Bifurcated Sliding Seal Structure for High-Deflection Turbine Gaps
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional seals used in gas turbine engines face challenges with deformation and reduced effectiveness due to significant relative deflections and elevated temperatures, leading to premature failure and limited temperature capability, while also experiencing wear issues in environments with significant relative motion.
Innovation Solution
A seal design featuring L-shaped sections made from high-temperature materials or composites, with a wave spring mechanism and compliant seals to maintain contact and prevent deformation, along with a coating and sheath for enhanced wear resistance, allowing for improved resilience and temperature capability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a w-seal is used to seal the gas path, then sealing performance is achieved, but the seal deforms and becomes ineffective under significant relative deflections
Solution Approach 1:
The seal is divided into multiple L-shaped seal sections (first seal section, second seal section) that can independently deflect and maintain sealing contact. Each seal section has a base and leg configuration that allows independent movement to accommodate relative deflections between components while maintaining sealing effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The seal design incorporates dynamic flexibility through the L-shaped configuration and material selection, allowing the seal sections to move and adapt to changing geometric relationships between components during operation, rather than relying on a rigid structure that would deform under deflection.
2Strength
If a higher strength material is used to improve deflection capability, then deflection resistance is improved, but temperature capability is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The seal sections are made from composite materials or materials with tailored properties that provide both the necessary strength to resist deflection and the temperature capability required for gas turbine engine operation. This allows simultaneous achievement of both deflection resistance and high-temperature performance.
3Temperature
If a rope seal is used to achieve high temperature capability, then temperature resistance is improved, but flexibility and deflection capability are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The rope seal is segmented into multiple L-shaped sections that can independently deflect and move relative to each other, providing the flexibility needed to accommodate component deflections while maintaining high-temperature capability through the rope seal material.
Solution Approach 2:
The segmented rope seal structure allows dynamic adaptation to changing geometric relationships between components, with each section able to move independently to maintain sealing contact under various operating conditions while preserving the high-temperature properties of the rope seal material.
4Adaptability or versatility
If a seal is designed to accommodate significant relative motion, then adaptability is improved, but wear resistance becomes a problem
Solution Approach 1:
The seal design applies different material properties to different parts of the seal structure. The L-shaped seal sections have specific material characteristics at the sealing surfaces to provide wear resistance, while other portions of the structure provide the flexibility and adaptability needed for relative motion accommodation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The seal design effectively maintains sealing performance under relative motion and temperature variations, reducing the risk of deformation and wear, while allowing for lower strength material usage, thus improving manufacturability and cost-effectiveness.
Implementation Method 1
a wave spring is provided between the first seal section and the second seal section and is operative to bias the first seal section and the second seal section away from one another in an axial direction
Data Source
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AI summary
The present disclosure relates generally to a sliding seal (212) between two components (202,204). The sliding seal (212) includes a first seal section (214) and an uncoupled second seal section (216) which allows the first and second seal sections (214,216) to move relative to one another during relative movement between the two components (202,204). A wave spring (234) and/or a rope seal (262) is disposed between the first and second seal sections (214,216) biases the first and second seal sections (214,216) away from one another.