Levitation Performance of Radial Film Riding Seals for Gas Turbine Engines
Turbomachinery in gas turbines uses seals to control the leakage between regions of high and low pressure, consequently enhancing engine efficiency and performance. A film riding seal hybridizes the advantages of contact and non-contact seals, i.e., low leakage and low friction and wear. The literat...
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| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Lubricants |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4442/12/12/433 |
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| author | Syed Muntazir Mehdi Young Cheol Kim Eojin Kim |
| author_facet | Syed Muntazir Mehdi Young Cheol Kim Eojin Kim |
| author_sort | Syed Muntazir Mehdi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Turbomachinery in gas turbines uses seals to control the leakage between regions of high and low pressure, consequently enhancing engine efficiency and performance. A film riding seal hybridizes the advantages of contact and non-contact seals, i.e., low leakage and low friction and wear. The literature focuses on the leakage performance of these seals; however, one of their fundamental characteristics, i.e., the gap between the rotor and seal surface, is scarcely presented. The seal pad levitates due to the deflection of the springs at its back under the influence of hydrodynamic forces. This study develops a test rig to measure the levitation of film riding seals. A high-speed motor rotates the rotor and gap sensors measure the levitation of the seal pads. Measurements are also compared with the predictions from a Reynolds equation-based theoretical model. Tests performed for the increasing rotor speed indicated that, initially, until a certain rotor speed, the pads adjust their position, then rub against the rotor until another rotor speed is reached, before finally starting levitating with further increased rotor speeds. Moreover, both the measured and predicted results show that pads levitated the most when located 90° clockwise from the positive horizontal axis (bottom of seal housing) compared to other circumferential positions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2ee38bcf3902475e8ea2d4c126428c32 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2075-4442 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Lubricants |
| spelling | doaj-art-2ee38bcf3902475e8ea2d4c126428c322025-08-20T02:53:34ZengMDPI AGLubricants2075-44422024-12-01121243310.3390/lubricants12120433Levitation Performance of Radial Film Riding Seals for Gas Turbine EnginesSyed Muntazir Mehdi0Young Cheol Kim1Eojin Kim2Virtual Engineering Research Center, Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials, Daejeon 34103, Republic of KoreaVirtual Engineering Research Center, Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials, Daejeon 34103, Republic of KoreaStrategy & Innovation Division, Doosan Enerbility, Seongnam-si 13557, Republic of KoreaTurbomachinery in gas turbines uses seals to control the leakage between regions of high and low pressure, consequently enhancing engine efficiency and performance. A film riding seal hybridizes the advantages of contact and non-contact seals, i.e., low leakage and low friction and wear. The literature focuses on the leakage performance of these seals; however, one of their fundamental characteristics, i.e., the gap between the rotor and seal surface, is scarcely presented. The seal pad levitates due to the deflection of the springs at its back under the influence of hydrodynamic forces. This study develops a test rig to measure the levitation of film riding seals. A high-speed motor rotates the rotor and gap sensors measure the levitation of the seal pads. Measurements are also compared with the predictions from a Reynolds equation-based theoretical model. Tests performed for the increasing rotor speed indicated that, initially, until a certain rotor speed, the pads adjust their position, then rub against the rotor until another rotor speed is reached, before finally starting levitating with further increased rotor speeds. Moreover, both the measured and predicted results show that pads levitated the most when located 90° clockwise from the positive horizontal axis (bottom of seal housing) compared to other circumferential positions.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4442/12/12/433film riding seallevitationgas turbine engines |
| spellingShingle | Syed Muntazir Mehdi Young Cheol Kim Eojin Kim Levitation Performance of Radial Film Riding Seals for Gas Turbine Engines Lubricants film riding seal levitation gas turbine engines |
| title | Levitation Performance of Radial Film Riding Seals for Gas Turbine Engines |
| title_full | Levitation Performance of Radial Film Riding Seals for Gas Turbine Engines |
| title_fullStr | Levitation Performance of Radial Film Riding Seals for Gas Turbine Engines |
| title_full_unstemmed | Levitation Performance of Radial Film Riding Seals for Gas Turbine Engines |
| title_short | Levitation Performance of Radial Film Riding Seals for Gas Turbine Engines |
| title_sort | levitation performance of radial film riding seals for gas turbine engines |
| topic | film riding seal levitation gas turbine engines |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4442/12/12/433 |
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