Heat dissipation and energy transfer performance of helium face seal with spiral grooves at cryogenic condition

Abstract

Helium face seal as a key component of cycle engine, its stability and energy consumption have a significant influence on the working efficiency of high parameter energy equipment. Extreme working conditions may make this influence more obviously and seriously. In this paper, a numerical model of helium face seal with spiral grooves is established to investigate the heat dissipation property and energy transfer route at cryogenic condition. The obtained results show that with the growth of rotational speed from 1047.2 to 5236 r/min, the increase rate of heat dissipation for the cases of p0 = 1, 3, and 5 MPa reaches to 148%, 139%, and 129%, respectively. This may be induced by the increasing friction torque due to the high working condition. Moreover, the heat transfer direction is analyzed by analyzing the temperature distribution of helium lubricating film and sealing rings. It is found that the temperature of helium film near the rotor surface demonstrates a slightly increasing trend along the radius direction from outer to inner side. The heat transfer of rotor shows an obvious flow tendency along radial and axial directions, especially at the rotor surface. For the stator, the heat transfer just can be found along radial direction. Finally, the sealing performance of helium face seals are discussed with the increase of sealing pressure and rotational speed. The proposed model may improve the heat utilization of energy equipment and provide guidance for the future structure design of helium face seals in engineering applications at cryogenic condition.