Ring Seal Arrangement for Gas Turbine Pressure Management
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Gas turbine engines face challenges in maintaining effective sealing between high and low pressure fluid compartments due to increased thermal loads and pressure ratios, leading to reduced operational life and potential seal failure.
Innovation Solution
A ring seal assembly with air side and oil side ring seals featuring notches, grooves, and slots for fluid communication, combined with a wave spring for axial force management, to minimize pressure differentials and ensure durable sealing across the compartments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional seal arrangements are used in gas turbine engines with increased thermal loads and pressure ratios, then sealing function is maintained under normal conditions, but seal durability and reliability deteriorate due to high pressure differentials and thermal stress
Solution Approach 1:
The seal ring is divided into multiple segments or cells separated by notches, allowing each segment to independently manage pressure differentials. This segmentation reduces stress concentration and improves durability under high thermal loads and pressure ratios without compromising sealing effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The seal arrangement incorporates dynamic elements such as spring-loaded components that allow the seal to adapt to varying operating conditions. This dynamic adjustment capability enables the seal to maintain reliability across different thermal and pressure conditions while reducing stress on the sealing surfaces.
2Productivity
If high pressure ratios are used to improve engine performance, then productivity increases, but pressure differentials across seals increase leading to reduced seal life
Solution Approach 1:
Fluid communication channels and balancing passages act as intermediaries between high and low pressure zones, equalizing pressure differentials across the seal faces. This mediator mechanism allows high pressure ratios for improved engine performance while protecting the seal from excessive stress that would reduce its operational life.
Solution Approach 2:
The seal design incorporates features that change physical parameters such as pressure distribution and contact force under different operating conditions. By dynamically adjusting these parameters, the seal can withstand high pressure ratios needed for engine performance while maintaining acceptable stress levels for durability.
3Reliability
If seal contact pressure is increased to improve sealing effectiveness, then sealing performance improves, but wear and friction increase reducing seal durability
Solution Approach 1:
The seal design applies different local qualities to different regions of the seal ring. High contact pressure is applied only where sealing is critical, while other regions have reduced pressure to minimize wear and friction. This localized approach maintains sealing effectiveness while reducing harmful wear effects.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple seal rings or backup seals are used in series, where each seal carries a portion of the sealing load. This copying approach distributes the wear and friction across multiple elements, allowing the system to maintain effective sealing while individual seals experience reduced wear.
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 solution effectively reduces pressure differentials across the seals, enhancing durability, wear resistance, and reliability, while delaying or preventing seal failure, thus improving the operational life of gas turbine engine components.
Implementation Method 1
a wave spring for applying an axial force to the air side and oil side ring seals
Implementation Method 2
a second radial surface groove defining an axial groove on a second radially outer surface and a radial surface circumferential slot defining a circumferential slot on the second radially outer surface, wherein the second radial surface groove is in fluid communication with the radial surface circumferential slot
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A ring seal assembly is provided. The ring seal assembly may comprise an air side ring seal (110) and an oil side ring seal (120). The air side ring seal (110) may have one or more axial and radial grooves. The oil side ring seal (120) may also have one or more axial and radial grooves, and may have circumferential slots in fluid communication with one or more of the grooves. The oil side ring seal (120) may have an extended leg (125) protruding towards the air side ring seal (110). The extended leg (125) and a forward outer surface of the oil side ring seal (120) and an aft outer surface of the air side ring seal (110) may define a spring cavity (130).