Labyrinth seal leakage and dynamics characteristics analysis based on Black Model

One of the important problems to be tackled in turbo machines is the leakage dynamics characteristics of labyrinth seals. In this paper we analyzed the effect of labyrinth seal structure and the change in fluid flow pressure on the leakage characteristics of seal. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model for 3D labyrinth seal was built which provides a basis for reducing steam flow excitation. The streamline pattern and the pressure drop characteristics for leakage of steam through a labyrinth seal was investigated. Simulations of internal flow and leakage characteristics had been performed by CFD software and Black-Child model. The results showed that the amount of leakage is directly proportional to the tooth gap and inlet pressure and inversely proportional to the cavity depth and outlet pressure. The proposed CFD model provides a feasible method to predict the leakage characteristics of labyrinth seal in response to the structure of seal and the change in inlet-outlet pressures.

Effects of Geometry on Leakage Flow Characteristics of Brush Seal

In order to better application of brush seal in rotating machinery,the leakage flow characteristics of the brush seal considering geometry effects are numerically analyzed using Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes( RANS) model coupling with a non-Darcian porous medium model. The reliability of the present numerical method is proved,which is in agreement with the experimental and numerical results from literatures. Three different bristle pack thicknesses,fence heights and initial clearances under different pressure ratios,rotational velocities and other operating conditions are utilized to investigate the effects of geometry modification on the brush seal leakage flow behaviors. It discusses the effectiveness of various geometry configurations outlining important flow features. The results indicate that the increase of fence height and clearance would lead to the increase of leakage rate. But the leakage is not linearly with respect to the bristle pack thickness,and the effect of rotational velocity is not obvious. Moreover,the detailed leakage flow fields and pressure distributions along the rotor surface,free bristle height,and fence height of the brush seals are also presented. The static pressure drop amplitude through the bristle pack and the pressure rise amplitude through the cavity would increase while the pressure differential increases. And the axial pressure is the main reason of bristle blow down. The results provide theoretical support for the brush seal structure optimal design.

Flow and Leakage Characteristics in Sealing Chamber of a Variable Geometry Hypersonic Inlet

When the variable geometry hypersonic inlet is sealed with ceramic wafers,the cavity flows inside the sealing chamber can be affected by the boundary layer near the side wall.To study the influence of the boundary layer thickness near the side wall on the flow and leakage characteristics in sealing chamber,the numerical calculation of the cavity flow in the sealing chamber under different inflow boundary layer thicknesses is carried out.The results show that three-dimensional cavity flow structures are close to being asymmetric,and the entrance pressure of the leakage path can also be affected by asymmetry;with the increase of the thickness of the boundary layer,the pressure at the cavity floor and the seal entrance decreases.Finally,the existing leakage prediction model is modified according to the distribution rule of the cavity floor and the flow properties in the leakage path.

Effects of Four Types of Pre-swirls on the Leakage, Flow Field, and Fluid-Induced Force of the Rotary Straight-through Labyrinth Gas Seal

The labyrinth seal in turbomachinery is a key element that restricts leakage flow among rotor-stator clearances from high-pressure regions to low-pressure regions. The fluid-induced forces on the rotor from seals during machine operation must be accurately quantified to predict their dynamic behavior effectively. To understand the fluid-induced force characteristics of the labyrinth seal more fully, the effects of four types of pre-swirls on the leakage, flow field, and fluid-induced force of a rotary straight-through labyrinth gas seal (RSTLGS) were numerically investigated using the proposed steady computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method based on the three-dimensional models of the RSTLGS. The leakage, flow field, and fluid-induced force of the RSTLGS for six axial pre-swirl velocities, four radial preswirl angles, four circumferential positive pre-swirl angles, and four circumferential negative pre-swirl angles were computed under the same geometrical parameters and operational conditions. Mesh analysis ensures the accuracy of the present steady CFD method. The numerical results show that the four types of pre-swirls influence the leakage, flow field, and fluid-induced force of the RSTLGS. The axial pre-swirl velocity remarkably inhibits the fluid-induced force, and the circumferential positive pre-swirl angle and circumferential negative pre-swirl angle remarkably promote the fluid-induced force. The effects of the radial pre-swirl angle on the fluid-induced force are complicated, and the pressure forces and viscous forces show the maximum or minimum values at a specific radial pre-swirl angle. The pre-swirl has a negligible impact on the leakage. The four types of pre-swirls affect the leakage, flow field, and fluidinduced force of the RSTLGS to varying degrees. The pre-swirl is the influence factor affecting the leakage, flow field, and fluid-induced force of the RSTLGS. The conclusions will help to understand the fluid-induced force of labyrinth seals more fully, by providing helpful suggestions for engineering practices and a theoretical basis to analyze the fluid–structure interaction of the seal-rotor system in future research.

Leakage Prediction Method for Contacting Mechanical Seals with Parallel Faces

Since the beginning of the 20th century, many researches on the sealing characteristic of mechanical seals were carried out broadly and in depth by various methods and some leakage models were built. But due to the lack of the way to characterize the main factors of influence on the leakage, most of the early researches were based on the assumptions that the seal faces topography and the frictional conditions were invariant. In the early built models, the effect of the surface topography change of the seal face on the leakage rate was neglected. Based on the fractal theory, the contact of end faces of the rotary and stationary rings was simplified to be the contact of a rough surface and an ideal rigid smooth surface, and the contact interface＇s cavity size-distribution function as well as the fractal characteristic of the cavity profile curve was discussed. By analyzing the influence of abrasion on the seal face topography and the leakage channel, the time-correlation leakage prediction model of mechanical seals based on the fractal theory was established and the method for predicting the leakage rate of mechanical seals with parallel plane was proposed. The values of the leakage rate predicted theoretically are similar to the measured values of the leakage rate in the model test and in situ test. The experimental results indicate that the leakage rate of mechanical seals is a transient value. The surface topography of the end faces of the seal tings and its change during the frictional wear of mechanical seals can be accurately characterized by the fractal parameters. Under the work conditions of changeless frictional mechanism, the fractal parameters measured or calculated based on the accelerated testing equation can be used to predict the leakage rate of mechanical seal in service. The proposed research provides the basis for determining the leakage state and predicting working life of mechanical seal.

Leakage and Stiffness Characteristics of Bionic Cluster Spiral Groove Dry Gas Seal

Spiral groove dry gas seal(S?DGS), the most widely used DGS in the world, encounters the problem of high leakage rate and inferior film stability when used in high?speed machinery equipment, which could not be well solved by optimization of geometrical parameters and molded line of spiral groove. A new type of bionic cluster spiral groove DGS(CS?DGS) is proved to have superior film stability than S?DGS at the condition of high?speed and low?pressure numerically. A bionic CS?DGS is experimentally investigated and compared with common S?DGS in order to provide evidence for theoretical study. The film thickness and leakage rate of both bionic spiral groove and common spiral groove DGS are measured and compared with each other and with theoretical values under different closing force at the condition of static pressure, high?speed and low?pressure, and the film stiffness and stiffness?leakage ratio of these two face seals are derived by the relationship between closing force and film thickness at the steady state. Experimental results agree well with the theory that the leakage and stiffness of bionic CS?DGS are superior to that of common S?DGS under the condition of high?speed and low?pressure, with the decreasing amplitude of 20% to 40% and the growth amplitude of 20%, respectively. The opening performance and stiffness characteristics of bionic CS?DGS are inferior to that of common S?DGS when rotation speed equals to 0 r/min. The proposed research provides a new method to measure the axis film stiffness of DGS, and validates the superior performance of bionic CS?DGS at the condition of high?speed and low?pressure experimentally.

800-MW Supercritical Coal-Fired Boilers in Suizhong Power Plant

This article reviews the problems of Russia-made 800-MW coal-fired supercritical boilers in Suizhong Power Plant, such as burner bumout, water-wall leakage, slag screenⅠexplosion, crack happened on the desuperheater outlet of reheater and welding defect of economizer; tells the process of renovating these units by modifying the original design and adjusting the operation parameters. After several years' effort, all the problems have been well solved. The experience may be useful for other imported units in China.

Study on the effect of thermal deformation on the liquid seal of high-temperature molten salt pump in molten salt reactor

The high-temperature molten salt pump is the core equipment in a molten salt reactor that drives the flow of the molten salt coolant.Rotor stability is key to the continuous and reliable operation of the molten salt pump,and the liquid seal at the wear ring can affect the dynamic characteristics of the rotor system.When the molten salt pump is operated in the hightemperature molten salt medium,thermal deformation of the submerged parts inevitably occurs,changing clearance between the stator and rotor,affecting the leakage and dynamic characteristics of the seal.In this study,the seal leakage,seal dynamic characteristics,and rotor system dynamic characteristics are simulated and analyzed using finite element simulation software based on two cases of considering the effect of seal thermal deformation effect or not.The results show a significant difference in the leakage characteristics and dynamic characteristics of the seal obtained by considering the effect of seal thermal deformation and neglecting the effect of thermal deformation.The leakage flow rate decreases,and the first-order critical speed of the seal-bearing-rotor system decrease after considering the seal’s thermal deformation.

Effect of Honeycomb Seals on Loss Characteristics in Shroud Cavities of an Axial Turbine

The loss in efficiency due to shroud leakage or tip clearance flow accounts for a substantial part of the overall losses in turbomachinery. It is important to identify the leakage loss characteristics in order to optimize turbomachinery. At present, little information is available in the open literature concerning the effect of honeycomb seals on the loss characteristics in shroud cavities of an axial turbine, despite of the widespread use of the honeycomb seals. Therefore, interaction between rotor labyrinth seal leakage flow with and without honeycomb facings and main flow is investigated to provide the loss characteristics of the mixing process of the re-entering leakage flow into the main flow. The effects of honeycomb seals on the flow in shroud cavities and interaction with the main flow are analyzed. An additional study on the impact of subtle shroud cavity exit geometry is also presented. The investigation results indicate that the honeycomb seal affects the over tip leakage flow and reduces mixing losses when compared to the solid labyrinth seal. The leakage flow interactions with the main flow have considerably changed the flow fields in the endwall regions. The proposed research reveals the effects of honeycomb seals on the loss characteristics in shroud cavities and the impact of subtle shroud cavity exit geometry, and it is helpful for the design optimization of turbomachinery.

CHARACTERISTCS OF FLUID FILM IN OPTIMIZED SPIRAL GROOVE MECHANICAL SEAL

In order to investigate the sealing performance variation resulted from the thermal deformation of the end faces, the equations to calculate the fluid film pressure distribution, the bearing force and the leakage rate are derived, for the fluid film both in parallel gap and in wedgy gap. The geometrical parameters of the sealing members are optimized by means of heat transfer analysis and complex method. The analysis results indicate that the shallow spiral grooves can generate hydrodynamic pressure while the rotating ring rotates and the bearing force of the fluid film in spiral groove end faces is much larger than that in the flat end faces. The deformation increases the bearing force of the fluid film in flat end faces, but it decreases the hydrodynamic pressure of the fluid film in spiral groove end faces. The gap dimensions which determine the characteristics of the fluid film is obtained by coupling analysis of the frictional heat and the thermal deformation in consideration of the equilibrium condition of the bearing force and the closing force. For different gap dimensions, the relation- ship between the closing force and the leakage rate is also investigated, based on which the leakage rate can be controlled by adjusting the closing force.

Effect of Rotor-stator Axial Gap on the Tip Seal Leakage Flow of a Steam Turbine

The tip leakage flow in different axial gaps is numerically investigated based on the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations and k-ω SST turbulent model using commercial CFD software ANSYS Fluent.The characteristics of vortexes in the flow field of tip seal and the distribution law of rotor tip leakage loss are analyzed under the change of axial gap.The results show that the flow field in the blade tip seal undergoes complex changes with the increase of axial gap.There are two opposite vortices in the seal cavity with small axial gap,namely,the large vortex in the cavity and the small vortex near the wall of the shroud.The small vortex gradually disappears with the increase of the axial gap.When the axial gap is increased to a certain value,the reverse large vortex is formed in the cavity behind the low teeth of seal,and the leakage rate increases significantly;the steam flow angle and the mixing loss also show different changes.Based on the traditional calculation formula of tip leakage rate,a more accurate calculation formula of tip leakage rate is constructed by introducing equivalent labyrinth seal teeth to consider the variation of axial gap.

Cause Analysis and Treatment Measures for Leakage of Top Cover of 330kV GIS Equipment

Based on the experience of GIS equipment maintenance, the causes of air leakage defects of GIS equipment running in a 330 substation were analyzed. After the equipment was disassembled, the main causes of air leakage were found, and a series of improvement measures were taken to eliminate the GIS equipment leakage defect. And the effective and feasible advice was put forward for this type of air leakage problem. The results lay a foundation for the safe and stable operation of GIS equipment.

NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF LEAKAGE FLOW THROUGH TWO LABYRINTH SEALS

The leakage flow through two labyrinth seals, e.g the interlocking seal and the stepped seal, was numerically investigated. Preliminary calculation of the seal-cavity averaged pressure by using the one-dimensional control volume method showed favorable agreement with the experimental measurements. Subsequently, in-depth understanding of the fluid flow through the labyrinth seals was obtained by employing Computational Fluid Dynamics （CFD） and k -ε turbulence model, which resulted in a potential wealth of information like the streamline pattern, velocity vector field, and distribution of turbulent kinetic energy and static pressure. At the clearance of the seal the turbulent kinetic energy reached the peak value, while in the bulk region of the cavities it decayed fast. The static pressure rapidly dropped as the fluid flow went through the clearance; no distinct difference of the static pressure was inspected in the cavities. Also noted from the numerical results was that the stepped seal showed better sealing performance than the interlocking seal.

INVESTIGATION INTO EFFECT OF SPRING PRESSURE ON PERFORMANCE OF BALANCED MECHANICAL SEALS

The loads acting on the sealing elements of balanced mechanical seals are analyzed. When the balance factor approaches the back pressure factor, the spring pressure will become main part of the face pressure. The leakage model of balanced mechanical seals is established on the base of M-B model for rough surface. Several GY-70 type balanced mechanical seals are tested. The influences of the spring pressure both on the leakage rate and on the friction characteristic of balanced mechanical seals are investigated. The research results indicate that as spring pressure increases, both the clear-ance between two end faces and the leakage rate will decrease, and the friction will be more serious because lubrication medium between the rotating ring and the stationary ring reduces, though the increase of the spring pressure may not be enough to change the face friction state of mechanical seals. There exists an optimum spring pressure for mechanical seal operation. Under this spring pres-sure, not only leakage rate is small, but also the seal end surfaces have a fine friction characteristic. Under different operating conditions, identical type mechanical seals may possess different spring pressure. Appropriate selection of spring pressure is valuable to realize long-period and small leakage rate operating of balanced mechanical seals.

Effect of Fluid-Structure Interaction on Sealed Flow Field and Leakage Rate Based on Computational Fluid Dynamics

This paper addresses the issue of reciprocating compressors staggered labyrinth seal structure. The internal flow field of sealed structure, the displacement of cylinder and piston for different tooth profile angles are analyzed synchronously using FLUENT software, and the effects of fluid-structure interaction on the performance of the labyrinth seal are revealed. The results indicate that with the growth of tooth profile angle, the leakage rate of labyrinth seal tends to decrease first, and then increase. The results of fluid-structure interaction analysis are close to those of actual engineering. The effect of fluid-structure interaction makes tiny deformation in calculation mesh of piston and cylinder structure, and the coupling interaction affects the performance of the labyrinth seal.

Effects of tooth bending damage on the leakage performance and rotordynamic coefficients of labyrinth seals

Tooth bending damage resulting from an intense impact by the rotor sometimes occurs in the transient operation.To investigate the influence of after-damage clearance and tooth bending length on the leakage performance and rotordynamic coefficients of labyrinth seals,three tooth bending damages were taken into consideration,including the unbent tooth damage(abbreviated as Unbent),the partial tooth bending damage(abbreviated as Pbent)and the complete tooth bending damage(abbreviated as Cbent).The transient CFD solution was utilized to calculate the leakage flow rates and rotordynamic coefficients of labyrinth seals with clearances of 0.3,0.4,0.5,0.6 mm for three tooth bending damages.The obtained result shows that the Unbent tooth damage leaks least while the Pbent tooth bending damage leaks most,and an increase of 6.1%for Cbent tooth bending damage and an increase of 19.4%for Pbent tooth bending damage are discovered at the tooth clearance of 0.6 mm in comparison with the Unbent tooth damage.Compared to the Unbent tooth damage,the effective damping for Pbent tooth bending damage and Cbent tooth bending damage is lower and drops by 9.7%–33.6%and 8.5%–22.6%respectively at the tooth clearance of 0.6 mm,suggesting that Pbent tooth bending damage or Cbent tooth bending damage tends to weaken the seal stability when compared to the Unbent tooth damage.

An Improved Design of Spiral Groove Mechanical Seal

The coupling effect among the flow of fluid film, the frictional heat of fluid film and the thermal deformation of sealing rings is inherent in mechanical seals. The frictional heat transfer analysis was carded out to optimize the geometrical parameters of the sealing rings, such as the length, the inner radius and the outer radius. The geometrical parameters of spiral grooves, such as the spiral angle, the end radius, the groove depth, the ratio of the groove width to the weir width and the number of the grooves, were optimized by regarding the maximum bearing force of fluid film as the optimization objective with the coupling effect considered. The depth of spiral groove was designed to gradually increase from the end radius of spiral groove to the outer radius of end face in order to decrease the weakening effect of thermal deformation on the hydrodynamic effect of spiral grooves. The end faces of sealing rings were machined to form a divergent gap at inner radius, and a parallel gap will form to reduce the leakage rate when the thermal deformation takes place. The improved spiral groove mechanical seal possesses good heat transfer performance and sealing ability.

Effects of swirl brake axial arrangement on the leakage performance and rotor stability of labyrinth seals

Swirl brakes are usually introduced at the seal entrance in industry to improve the seal stability,especially for labyrinth seals suffering low seal clearance and high inlet preswirl ratio.However,how to arrange swirl brakes at the seal entrance to obtain better seal stability retains unknown,such as the axial distance between the brake trailing edge and the first tooth.To this end,the effects of the distance between brakes and the first tooth on the leakage flow rate and seal rotordynamic coefficients were numerically investigated at typical inlet preswirl ratios of 0.45 and0.8,and the predicted results were in comparison with the results for no-brake configuration.The obtained results disclose that the brake configuration arranged against the first tooth produces lower circumferential velocity in the downstream of the brakes as a result of the larger counterclockwise vortex moving from the brake trailing edge to the brake leading edge when compared to the brake configuration away from the first tooth.Besides,the dropped circumferential velocity in the downstream of brakes will cause larger pressure fluctuation in the circumferential direction and thus generates larger tangential force to restrain the rotor forward whirl.On the other hand,the effective damping is further increased when the distance between brakes and the first tooth decreases to zero,that is,the crossover frequency is even disappeared at the inlet preswirl ratio of 0.45 and successfully drops from 69.9 Hz to 32.7 Hz at the preswirl ratio of 0.8.

Analysis of a tunnel failure caused by leakage of the shield tail seal system

This paper presents an analysis of a tunnel failure accident during shield tunnel construction on Foshan Metro Line 2 in China.The failure is caused by the leakage of the multilayer seal system,which consists of several brush seals at the tail of the shield.Four different failure modes for the multilayer seal system are discussed.A simple structural analysis of the brush seals is then conducted,and failure mode 4(failure due to brush seal deformation)is identified as a major reason for the Foshan tunnel accident.A finite element method(FEM)analysis is employed to validate the conclusions drawn from the simple structural analysis of the brush seals.

有侧吹风Loop Seal型返料装置的试验研究

通过大量的冷态试验，系统地研究了外部充气、LoopSeal结构尺寸对有侧吹风LoopSeal型返料装置运行特性的影响，由试验数据回归得到了不同的运行条件下外部充气量、固体颗粒循环量以及结构尺寸之间的经验关系式，与试验数据比较，吻合较好。