Corrugated Sealing Element Tooth Height Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Sealing plates in gas turbines suffer from severe wear due to thermal and mechanical stress, leading to impaired sealing function and operational issues, especially with large component movements, and difficulties during assembly.
Innovation Solution
A sealing arrangement with sealing teeth having a tooth height between 10% and 40% of the sealing element's thickness, featuring a rectangular cross-sectional contour and reduced spacing, providing increased material thickness for the tooth carrier section, steeper tooth flanks, and improved deformability for easier assembly and delayed wear.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the tooth height is increased to improve sealing performance, then the sealing effect is enhanced, but the tooth carrier section becomes too thin and suffers from premature wear
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the critical parameter of tooth height from being too large (causing thin tooth carrier section) to an optimized range of 10-40% of sealing element thickness. This parameter optimization ensures both adequate sealing performance and sufficient material thickness in the tooth carrier section to prevent premature wear and extend service life.
2Ease of manufacture
If the tooth carrier section is made thinner to reduce material usage, then manufacturing cost is reduced, but wear resistance and structural strength deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent establishes an optimal parameter range for tooth height (10-40% of sealing element thickness) that balances material efficiency with structural strength. This optimized parameter ensures the tooth carrier section has sufficient thickness for wear resistance while avoiding excessive material usage, achieving both manufacturing efficiency and durability.
3Reliability
If the sealing teeth are made with larger dimensions to improve sealing contact, then sealing effectiveness is enhanced, but deformability and ease of installation are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes the tooth height parameter to 10-40% of sealing element thickness, creating a balanced design. The teeth are tall enough to provide effective sealing contact but not so tall as to reduce the deformability of the sealing element, thereby maintaining ease of installation while ensuring sealing effectiveness.
4Duration of action of moving object
If the tooth height is increased to compensate for wear over time, then long-term sealing performance is improved, but the tooth carrier section becomes structurally weak
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the tooth height parameter from being excessively large (which would require thinning the tooth carrier section) to an optimized range of 10-40% of sealing element thickness. This optimization allows the sealing element to have sufficient material thickness in the tooth carrier section to maintain structural integrity throughout its operational life, while still providing adequate sealing performance.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates essentially to a sealing element (1) for sealing a gap (5) between two components (2a, 2b), in particular a seal arrangement (2c) of a gas turbine system, wherein the sealing element is elongate along a main line (21) and has a contoured cross section in a corrugated centre region (10). In cross section, the sealing element (1) is directed along the main line (21) and can be deformed in a direction substantially orthogonally with respect to the main line (21). In order to provide a wear-resistant, long-lasting sealing element (1) with a particularly efficient blocking action, it is proposed that the seal teeth (20) of the corrugation have a virtually rectangular cross-sectional contour, the tooth height (H) of which seal teeth is between 10% and 40% of the sealing-element thickness (D) which can be measured parallel to the tooth height (H).