on P2.  The sum of the drain and bushing flows must equal the seal face leakage otherwise a new estimate is made for P2. This trial and error procedure is repeated until convergence is obtained.

A number of trial cases were established and solved to get a feeling for the procedure and results.  It quickly became apparent that as the throttle bushing clearance is reduced, almost all seal face leakage goes through the drain.    Of course, it is the throttle bushing that forces flow to the drain and large throttle bushing clearances render the bushing less effective. 

Drain and Bushing Calculation Composite
Drain and Bushing Calculation Composite

The same equations and procedures could be applied to Piping Plan 66B even though the illustration for Piping Plan 66B.  For more information and details, see Piping Plan 66B.

Analysis of Plan 66A is slightly different because of the dual throttle bushings.   For more information and details, see Piping Plan 66A.

The following conclusions may be drawn from this study:

  1. Except for very high seal face leakage rates in designs using fixed bushings, virtually all seal face leakage is routed through the drain connection.
  2. Floating or segmented throttle bushings (that is, not fixed bushings) should be used in Piping Plan 66A&B and the alarm pressure probably should be set to less than 1 psig.
  3. Piping Plans 66A&B are suitable for detecting sudden large leakage rates but not monitoring leakage trends.
  4. Piping Plan 66A is much more sensitive to leakage rates than Plan 66B.
  5. Within the recommendations of API 682 4th Edition, the size of the drain piping, drain orifices and the clearance of the throttle bushing produce the trends shown in Table 1.  Note that leakage from the outer bushing becomes environmental leakage at the pump unless drain piping is provided.  The relative effects shown in Table 1 increase with increased seal face leakage rate.
Table Showing Relative Effects of Variables
Table Showing Relative Effects of Variables
Uncategorized

Metal Bellows Seals

Several requests had been made for engineering guidelines regarding metal bellows seals.  Although I like metal bellows seals, I don’t consider myself expert in their design.

SealFAQs does include some comments and anecdotes about metal bellows seals including the history and development of stationary metal bellows seals but no real details about design or application.

Fortunately, John Crane has recently published “Seven Things to Know …” about metal bellows seals in their blog. 

Uncategorized

Buck Family of Virginia Book

Not exactly related to mechanical seals but I’ve published a genealogy book about my Buck family.  It is available as an ebook on Amazon and will soon be available as a printed book.  See https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0847R7WG8/ref=nav_timeline_asin?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

My Buck family is usually referred to as the “Buck Family of Virginia”.  The first member of the Buck family to come to the New World was the Reverend Richard Bucke who sailed from England on June 2, 1609 for Jamestown on the Seaventure. He was the second minister of the Virginia colony and is probably best known for performing the marriage ceremony of John Rolfe and Pocahontas in 1614.

The progenitor of my Buck family of Virginia was Thomas Buck (1618 – 1659) who left Gravesend, England for Virginia on August 21, 1635 onboard the ship George when he was seventeen years old. There is no known relationship between Thomas Buck and the Rev. Richard Bucke but there are several interesting, if perhaps circumstantial, similarities. They were from the same general area in England and settled into the same area in Virginia. It seems highly likely that Thomas would have known the children of Richard Bucke.

In Virginia, Thomas Buck settled into York County, Virginia and appeared to have been prosperous; however, he died at the age of 41.  His will includes an inventory of his household goods which includes, among other things, a Bible and 8000 nails.  There is little information on his children and grandchildren except for his great grandson Charles.

Charles Buck I was born about 1710 in York County and died in 1771 in the Shenandoah Valley. The three sons of Charles Buck I married three daughters of William Richardson and Isabella Calmes in 1774. These three families had thirty-two children. I am a descendant of Charles Buck II through his son William Calmes Buck.

Although the Buck family is not often mentioned in history books, they were a prominent and well-to-do plantation family in early Virginia. They were active in the local economy, politics and religion of the Shenandoah Valley during the 1700’s and 1800’s.  In the 1800s, many family members moved westward, especially into Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas.

The Buck family of Virginia also has connections to the Calmes, Ashby, Blakemore, Field, Helm, Neville, Payne, Pierce, Thomas, Bayly, Catlett, Sorrell and Mauzy families of Virginia and Maryland.  Later, a strong connection to the Harrison family was developed in Texas.

All of this information and more is contained in the book.  Most of it is also in my genealogy blog at http://buckfamilyofvirginia.blogspot.com/

API 682, mechanical seal

The Origin of 0.002 Inch

One of my little jokes about pumps and seals is that you only have to know two numbers:  1/8 inch and 0.002 inch.  Well, at least I think it’s funny anyway.  When I was younger and had better vision, I could not understand why certain limits were based on 0.002 inch when 0.001 inch increments could be seen so clearly.  Many years later, I can better understand the 0.002 inch criteria.

It turns out that the 0.002 inch criteria may actually have some basis from lab tests of long ago.  In the early 1950s, the question of seal reliability vs shaft deflection was a hotly debated topic.  The book “People, Products and Progress:  The Durametallic Story” by A. H. Miller relates how Durametallic addressed the question: 

“The Development Committee directed the Research Department to run a series of shaft deflection tests.  After much thought, a regular tester was modified and a shaft which extended 2-1/2 to 3 feet beyond the seal cavity was installed, allowing the shaft to be deflected several thousandths of an inch in any direction.

“… those tests did demonstrate that any amount of shaft deflection which exceeded 0.003 inch at the seal face decreased the effectiveness of the pump and seal.  The pump companies evidently accepted the results of those tests, because as they developed new pump lines, the amount of shaft support provided in them was increased.”

Although no details were given, this anecdote is perhaps the origin of the 0.002 inch maximum allowable deflection at the seal faces and probably made its way into other rules-of-thumb as well.  Just think about all the publications and training programs that emphasize checking runouts and wanting them to be less than 0.002 inch.

API, mechanical seal, SealFAQs, Uncategorized, Wikipedia

Blogs about Mechanical Seals

A blog is a “weblog”, that is, an online journal or informational website.  Posts to a blog appear in reverse chronological order. A blog can be about anything. Many blogs are personal in nature and often are similar to a diary.  The first blogs began to show up about 1994 and were primarily text with a single author.  A blog is expected to be updated more frequently than a website and also to be somewhat less formal.  Blogs usually have a byline or author and the blog site includes the ability to find previous posts by author, date, category and tags.

A blogger is simply someone who operates a blog or blog site as opposed to someone who authors a post for a blog or website.

Blogs can generate money through sponsors and links to commercial sites; however, SealFAQs does not do this.

One problem with hosting a blog is the commitment to maintain it and to add new posts regularly.  Having neglected my own blog for several months, I’m well aware of this problem.  After a while, the newness and uniqueness of the blog sort of wears off and the blogger runs out of things to write about.  Fortunately, I have plans and topics for 2020.

Manufacturers Blogs

There are several different types of blogs.  Some seal OEMs operate a corporate blog to provide information and updates about their products.  Here are some links to OEM “blogs” that are specifically labelled blogs.

John Crane has a blog, https://resources.johncrane.com/blog/, attached to its main website, JohnCrane.com.  The Crane blog addresses a variety of subjects and appears to be somewhat irregularly updated.  The Crane blog appears to be a mix of technical articles, product announcements, news and field experience.  The author(s) name is not given.  The Crane blog began December 13, 2018.

Chesterton has a blog, https://blog.chesterton.com/, attached to its main website, Chesterton.com.  The current topic is part 4 of a series on double seals and barrier fluids; it dates to October 31, 2019.  Although good information, the overall feel is not that of a “blog”.  Apparently several authors contribute.  The Chesterton blog dates back to at least 2017.

Sepco has a blog, “Seal Connect”, at https://www.sepco.com/community/blog/, with posts by various authors dating back to July 23, 2019.

Flowserve does not appear to have a blog, as such. 

EagleBurgmann does not appear to have a blog, as such. 

Non-Manufacturers Blogs

SealFAQs is not a manufacturer sponsored blog.  There are a few other such blogs, but not many.

The Fluid Sealing Association (FSA), the International Trade Association for mechanical seals, has a blog, http://www.fluidsealing.com/mechanical-seals/mechanical-seals-blog/.  The FSA blog doesn’t feel like a conventional blog.  Posts tend to come from the various member companies of the FSA.  Many of the FSA posts were published in Pumps and Systems Magazine as part of the “Sealing Sense” series.  The most recent post was published in June 2019.

There is a relatively new blog at https://www.mechanicalseals.net/Mechanical-Seal-Blog/index.php?frontpage, with the title “Mechanical Seal Tips and Details”.  It has only three posts and has the feel of a project that was undertaken and then stopped.  However, it was off to a good start.

Seal Websites

Of course, there are other websites containing information about mechanical seals and a few use the word “blog” in their description but don’t really have the feel of a blog.

Wikipedia has a page for mechanical seals, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/End-face_mechanical_seal as well as a page for the seal standard, API 682, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/API_Standard_682.

If you are aware of other mechanical seals blogs and especially if you have a favorite mechanical seals blog, please leave a comment.