The Reynolds equation of a reverse spiral groove mechanical end face seals was solved based on the JFO cavitation boundary condition by the Stream-Upwind/Petrov-Galerkin (SUPG) finite element method. The cavitation effect of the reverse spiral grooves was investigated. A novel reverse-spiral-grooved seal end face combined with forward-spiral grooves was proposed. The sealing performance under the different operating conditions was analyzed. The results show that the liquid film in grooved zones is prone to cavitation for the reverse spiral groove end face seal. The cavitation zones significantly affect the flow field distribution of the fluid film. The fluid at the inner side can be absorbed into the cavitation zones due to the pressure difference between the cavitation zones and the inner side. The novel seal end face combines the leakage control effect of the reverse spiral grooves and the hydrodynamic effect of the forward spiral grooves

and shows good upstream pumping capacity and load carrying capacity.