Interlocking Sealing Assembly for Turbine Vane Carrier Leakage
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Solution Overview
Problem
In turbomachines, such as gas and steam turbines, leakage between vane carriers in the axial direction reduces the efficiency of energy conversion from combustion gas or steam into kinetic energy, necessitating a more effective sealing mechanism to minimize fluid leakage through unintended paths.
Innovation Solution
A sealing assembly featuring a sealing body with a protrusion that fits into a corresponding groove on an adjacent sealing assembly, utilizing chamfered and fillet surfaces for secure coupling, effectively sealing the gap between vane carriers, thereby enhancing the sealing performance between the first and second vane carriers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If a conventional sealing mechanism is used between vane carriers, then the structure is simple, but fluid leakage increases and energy conversion efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing protrusion of one sealing assembly is inserted into the sealing groove of the adjacent sealing assembly, creating a nested coupling structure. This interlocking design effectively seals the gap between vane carriers while maintaining structural simplicity and reducing fluid leakage.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing mechanism extends the sealing action into the axial direction by using protrusions and grooves that couple adjacent sealing assemblies together. This dimensional approach creates a continuous seal along the axial direction, preventing leakage paths that would otherwise exist between discrete sealing components.
2Loss of energy
If the gap between vane carriers is reduced, then fluid leakage decreases, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing assembly is divided into multiple discrete units, each with its own sealing protrusion and groove. This segmentation allows each component to be manufactured independently with standard tolerances, while the cumulative effect of multiple sealed interfaces achieves the desired overall sealing performance without requiring extremely tight gap tolerances across the entire assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing protrusion and groove act as intermediary coupling elements between adjacent vane carriers. These intermediaries provide a dedicated sealing interface that isolates the critical sealing function from the main structural components, allowing the gap between vane carriers to be controlled by the sealing geometry rather than by overall assembly tolerances.
3Reliability
If multiple sealing assemblies are coupled together, then sealing performance improves, but assembly complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple sealing assemblies are merged through the protrusion-groove coupling mechanism, where the sealing protrusion of one assembly integrates with the sealing groove of the next. This merging creates a continuous sealing system that functions as a unified structure, improving reliability by eliminating potential leakage paths at the interfaces while avoiding the need for separate fastening or alignment mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
A sealing assembly and a turbomachine including the sealing assembly are provided. The sealing assembly includes a sealing body configured to be inserted into an insertion hole of a second component adjacent to a first component, and a sealing protrusion, formed on one circumferential side of the sealing body, protruding toward one circumferential direction from the sealing body and configured to be inserted into a sealing groove formed on the other circumferential side of a sealing body of the first adjacent sealing assembly, the sealing body of the first adjacent sealing assembly being adjacent to the sealing body in a circumferential direction.