Plate Pack Research Articles

Comparative experiments on the flow morphology of liquid nitrogen and water in perforated structured packing

Cryogenic distillation is the primary method for air separation, with corrugated plate packing as the main packing for heat and mass transfer between nitrogen and oxygen. The perforated structure on the corrugated plate packing can directly change the liquid distribution characteristics, thereby affecting the packing’s flow and mass transfer performance. Currently, the effect of perforated structure is mainly revealed by room temperature fluids such as water and air, while on the practical cryogenic fluids such as liquid nitrogen, it is seldom studied. In this study, the effects of perforation size ranging from 2 to 8 mm on the flow of water and liquid nitrogen on the perforated plates were investigated and compared by a high-speed camera. It was observed that water could hardly flow through the perforations, it completely covers the perforations, forming a continuous liquid film on the surface of the perforations. The expected role of perforations in redistributing water on the back side of the corrugated plate is relatively minor. While for liquid nitrogen, the presence of the perforated structure helps fluid redistribution on the back side of the plate, as it can easily flow through the perforations with diameters between 2 mm and 8 mm. It is found that when the perforation diameter exceeds 6 mm, liquid nitrogen will form suspended liquid droplets within the holes, which could be a risk of premature flooding. Under similar conditions, the wetting rate of liquid nitrogen reaches 86.90 % −99.48 %, higher than that of water which is about 10.26 % −78.82 %. The results show that perforations have quite different effects on the flow characters of water and liquid nitrogen due to their disparate physic properties.

Influence of scale deposits on the temperature conditions in the channels of plate-type heat exchangers

Introduction. At the present stage of development of the heat supply system, the transfer from shell-and-tube constructions to the plate version of heat exchange apparatus is observed. Their main advantages are compactness and efficiency.The main operational problem is the fouling of the inter-plate channels as a result of which the thermal efficiency decreases and operational costs increase. The aim of the work is to establish the dependence of fouling and individual hydraulic conditions in each channel on the temperature regime of a plate-type heat exchanger. Since this issue in the theory of heat exchange apparatuses is not well studied in and has significant assumptions, the diagnosis of fouling of channels is incorrect.
 Materials and methods. The theory of resistance characteristics of hydraulic systems is used to determine the hydrodynamic mode of plate-type heat exchange apparatus. The temperatures of heating and heated heat carriers at the outlet of each heat exchange channel are determined on the basis of the mass conservation law. This method made it possible to use the results of hydrodynamic calculation of resistance characteristics to calculate the temperature conditions of a plate heat exchange apparatus along the length of the plate pack, including the effect of scale deposits. The validity of the proposed methods was determined by comparing the Pearson’s and Student’s criteria with the results of computer modelling.
 Results. The dependence between final temperatures of the coolant at outlet of channels depending on the flow distribution of the coolant, taking into account channel impurity was found. The application of the theory of resistance characteristics to calculate the thermal-hydrodynamic mode of the plate heat exchanger and the proposed calculation of the thermal regime, including taking into account the factor of fouling, will improve the accuracy of pollution diagnosis and reduce operating losses.
 Conclusions. The conducted research confirms the influence of fouling of heat-exchange apparatuses and individual hydraulic conditions of inter-plate channels on the temperature regime. Results of research represent scientific and practical interest at studying and development of the intensified surfaces of heat exchange with the purpose of increase of power indicators of heat-exchange apparatuses, and also in the field of diagnostics of mode parameters of water-heating equipment in the period of its operation.

Stiffness calculation of the nonlinearly elastic clutch with compressible metal inserts

In the drives of various machine units, clutches are widely used as a connecting element transmitting energy from one part of the machine to another. Among them, permanent clutches are prevailing, and they include elastic clutches with metal elements, such as cylindrical rods, cylindrical coil springs, tapes, spring holder packs and plate packs. The torsional rigidity is an important characteristic of clutches. Study results of the elastic non-linear clutch with a soft characteristic are presented. Elastic elements are plates exposed to buckling during compression. The study was performed numerically by the finite element method using the ANSYS R17.0 Academic software applied package. On the basis of the data obtained, analytical dependencies are proposed to determine the clutch torsional stiffness and to calculate the elastic elements strength. Description is provided of the tests carried out on the elastic elements to assess the analytical dependencies accuracy, which showed their suitability in practical calculation of strength and stiffness.

Design of Oil Water Separator for the Removal of Hydrocarbon from Stormwater Contaminated with Jet-Fuel

The airport, in general, has a huge catchment area and a hardstand area that includes runways, taxiways, as well as parking aprons. Therefore, these areas are expected to produce a huge volume of stormwater. Besides this problem, the jet fuel and suspended solids contaminate the stormwater flow rate; hence, much consideration should be given in designing the treatment system to ensure that there is no back-flow expected during the high stormwater production to avoid any flooding occurrences in the airports. Currently, the stormwater treatment system in the Malaysian airport is minimal, and there is no specific treatment for the stormwater contaminated with jet fuel in Malaysia. In this paper, an oil-water separator named Corrugated Plate Interceptor (CPI) was explored to treat stormwater contaminated with jet fuel in the airport. Treating the airport stormwater contaminated with oil, grease, or jet fuel could significantly reduce the contamination issue and develop an environmentally friendly airport in Malaysia. The CPI has combs of plates arranged in packs, and this creates the surface areas for the removal reaction of jet fuel and suspended solids between the incoming contaminated stormwater and the plates. Accordingly, in this paper, the design and development of CPI were discussed, particularly on the design criteria for the oil-water separator, standardized tank dimensions, oil storage capacity in the tank, sludge storage capacity in the tank, and finalized plate packs.

Investigating the gas holdup in a gas-liquid cyclonic flotation column through the electrical resistance tomography

ABSTRACT Gas dispersion characteristics are of significant importance in froth flotation. Studies show that cyclonic static microbubble flotation column (FCSMC) is an efficient device to recover fine minerals. In the present study, the gas holdup distribution and the mean gas holdup in a laboratory gas-liquid FCSMC are first quantitatively measured by electrical resistance tomography (ERT). Different flowrates of gas and liquid are considered. Performed experiments show that when the air flowrate increases from 1.1 L/min to 2.3 L/min, the mean gas holdups on measured planes increase to about 4 ~ 5 times the original value. The gas dispersion along the radial direction is poor, which is dense in the center and rare in the periphery. This uneven bubble distribution aggravates as the amount of the supplying air increases. As the circulating liquid flux increases, the corresponding measured gas holdup gradually decreases and the bubble shrinks to the center along the radial direction. When the liquid flux increases from 1.5 m3/h to 1.8 m3/h, the averaged decline of the mean gas holdup on measured planes reduces to 54 ~ 65% of the original value. Finally, it is validated that the sieve plate packing effectively reduces non-uniform radial and axial distributions of the gas holdup. The obtained results might lead to more effective operating of FCSMC, provide a reference for further numerical study and ERT application in other complicated devices.

Effect of sieve plate packing on bubble size distribution in a cyclonic flotation column

The application of packed technology effectively reduces the height of flotation column and improves the treatment capacity. The effect of packed sieve plate on bubble size and velocity in flotation column affect the flotation recovery. Based on high-speed dynamic measurement and particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurement, the velocity and size of bubbles in open and packed flotation column were compared first and then the effect of different packing method was studied. With sieve plate packing, the peak tangential velocity of bubble decreased by 92%; the number of bubbles within the range of 1–2.5 mm increased from 62.79% to 83.34% and the mean bubble diameter decrease from 2.14 mm to 1.82 mm. Sieve plate packed weakens the influence of rotation flow, reduces the bubble size and makes the distribution is more uniform in flotation column, which is conducive to the collision and adhesion of particles and bubbles. The effect study of opening hole size, thickness and packed position of sieve plate on bubble size distribution shows that the small opening hole size of sieve plate has a strong segmentation effect on bubbles, and can reduce the bubble size; Thick sieve plate will increase bubble coalescence and increase bubble size; The bubbles have a good distribution with sieve plate packed at a height of 0.5 times the diameter of the column. This study can provide guidance for the design of packed method in flotation column.

Design Requirements for the Treatment of Stormwater Contaminated with Jet Fuel Oil using Corrugated Plate Interceptor

Oil contamination in the stormwater has been generally overlooked even though it causes major environmental pollution and a substantial threat to all species in the ecosystem. Likewise, the treatment of oil-contaminated stormwater in public areas and general industries, especially airports, has also been ignored. Airports are known as one of the most potent contributors to the jet fuel oil contamination of stormwater that pollutes the local waterways. There are many Best Management Practices (BMPs) of stormwater at airports, such as detention ponds, retention ponds, and infiltration basins in which stored water is exfiltrated through permeable soils. However, not many kinds of literature regarding specific actions taken to treat the stormwater contaminated with jet fuel oil within the boundaries of airport facilities. This paper presents the design requirements for the treatment of stormwater in an airport using corrugated plate interceptor (CPI). Specifically, this paper discusses the characteristics and the contaminants of stormwater runoff from certain airports and the design requirements of CPI in treating the wastewater. The design requirements were based on an actual study conducted in an airport using the CPI. The requirements include determining jet fuel concentration at the inlet and outlet of the CPI; selecting the jet fuel density; evaluating the flow rate, oil storage and sludge storage capacity; and determining the oil globule size and surface charge. In addition, the evaluation of the coefficient of surface separation and the design of corrugated plate packs are also elaborated.

Повторное знакопеременное нагружение упругопластической трехслойной пластины в температурном поле

Axisymmetric deformation of a three-layer circular plate under repeated alternating loading from the plastic region by a local load is considered. To describe kinematics of asymmetrical on the thickness of the plate pack is adopted the hypothesis of a broken line. In a thin elastic-plastic load-bearing layers are used the hypothesis of Kirchhoff. A non-linearly elastic relatively thick filler is incompressible in thickness. It is taken to be a hypothesis of Tymoshenko regarding the straightness and the incompressibility of the deformed normals with linear approximation of the displacements through the thickness layer. The work of the filler in the tangential direction is taken into account. The physical relations of stress-strain relations correspond to the theory of small elastic-plastic deformations. The effect of heat flow is taken into account. The temperature field in the plate was calculated by the formula obtained by averaging the thermophysical parameters over the thickness of the package. The system of differential equations of equilibrium under loading of the plate from the natural state is obtained by the Lagrange variational method. Boundary conditions on the plate contour are formulated. The solution of the corresponding boundary value problem is reduced to finding the three desired functions: deflection, shear and radial displacement of the shear surface of the filler. A non-uniform system of ordinary nonlinear differential equations is written for these functions. Its analytical iterative solution is obtained in Bessel functions by the method of elastic solutions of Ilyushin. In case of repeated alternating loading of the plate, the solution of the boundary value problem is constructed using the theory of variable loading of Moskvitin. In this case, the hypothesis of similarity of plasticity functions at each loading step is used. Their analytical form is taken independent of the point of unloading. However, the material constants included in the approximation formulas will be different. The cyclic hardening of the material of the bearing layers is taken into account. The parametric analysis of the obtained solutions under different boundary conditions in the case of a local load distributed in a circle is carried out. The influence of temperature and nonlinearity of layer materials on the displacements in the plate is numerically investigated.

ИЗГИБ УПРУГОЙ ТРЕХСЛОЙНОЙ ПЛАСТИНЫ С ОТВЕРСТИЕМ, СВЯЗАННОЙ С ГРУНТОВЫМ ОСНОВАНИЕМ

The relevance of this paper is explained by a demand for the development of mechanical and mathematical models and methods for calculating the stress-strain state of the sandwich structural elements. The statement of the boundary value problem on the deformation of a circular sandwich plate with a central hole, connected to the soil foundation, was given. To describe the kinematics of an asymmetric plate pack, the broken line hypotheses are accepted. In a relatively thick lightweight core, the normal does not change its length, remains rectilinear, but rotates through some additional angle. Tuff, coarse grained soil, granite, and gneiss are accepted as the soil foundation. The bearing reaction is described by the Winkler model. The system of equilibrium equations is obtained by the variational method. Its solution is written in displacements through Kelvin functions. A numerical parametric analysis of displacements and stresses in the plate is carried out, their dependence on the type of soil foundation is shown.

Fatigue performance evaluation of plate and shell heat exchangers

Fatigue life of plate and shell heat exchangers has been determined by experiments. Tests occurred with the aid of a pneumatic-hydraulic setup in which plate pack samples were internally pressurized by water. The samples were exposed to cyclic pressure loads varying from ambient to service pressure in the range 1.0–1.4 MPa, typical operating pressure range of crude oil production sites. Stress determination was possible due to strain gauge measurements. A heterogeneous stress field occurs along the corrugated plate due to its complex geometry. The external welded region is the preferential failure location. An average stress-life curve has been provided with 50% failure probability in accordance to ISO-12107. Fatigue strength reduction factors at the critical welded locations were determined via elastic stress analysis as proposed by ASME procedure. PSHE useful life increases with decreasing spacing between plates.

Comparative study of dry pressure drop and flow behaviour of gas flow through sieve plate packing

AbstractSieve plate packing is a newly developed packing that has been used in several industries due to its simple structure and operating flexibility, and no liquid flooding. In this work, first, systematic experiments were conducted to measure the pressure drop of gas flow through six sieve plate packings. The results indicated that the geometric characteristics of the packing have complicated effects on the pressure drops. Based on this, CFD simulations on the gas flow field were conducted using the realizable k‐ε model, and flow behaviours such as the pressure drop, pressure nephogram, and velocity distributions within different packings were obtained. The simulation results clearly showed interesting flow patterns, including the contraction and expansion of the gas stream through the sieve hole, the flow separation on the sharp edge of the hole, and the vortexes formed when gas impacts the downstream plate. By comparing the flow patterns and the pressure drop under different packings operating at different conditions, the effects of the geometric characteristics of the packing on the pressure drop could be clearly distinguished from the flow behaviours, so that the variations in pressure drop with various packing structures were clearly indicated. Finally, based on the experimental data and the simulated results, correlations for the prediction of the pressure drops were proposed. This work will provide a useful basis for understanding the flow behaviour of gas and liquid two‐phase flow in sieve plate packing.

Plate Pack Structural Integrity Analysis for Plate and Shell Heat Exchangers at High Temperatures and Pressures

Heat exchangers capable of withstanding high temperature and pressure are required to achieve increased thermal efficiency and compactness. A welded plate and shell heat exchanger, developed for applications involving pressures up to 150 bar and temperatures up to 600 °C, has exhibited advantages that allow a more wide use of heat exchangers. However, few studies have tested the structural integrity of the plate pack of this design. In this paper, the structural integrity of the heat transfer pack was tested using finite element analysis. Elastic and elastic-plastic models were applied for one set of heat transfer plates, while layers of two and four plates were used to verify the effect of the boundary conditions. The plate results were evaluated according to the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section VIII Division 2. Finally, the function of the end plate in the plate packs was numerically studied.

Dynamic behavior of thin-walled elements of aircraft made of composite materials, excited by heat shock

To improve the performance characteristics of modern aerospace systems, research is conducted and expensive programs are being carried out to provide for reducing the weight of the aircraft structure through the use of new, more promising materials, which include the so-called composite materials. Special attention is paid to the dynamic behaviour of composite structures under the influence of high-intensity heat fluxes of various physical nature. The paper considers the dynamic behaviour of composite structures of modern aerospace systems under the influence of high-intensity heat fluxes. As an example, the axisymmetric transverse vibrations of a composite circular plate connected to an elastic base, excited by thermal shock, are investigated. The plate material is modelled with a three-layer composite. To describe the kinematics of an asymmetric plate pack, the hypotheses of a broken normal are accepted. In thin bearing layers, Kirchhoff's hypotheses are valid. In a relatively thick lightweight core, the normal does not change its length, remains rectilinear, but rotates through some additional angle. The base reaction is described by the Winkler model. The statement of the initial-boundary value problem is given. The analytical solution is obtained as a series expansion in terms of eigenfunctions. Its numerical parametric analysis is carried out.

Experimental Investigation on the Pulse Flow Regime Transition of Gas–Liquid Concurrent Downward Flow through a Sieve Plate Packed Bed

Nine sets of packings were designed to study the pulse flow that occurs in gas–liquid concurrent flow downward through sieve plate packing. Through the observation of flow pattern and the analysis of the pressure fluctuation data acquired by pressure transducers, the mechanisms for the inception and the propagation of pulse flow in the plate packing were clarified, and a variation coefficient method was proposed to determine the boundary lines of the pulse flow. Accordingly, the pulse flow pattern maps were obtained and the effects of the geometric parameters and the installation method of the plate packing on the transition of the pulse flow were analyzed in detail, revealing that the hole diameter and plate quantity have the most evident effects. Finally, correlations for the onset and the disappearance lines of the pulse flow regime were developed, with the deviations from the experiments of ∼15% and 10%, respectively.

Использование кластерных моделей для разработки композиционных материалов систем Ni-Al и Ti-Al

  This work is devoted to obtaining samples of composite materials of Ni-Al, Al-Ti systems using mechanochemical processes. The Ni-Al multilayer powder composite is obtained by the 13MPA pressure welding method of a multilayer plate pack. The results of phase analysis demonstrate that the pressure welding method allows to obtain the Ni3Al phase having unique physical properties. The Ti-Al composite is an excellent structural material obtained by explosion welding. Titanium has an HCP lattice that is stable up to a temperature of 882°С; it passes into a stable BCC lattice at a higher temperature. The sample has been subjected to heat treatment - two-stage annealing. The Ti2Al and Ti3Al phases with BCC lattices are detected after the annealing so that this material can work in a wide range of temperatures. TiAl2 - has good properties at low temperatures, TiAl3 - has good properties at high temperatures. All processes of phase transitions follow the principle of maximum entropy production. As a result, the entropy of the obtained structures may be negative. This is possible due to the switching of chemical bonds in the process of mechanochemical reactions. The product volume of the mechanochemical reaction is always less than the initial volume. In this paper, we propose cluster models of powder sintering areas. Cluster models describe well the sequence of reactions in the area of mechanical sintering of powders. According to the obtained results, the conditions for developing a technology for producing powder and multilayer composites to create a Ni3Al superalloy, as well as to obtain strong and ductile multilayer Ti-Al composites, are defined.

Numerical analysis of a GPHE’s hydrodynamic and thermal characteristics, by applying an iterative procedure for the thermal boundary conditions

The current study presents a new methodology for Gasketed Plate Heat Exchanger (GPHE) efficiency prediction using as a basis a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model, detailed enough to reproduce the complicated characteristics of the induced flow patterns exhibited in a single flow channel characterized by difficult geometrical patterns. Compared to other similar approaches an iterative procedure for the imposition of the most appropriate thermal boundary conditions is proposed. For the presentation of this methodology and its validation against available design data, a model of an existing GPHE consisting of 24 plates (thus 23 channels) was tested. At first a mesh independence study was performed, while with the selected grid density a deviation of around 15% of numerical predictions for the calculated overall pressure drop compared to the design values was tracked. This level of discrepancy can be attributed to the uncertainty of channel spacing, which influences significantly the pressure losses and for which unfortunately no concrete measurements can be made, owed to no actual access to the plate manufacturing process itself. With the use of the CFD model, the strong dependency between pressure drop and plate distance was quantified, as for an increment of 1.88% of the plate pack length, a 39% decrease in pressure drop was calculated. This highpoints the importance of plate tightening process, after its manufacturing, as a crucial specification parameter during the design of such type of heat exchangers; highlighting at the same time how the proposed CFD tool can act as an important supporting tool in the design of such type of complicated Heat Exchangers. Following the prediction of pressure drop, a new proposed boundary conditions imposition approach was applied in the model, making it possible to estimate the whole GPHE heat transfer efficiency with a 6% error compared to the design values The developed and validated methodology can facilitate especially the design of large scale GPHE, since long-term testing campaigns for the optimization of such components, especially in industrial applications, are highly costly.

A review of the recent advances in design of corrugated plate packs applied for oil–water separation

Abstract The paper reviews the contradictions and problems existing on the oil–water separation technology in detail from the perspective of experiments, numerical simulation and coalescence mechanism analysis, and the future research directions are forecasted. The review points out that the law of droplet coalescence on the corrugated plates can be studied from the perspective of microscopic experiment and mechanism research, which are the theoretical bases for clarifying the coalescence mechanism of the corrugated plates and refining the droplet coalescence mathematical model. The further research topics are also clarified to promote future applications by combining the coalescence technology with surface bionic technology.

Experimental and computational investigation of magnesium phosphate cement mortar

For first time, an experimental and computational study has been conducted to investigate the properties of magnesium phosphate cement (MPC) mortar and its main hydration product struvite-K crystal that would account for the mechanical properties of these materials. Two types of MPC mortars, magnesium sodium phosphate cement (MNPC) and magnesium potassium phosphate cement (MKPC), were synthesized with magnesium to phosphate (M/P) ratio from 4 to 18 and water to solid ratio (w/s) from 0.16 to 0.2. Subsequently, the setting behavior, compressive strength and water resistance of MNPC and MKPC were investigated to study the influence of M/P and w/s ratios. An increase of M/P ratio can slow down the setting rate for both MPC mortar, and MNPC shows faster setting performance, as compared with MKPC. With increasing M/P ratio, the mechanical properties of MKPC mortar are gradually weakened, while the strength for MNPC mortar is first improved and then degrades, with the optimum value at M/P ratio of 9.5. Additionally, the saturated MPC mortars, immersed in water solution, are significantly weakened, showing poor water resistance. Micro-characterizations including X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy of the MPC mortar reveal that MKPC mortars have good crystallization of struvite-K, with the morphology of plate packing at early hydration stage and the MNP hydrates show amorphous phase. Furthermore, molecular dynamics was conducted to study the structure, dynamics and mechanical properties of the main hydrated phase in MKPC cement, struvite-K crystal. The hydrolytic weakening effect of water molecules and failure mechanism have been unraveled that the H-bonds and KOs connections lose the chemical stability due to water attacking and tensile loading, which explains the severe failure of MPC mortar observed in the water resistant experiments.

Hydrodynamics and pressure loss of concurrent gas–liquid downward flow through sieve plate packing

Gas–liquid concurrent downward flow through a new structured packing was investigated by experiment systematically. The experimental packing consisted of 21 sieve plates. Each plate was 190mm×190mm in side length and 1mm in thickness. Three sets of packing with different sizes of sieve holes were tested. During experiment, four flow states have been observed, i.e., the trickling flow at low gas and liquid flux, the continuous flow at low gas but high liquid flux, the semi-dispersed flow at high gas flux and the completely dispersed flow as gas flux increases further. Another important phenomenon observed is the occurrence of pulsing flow, i.e., in some range of gas and liquid flow fluxes, both two phases will no longer flow smoothly through the sieve plates but flow downward in pulse regularly. Through extensive experiment, the rough boundaries for flow regime transition were obtained. Then, the pressure losses of gas flow and gas–liquid two phase flow in non-pulsing flow regime were systematically measured. The analysis for pressure differences measured at different locations show that for a given packing, the pressure loss through each plate is nearly the same. Its magnitude depends on the gas and liquid flow rates. The comparisons between pressure losses of different packings indicate that the pressure loss is associated with the hole diameter, hole pitch, free area ratio of sieve plate and the mounting distance between two adjacent plates. Finally, considering these factors, the correlations for pressure drops were developed, which approximates the experimental values with an average deviation less than 10%.

Computational Fluid Dynamics Investigation of Brush Seal Leakage Performance Depending on Geometric Dimensions and Operating Conditions

Brush seals require custom design and tailoring due to their behavior driven by flow dynamic, which has many interacting design parameters, as well as their location in challenging regions of turbomachinery. Therefore, brush seal technology has not reached a conventional level across the board standard. However, brush seal geometry generally has a somewhat consistent form. Since this consistent form does exist, knowledge of the leakage performance of brush seals depending on specific geometric dimensions and operating conditions is critical and predictable information in the design phase. However, even though there are common facts for some geometric dimensions available to designers, open literature has inadequate quantified information about the effect of brush seal geometric dimensions on leakage. This paper presents a detailed computational fluid dynamics (CFD) investigation quantifying the leakage values for some geometric variables of common brush seal forms functioning in some operating conditions. Analyzed parameters are grouped as follows: axial dimensions, radial dimensions, and operating conditions. The axial dimensions and their ranges are front plate thickness (z1 = 0.040–0.150 in.), distance between front plate and bristle pack (z2 = 0.010–0.050 in.), bristle pack thickness (z3 = 0.020–0.100 in.), and backing plate thickness (z4 = 0.040–0.150 in.). The radial dimensions are backing plate fence height (r1 = 0.020–0.100 in.), front plate fence height (r2 = 0.060–0.400 in.), and bristle free height (r3 = 0.300–0.500 in.). The operating conditions are chosen as clearance (r0 = 0.000–0.020 in.), pressure ratio (Rp = 1.5–3.5), and rotor speed (n = 0–40 krpm). CFD analysis was carried out by employing compressible turbulent flow in 2D axisymmetric coordinate system. The bristle pack was treated as a porous medium for which flow resistance coefficients were calibrated by using literature based test data. Selected dimensional and operational parameters for a common brush seal form were investigated, and their effects on leakage performance were quantified. CFD results show that, in terms of leakage, the dominant geometric dimensions were found to be the bristle pack thickness and the backing plate fence height. It is also clear that physical clearance dominates leakage performance, when compared to the effects of other geometric dimensions. The effects of other parameters on brush seal leakage were also analyzed in a comparative manner.