Replaceable Wear Strip for Turbine Inter Stage Seal Housing
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Solution Overview
Problem
The downstream contact sealing surface of inter stage seal housings in turbine engines wears over time, leading to leaks and reduced efficiency, requiring time-consuming and distorting weld repairs during maintenance.
Innovation Solution
A seal assembly with replaceable wear strips is introduced, featuring a circumferential groove with through holes and fasteners that secure segment strips, allowing for easy replacement and alignment, preventing leakage and accommodating thermal expansion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If weld building repair is used to restore the downstream contact sealing surface, then the sealing surface is restored to its original shape, but the repair process is very time consuming and causes distortion of the sealing surface
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing surface is segmented into a replaceable wear strip that can be independently replaced. The wear strip is divided into multiple segments that can be individually installed and removed, allowing rapid replacement without affecting the entire seal housing structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The wear strip is extracted as a separate replaceable component from the seal housing. This allows the wear strip to be removed and replaced independently when worn, eliminating the need for time-consuming weld repairs on the main housing structure.
2Reliability
If weld building repair is used to restore the downstream contact sealing surface, then the sealing surface is restored, but the sealing surface becomes distorted which impairs turbine engine performance
Solution Approach 1:
The wear strip is designed as a disposable or replaceable component with a limited service life. When worn, it is replaced with a new strip rather than repaired, ensuring the sealing surface always has the original precise geometry without distortion from welding operations.
3Productivity
If a replaceable wear strip is used instead of weld repair, then maintenance time is reduced and distortion is avoided, but the device complexity increases due to additional components
Solution Approach 1:
The seal assembly transitions from a static welded structure to a dynamic system with replaceable components. The wear strip can be dynamically removed and replaced based on wear conditions, enabling rapid maintenance without complex repair procedures.
Data Source
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AI summary
An inter stage seal housing for a turbine engine having upper and lower half inter stage seal housings in which a contact sealing surface of the seal housing is restored after an interval of engine operation. The contact sealing surface is restored by fitting a replaceable wear strip on the downstream sealing surface of the seal housing. In order to fit the replaceable wear strip, a circumferential groove is machined along an outer peripheral edge of the seal housing. The groove is machined to include axial location and radial retention such that the wear strips can be slid into the upper half and lower half inter stage seal housing circumferentially from the horizontal joint. The groove includes through holes and the wear strips include corresponding threaded holes such that the wear strips can be fastened in the groove by fasteners and fastener retention hardware.