Gas Turbine Seal Runner Internal Cooling Passage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Contact seals in gas turbine engines face challenges with heat dissipation due to high rotational speeds, leading to degraded sealing performance when fluid cooling is inadequate or cannot effectively reach all surfaces.
Innovation Solution
A contact seal assembly with an annular seal runner featuring concentric inner and outer portions and integrated oil scoops that create a tortuous fluid passage for internal cooling, eliminating the need for external spray cooling by circulating cooling fluid through the passage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If external spray cooling is used to cool the seal runner, then heat dissipation is achieved, but the size envelope and configuration flexibility are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements internal cooling passages within the seal runner structure itself, nesting the cooling system inside the component rather than using external spray systems. This allows the cooling function to be integrated into the seal runner's geometry, providing configuration flexibility while maintaining effective heat dissipation from the rubbing surfaces.
2Temperature
If external spray cooling is used, then cooling is provided, but adequate cooling coverage cannot be ensured leading to degraded sealing performance
Solution Approach 1:
The seal runner is designed with self-cooling capabilities through internal passages that allow cooling fluid to circulate directly through the component. This self-service cooling system ensures reliable cooling coverage of all critical surfaces without depending on external spray systems, thereby maintaining consistent sealing performance under high-speed rotation.
3Ease of manufacture
If the seal runner design is simplified without internal cooling, then manufacturing is easier, but heat dissipation becomes inadequate at high rotational speeds
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs hydraulic cooling by circulating fluid through internal passages formed within the seal runner. This approach provides effective heat dissipation for high-speed rotation while maintaining a relatively simple manufacturing process, as the internal passages can be integrated into the seal runner's casting or machining operations without requiring complex external cooling infrastructure.
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 internal cooling system enhances sealing performance by maintaining effective heat dissipation without external cooling, allowing for a more compact design and improved fluid tightness around rotating shafts.
Implementation Method 1
the fluid passage defining a tortuous fluid flow path through the fluid passage and being adapted to receiving cooling fluid therein for cooling the seal runner from within
Implementation Method 2
the seal runner having one or more oil scoops integrally formed in one of the inner and outer annular portions and disposed in fluid flow communication with the internal fluid passage, the oil scoop feeding cooling oil into said fluid passage
Data Source
AI summary
A contact seal assembly for a shaft of a gas turbine engine includes a seal runner adapted to be connected to the shaft and rotatable relative to a carbon ring. The seal runner includes concentric inner and outer annular portions radially spaced apart to define at least one internal fluid passage between the inner and outer annular portions of the seal runner.