Compressor Rotor Seal Elements for Protecting Hirth Couplings
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Solution Overview
Problem
Centrifugal compressor hirth couplings are vulnerable to corrosion and durability issues due to exposure to process fluids containing contaminants and debris, which affects their long-term performance and durability.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of seal elements that are movable and affixed to adjacent impeller bodies and rotor shafts to span the spacing between hirth couplings, featuring frustoconical and cylindrical surfaces that elastically flex to create a biasing force for clamping and inhibit fluid passage, thereby protecting the couplings from contaminants and debris.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If seal elements are added to protect hirth couplings from process fluids, then durability and reliability improve, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
A seal element is introduced as an intermediary component between the process fluid and the hirth coupling. The seal element spans the spacing between adjacent impeller bodies or rotor shafts and prevents process fluid from reaching the hirth coupling, thereby protecting it from corrosion and contaminants without requiring fundamental changes to the existing coupling design
Solution Approach 2:
The seal element is designed with a frustoconical inner surface that elastically flexes under compression to create a biasing force for clamping. This flexible design allows the seal element to adapt to the spacing between components and maintain sealing pressure, while the thin-film structure minimizes the added complexity
2Reliability
If seal elements with elastic flexing surfaces are used to create clamping force, then sealing effectiveness improves, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The seal element utilizes elastic deformation of the frustoconical inner surface to generate clamping force. By changing the physical state from rigid to elastic, the system can achieve effective sealing through material property selection rather than requiring extremely tight dimensional tolerances. The elastic flexing compensates for manufacturing variations
Solution Approach 2:
The frustoconical geometry is designed to concentrate compressive forces into a biasing action that occurs before the seal element fully engages. This pre-compression creates the clamping force needed for sealing, cushioning against variations in assembly conditions and reducing the need for high manufacturing precision
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 elements effectively prevent process fluid from reaching the hirth couplings, enhancing the durability and performance of centrifugal compressors by shielding them from corrosive substances and physical debris, while allowing for user-friendly assembly and disassembly for maintenance.
Implementation Method 1
frustoconical and cylindrical surfaces that elastically flex to create a biasing force for clamping
Data Source
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AI summary
A compressor rotor for turbomachinery, such as a compressor, is provided. Disclosed embodiments can benefit from seal elements that may be arranged to inhibit passage onto respective hirth couplings of process fluid being processed by the compressor. A seal element may be affixed to adjacent rotor components (e.g., adjacent impeller bodies) by way of a slip or interference fit connection to one of the adjacent components and may be affixed to the other adjacent rotor component by way of a elastically flexible frustoconical inner surface of the seal element that permits the seal element to be placed in a spring-loaded condition, which generates a biasing force to circumferentially clamp onto a frustoconical outer surface of the other adjacent rotor component. This arrangement is conducive to user-friendly assembly/disassembly of the seal elements with respect to the adjacent rotor components.