We installed the sintered silicon carbide seal rings in our main centrifugal pump handling a slurry of crushed limestone and water. The previous tungsten carbide faces lasted about six weeks before showing visible wear and starting to leak. After the first month with your SiC rings, the pump has run continuously with no measurable drop in performance. The flatness tolerance you mentioned in the spec sheet is real—we checked the seal face after 720 hours and it still sits within half a light band. That alone saved us a scheduled shutdown.
The thermal shock resistance was the main reason we chose this material. Our process occasionally sees temperature swings of 200°C when the slurry feed stalls and the pump recirculates. The old faces would crack within three or four cycles. So far, the SiC rings have gone through eight such events without any visible damage. I am not ready to call it a permanent fix, but the first month has been better than any alternative we tested in the past two years.
One detail that stood out was the installation fit. The rings matched the gland dimensions exactly—no shimming or rework needed. That is rare for custom seal faces in our experience. We will keep monitoring wear rates monthly, but the initial data suggests we will get at least four months of continuous operation before the first inspection. That would triple our current interval.