Hysteresis and bristle stiffening effects in brush seals

Abstract

Extensive testing of conventional brush seals has identified the phenomena of bristle `hysteresis` and `stiffening` with pressure as their two major drawbacks. Subsequent to any differential movement of the runner into the bristle pack due to its radial excursions or centrifugal/thermal growths, the displaced bristles do not recover against the frictional forces between them and the backing plate. As a result, a significant leakage increase is observed following any runner movement. Furthermore, the bristle pack exhibits a considerable stiffening effect with the application of pressure. This phenomenon may adversely affect the life of the seal and the runner due to a highly increased mechanical contact pressure at the sliding interface. In comparison with these conventional design seals, the characteristics of an improved design, known as the `low hysteresis` design, are presented here. This design shows a substantially lower degree of the detrimental effects mentioned above. This type of seal can maintain its reduced leakage characteristics throughout the running cycle with runner excursions and growths. The bristles also do not show any stiffening, up to a certain pressure threshold. Therefore, this seal also has a potential for a longer life than a brush seal of conventional design. 5 refs.