Hydrodynamic Seal Design for Enhanced Fluid Pressurization
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Summary
Problems
Existing hydrodynamic non-contacting face seals in gas turbine engines fail to provide adequate sealing over a wide range of rotational speeds due to limitations in groove patterns, such as spiral, circumferential, and radial grooves, which are insufficient for maintaining effective fluid pressurization across varying operating conditions.
Innovation solutions
The design features grooves with sloped or stepped bottom walls, where the depth decreases in the direction opposite to the rotation, creating an increasing fluid pressure from the deepest to the shallowest portion, enhancing pressurization and sealing effectiveness across a wide range of rotational speeds and fluid characteristics.
TRIZ Analysis
Specific contradictions:
General conflict description:
Principle concept:
If traditional spiral groove patterns are used in the seal, then sealing is provided at certain rotational speeds, but adequate sealing cannot be maintained across a wide range of rotational speeds
Why choose this principle:
The groove depth varies locally along the spiral path, being deepest at the outer radius and progressively shallower toward the inner radius. This local variation in groove depth creates different pumping characteristics at different radial positions, enabling the seal to maintain effective fluid pressurization across a wide range of rotational speeds.
Principle concept:
If traditional spiral groove patterns are used in the seal, then sealing is provided at certain rotational speeds, but adequate sealing cannot be maintained across a wide range of rotational speeds
Why choose this principle:
The groove geometry parameter (depth) is changed continuously along the spiral path. By transitioning from uniform depth grooves to variable depth grooves where depth decreases in the direction of fluid flow, the pumping capability is optimized to maintain sealing effectiveness across varying operational conditions including different rotational speeds and fluid characteristics.
Application Domain
Data Source
AI summary:
The design features grooves with sloped or stepped bottom walls, where the depth decreases in the direction opposite to the rotation, creating an increasing fluid pressure from the deepest to the shallowest portion, enhancing pressurization and sealing effectiveness across a wide range of rotational speeds and fluid characteristics.
Abstract
A hydrodynamic non-contacting seal (5) has the sealing surface (37) of a rotatable sealing member (35) which is grooved in a spiral pattern such that the depth of the grooves (65) decreases in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation (100) of the rotatable sealing member (35).