Analysis of the geometric parameters influence on the labyrinth seals performance

Abstract

One of the ways to improve the modern gas turbine engines efficiency is to increase the efficiency of its components. An increase in the gas turbine engine components efficiency may be achieved by reducing air leaks by the seals usage. It is possible to achieve a reduction in air consumption through the seal, including off-design operation conditions, by using modern methods of computational fluid dynamics simulations. One of the possibilities of modern computational fluid dynamics methods is to analyze a simultaneous effect of the large number of variable design parameters. Performance of different labyrinth seals type is analyzed. Direct-flow labyrinth seal is chosen as most common in jet engine design due to its properties. Geometric parameters influences are defined. Optimization resulted in a labyrinth seal configuration that achieves a 20% reduction in seal mass flow. A comparison of the mass flow characteristics of the original and the optimized seal showed that the optimized seal provides reduced mass flow over a wide range of pressure ratios. The results obtained lead to the conclusion about geometric parameters influence on the mass flow and the effectiveness of labyrinth seals optimization to reduce air leaks.