Honeycomb seal technology achieves superior sealing effect in centrifugal air compressor – Part II

Abstract

Through the use of a detailed case study, this article – published in two parts – explains why honeycomb seals, which are used mainly in the aerospace industry, have the potential to be successfully applied to rotating turbine machinery used in the industrial sector. The authors analyse the way in which seals in a centrifugal air compressor in use at a coal chemicals enterprise in Inner Mongolia have failed, and describe how honeycomb seals have solved the sealing-related problems at the company's facility. Following on from the first part that was published in the June 2018 issue of Sealing Technology (pages 5–10), the second instalment, which appears here, covers the numerical results of the axial force produced by the balance hub, using the lateral teeth seal and honeycomb seal. It also discusses the achievements of the honeycomb seal technology and the way in which it has been applied, together with various conclusions.