Abstract
The sealing characteristics of a shrouded rotor-stator system with an external flow of air have been studied using flow visualization, pressure, and concentration measurements. Three shroud geometries, incorporating axial clearance or radial clearance seals, have been tested for a range of clearance ratios for both rotational and axial Reynolds numbers Re θ and Re w respectively, up to 1.2 × 10 6. It was found that there were two regimes: a rotation-dominated regime at low values of Re w/Re θ, and an external-flow-dominated regime at high values. For Re w = 0, C w, min (the dimensionless flow rate of sealing air necessary to prevent the ingress of external fluid into the rotor-stator wheel space) increased with increasing Re θ. For small values of Re w/Re θ, C w, min decreased with increasing Re w; for large values of Re w/Re θ, C w, min was proportional to Re w and was independent of Re θ. The latter effect is attributed to the nonaxisymmetric pressure distribution in the external flow: fluid moved transversely across the wheel space from high-pressure to low-pressure regions of the external flow.
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