Abstract
A numerical simulation and experimental study were performed to investigate the sealing effect of the labyrinth seal used in a wheel-side reducer. A three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics model was established based on the labyrinth structure. The effects of the temperature and viscosity of lubricant, rotor speed, pressure ratio, clearance, and cavity size of the sealing structure on the sealing were analyzed, and the leakage amount under the corresponding values of different factors was also analyzed. The results indicated that increase in the lubricating oil temperature, viscosity, pressure ratio, and seal clearance lead to decrease in the sealing effect and increases in the leakage. And the effect of rotational speed on the seal is low. To verify numerical simulation, the results of numerical analysis, a test bench was set up to simulate the work of the reducer, and the sealing effect of the sealing structure was examined. The simulation result was compared with the actual results. Both the numerical simulation and experiment indicate that the labyrinth seal achieves the desired sealing effect.
Highlights
It is difficult to ensure the long-term operation of a contact seal owing to its contact friction and limited service life
The study mainly explores the optimal size of the labyrinth seal with decrease in the leakage and analyzes the effects of viscosity and temperature, pressure ratio, and rotational speed on the leakage
The results indicate that increases in the pressure ratio at both ends of straight-through labyrinth seal lead to increases in the leakage [18, 19]
Summary
It is difficult to ensure the long-term operation of a contact seal owing to its contact friction and limited service life. Direct contact between the rotating shaft and sealing tooth is absent, and the gap is small. A gap exists between the rotating shaft and sealing teeth. This permits thermal expansion and the increase of operating speed of the machine. Throttling effect and energy effect occur when the mediators go through the seal teeth and the seal chamber, thereby reducing the amount of leakage [3]. It is characterized by a high-pressure ratio, simple structure, and high reliability [4]. It is crucial to perform an in-depth investigation of the mechanism of labyrinth seal to design a reasonable labyrinth seal structure
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