A flow control method for the leakage reduction of annular gas seals using the helical gas curtain generator

Abstract

Advanced sealing technology is crucial for turbine efficiency. To reduce seal leakage, the flow control method based on gas injection is an attractive solution. The traditional flow control methods primarily focus on blocking the axial leakage flow, neglecting the helical flow effect of the leakage flow at the design stage. In this paper, a novel flow control method is proposed for the leakage reduction of annular gas seals using the helical gas curtain generator (HGCG). The helical flow effect of the leakage flow is first considered for further sealing enhancement. The design conception of the HGCG involves connecting seal cavities and teeth tips using the specially designed pad with helical injection slots. Driven by the intrinsic pressure difference between the connected areas, helical gas curtains are passively generated, producing multi-row fluidic barriers against the helical leakage flow at each teeth tip. Numerical investigation of a labyrinth seal with HGCGs shows that the proposed method effectively enforces flow resistance at teeth tips, resulting in an extra dissipation effect. The performance of the HGCG is enhanced as the helical flow effect increases. The maximum leakage reduction ratio reaches 59.2%, over eight times higher than that of the traditional air curtain technology (ACT). In addition, the HGCG increases the effective damping coefficient by 45% compared to the ACT. The proposed HGCG presents significant superiority in sealing improvement and rotordynamic stability enhancement.