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Numerical study on the leakage characteristics of a stepped labyrinth seal with mixed honeycomb cell diameters

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Abstract

As the performance improvement of gas turbines becomes marginal, it is required to develop a seal geometry that can reduce unwanted leakage more effectively than conventional seals. Accordingly, in this paper, a new honeycomb structure with improved sealing performance was suggested. The proposed seal is a mixed honeycomb seal (MHS), where honeycomb cells with a smaller diameter (D′) are inserted into the base honeycomb structure with a cell diameter (D) to reduce the effective clearance. To compare the performance of the mixed honeycomb seal and a uniform honeycomb seal (UHS), computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analyses were performed by altering the pressure ratios and clearance sizes. At the same pressure ratio and clearance size, the MHS shows a performance improvement of up to 19 % (i.e., less leakage flow rate) compared to the UHS. In addition, the effects of D and D′ on the leakage performance were examined through a parametric study.

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Abbreviations

A c :

Throat area

b :

Fin thickness

C D :

Discharge coefficient

D :

Base honeycomb cell diameter

D′:

Inserted honeycomb cell diameter

H :

Step height

H HC :

Honeycomb cell diameter

h :

Fin height

k :

Specific heat ratio

ṁ :

Mass flow rate

ṁ ideal :

Ideal mass flow rate

P :

Pitch

p 0 :

Inlet total pressure

PR :

Pressure ratio

S :

Clearance

S eff :

Effective clearance

S HC :

Honeycomb cell thickness

T 0 :

Inlet total temperature

z :

Fin positions

α :

Fin angle

MHS :

Mixed honeycomb seal

UHS :

Uniform honeycomb seal

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Inha University Research Grant.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School, Inha University, Incheon, 22212, Korea

    Si Young Jo, Min Seok Hur & Seong Won Moon

  2. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Inha University, Incheon, 22212, Korea

    Tong Seop Kim

Authors
  1. Si Young Jo
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  2. Min Seok Hur
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  3. Seong Won Moon
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tong Seop Kim.

Additional information

Si Young Jo received his Master’s degree from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Inha University, Korea in 2022 and is currently working at SEMES Co. Ltd, Korea. His research interests include aerodynamics and secondary air system in the gas turbine.

Min Seok Hur received his Master’s degree from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Inha University in 2021 and is currently working on doctoral degree in the same department. His research interests include aerodynamics and secondary air system in the gas turbine.

Seong Won Moon received his Ph.D. degree from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Inha University in 2022 and is currently working at the Agency for Defense Development, Korea. His research interests include performance analysis and advanced control of the gas turbine-based power systems.

Tong Seop Kim is a Professor in the Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Inha University. He received his Ph.D. degree from Seoul National University, Korea, and has been working at Inha University since 2000. His research interests include aerothermodynamic design and analysis gas turbine-based power and energy systems.

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Jo, S.Y., Hur, M.S., Moon, S.W. et al. Numerical study on the leakage characteristics of a stepped labyrinth seal with mixed honeycomb cell diameters. J Mech Sci Technol 37, 465–475 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-022-1244-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-022-1244-x

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