Two-Piece Rotating Seal Seat With Cooling Cavity for Heat Dissipation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing rotating seal designs for gas turbine engines face inefficiencies in heat dissipation due to discrete oil passages, which limit heat dissipation and create temperature gradients, especially at higher rotational speeds.
Innovation Solution
A seal arrangement featuring a rotating seal seat with a cooling cavity and strategically placed oil feed and outlet ports to enhance fluid flow and contact with the seal interface, increasing thermal energy transfer and reducing temperature gradients.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If discrete oil passages are used in the seal seat, then the seal structure is simple to manufacture, but heat dissipation capability is limited and temperature gradients occur
Solution Approach 1:
The seal seat is divided into two separate components: a first component containing the sealing interface and a second component containing the cooling cavity. This segmentation allows the cooling cavity to be formed as a continuous space, enabling superior heat dissipation while maintaining manufacturing simplicity through modular construction.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling cavity extends through the thickness dimension of the seal seat, creating a three-dimensional cooling path rather than relying on two-dimensional surface cooling or discrete linear passages. This dimensional expansion allows coolant to access and cool the entire sealing interface area uniformly.
2Temperature
If discrete oil passages are used, then the seal design is straightforward, but temperature distribution becomes non-uniform across the seal interface
Solution Approach 1:
By separating the seal seat into two components, the design achieves uniform temperature distribution through the cooling cavity configuration without complicating the sealing interface itself. The first component maintains the simple sealing geometry while the second component provides the uniform cooling function.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling cavity serves multiple functions: it cools the seal interface uniformly, provides a pathway for coolant flow, and can be integrated with the mounting structure. This multi-functionality achieves temperature uniformity without proportionally increasing system complexity.
3Productivity
If traditional seal seats are used, then the structure is simple, but heat dissipation efficiency decreases at higher rotational speeds
Solution Approach 1:
The segmented two-component design allows the cooling cavity to be optimized for high-speed heat dissipation while the sealing component remains simple. The separation enables the cooling system to be tuned independently for high rotational speed performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The three-dimensional cooling cavity provides enhanced heat dissipation capacity that scales with rotational speed, offering superior thermal management efficiency compared to traditional two-dimensional passage designs, particularly at high speeds where heat generation increases.
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 enhances heat dissipation and reduces temperature gradients across the seal interface, improving the seal's performance and longevity at higher rotational speeds.
Implementation Method 1
a flow of fluid therethrough cools the interface component via contact between the coolant and the seat cavity surface
Implementation Method 2
a flow of fluid therethrough cools the interface component
Implementation Method 3
Heat generation due to frictional contact between the seal element and the seal seat
Data Source
AI summary
A contacting seal for a gas turbine engine include a seal element rotationally fixed relative to an axis of rotation, and a seal seat configured to rotate circumferentially about an axis of rotation and contact the seal element at an interface surface of the seal seat. The seal seat includes an interface component including a seat wall including the interface surface and a seat cavity surface opposite the interface surface, such that a wall thickness of the interface component is defined therebetween. A cover component is secured to the interface component, the cover component including a cover cavity surface. The seat cavity surface and the cover cavity surface define a cooling cavity therebetween configured such that a flow of fluid therethrough cools the interface component via contact between the coolant and the seat cavity surface.