Rotordynamic Performance of the Interlocking Labyrinth Seal With a Tilting Rotor

2021 ◽  
Vol 143 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wanfu Zhang ◽  
Yingfei Wang ◽  
Qianlei Gu ◽  
Lu Yin ◽  
Jiangang Yang

Abstract Numerical analysis model of an interlocking labyrinth seal (ILS) is established for studying the effect of tilting rotor on its rotordynamic characteristics. The dynamic characteristic identification method based on infinitesimal theory is applied to solve the dynamic force coefficient of the seal with arbitrary elliptical orbits and eccentric positions under field conditions. The paper investigated the dynamic characteristics of the interlocking labyrinth seal with various misalignment angles (θ = 0, 0.1 deg, 0.2 deg, 0.3 deg, 0.4 deg, 0.5 deg, 0.6 deg), different pressure ratios (Pin = 6.9 bar, PR = 0.5, 0.8), locations of misalignment center (Loc = 0, L/2, L). Results show that the tilting rotor could minimize the leakage flow rate of the ILS. When the misalignment angle θ = 0.6 deg, the mass flow rate can be reduced about 2.5%. The effect of each cavity in the ILS on the stability of the system is different. The cavity with the inlet close to the rotor and the outlet away from the rotor helps to improve the system stability due to its locally antirotational flow. The effective damping of the entire ILS increases as the misalignment angle increases. The system shows the best stability when the misalignment center is close to the seal inlet. The tilting rotor has a positive effect on the stability of the ILS only except for high whirling frequency (>100 Hz) under Loc = L.

Author(s):  
Wanfu Zhang ◽  
Yingfei Wang ◽  
Qianlei Gu ◽  
Lu Yin ◽  
Jian-gang Yang

Abstract Numerical analysis model of an interlocking labyrinth seal (ILS), including 6 seal cavities and 7 seal teeth (3 teeth on the rotor, 4 teeth on the stator), is established for studying the effect of tilting rotor on its rotordynamic characteristics. The dynamic characteristic identification method based on infinitesimal theory is applied to solve the dynamic force coefficient of the annular seal with arbitrary elliptical orbits and eccentric positions under field conditions. The paper investigated the dynamic characteristics of the interlocking labyrinth seal with various misalignment angles (θ = 0, 0.1°, 0.2°, 0.3°, 0.4°, 0.5°, 0.6°), different pressure ratios (Pin = 6.9 bar, PR = 0.5, 0.8), locations of misalignment center (Loc = 0, L/2, L). Results show that the tilting rotor could minimize the leakage flow rate of the ILS. When the misalignment angle θ = 0.6°, the mass flow rate can be reduced about 2.5%. The tilting rotor will cause the geometric deformation of the ILS cavity and the changes in the radial clearance of the teeth, which results in an increasing pressure drop in the seal cavity. The effect of each cavity in the ILS on the stability of the system is different. The cavity with the inlet close to the rotor and the outlet away from the rotor helps to improve the system stability due to its locally anti-rotational flow. The effective damping of the entire ILS increases as the misalignment angle increases. The system shows the best stability when the misalignment center is close to the seal inlet. The stability of the seal cavity C1 can be improved for any misalignment centers. The stability of the seal cavity C2 decreases when the misalignment center moves toward the seal outlet. For the seal cavities C3∼C6, their stability can be improved for Loc = 0, L/2, and decreases for Loc = L. The tilting rotor has a positive effect on the stability of the ILS only except for high whirling frequency (> 100 Hz) under Loc = L.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Lingzi Wang ◽  
Jianmei Feng ◽  
Mingfeng Wang ◽  
Zenghui Ma ◽  
Xueyuan Peng

In the reciprocating labyrinth piston compressor, the characteristic of the internal leakage is crucial for the leakage management and performance improvement of the compressor. However, most of the published studies investigated the rotor-stator system, and those who study the reciprocating piston-cylinder system basically focus on the effects of the geometrical parameters. These conclusions could not directly be applied to predict the real-time leakage flow rate through the labyrinth seal because of the fast reciprocating motion of the piston, which will cause continually pressure change in two compression chambers, and then the pressure fluctuation will affect the flow through the labyrinth seal. A transient simulation model employing the multiscale dynamic mesh, which considers the effect of the reciprocating motion of the piston in the cylinder, is established to identify the characteristics of the internal leakage. This model was verified by a specially designed compressor, and the influence of various parameters was analyzed in detail. The sealing performance decreased linearly with the increase in the pressure ratio, and higher pressure inlet leads to higher leakage flow under the same pressure ratio. The labyrinth seal performance positively correlated to the increase of the rotational speed. Leakage characteristics of five working mediums were carried out, and the results indicated that the relative leakage decreased with an increase in the relative molecular mass. From this study, the realistic internal leakage flow rate under different operating parameters in the reciprocating labyrinth piston compressor could be predicated.


Author(s):  
Zhigang Li ◽  
Jun Li ◽  
Zhenping Feng

Effects of partition wall type, partition wall number and cavity depth on the leakage and rotordynamic characteristics of the pocket damper seal (PDS) were numerically investigated using a presented 3D transient computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method based on the multifrequency elliptical whirling orbit model. The accuracy and availability of this transient CFD method and the multifrequency elliptical whirling orbit model were demonstrated with the experimental data of the experimental eight-bladed fully partitioned pocket damper seal (FPDS). The leakage flow rates and frequency-dependent rotordynamic coefficients of PDS were computed for two types of partition wall (namely conventional PDS and fully partitioned PDS), four partition wall numbers including the labyrinth seal (no partition wall) and six cavity depths including the plain smooth seal (zero cavity depth) at operational conditions with or without inlet preswirl and 15,000 rpm rotational speed. The numerical results show that the FPDS has the similar leakage performance and more superior stability capacity than the conventional PDS. The FPDS possesses slightly larger leakage flow rate (∼2.6–4.0% larger) compared to the labyrinth seal. Eight is a preferable value for the partition wall number to gain the best leakage performance of the FPDS with the least manufacturing cost. The FPDS possesses significantly larger stiffness and damping than the labyrinth seal. Increasing partition wall number results in a significant increase in the direct stiffness but limited desirable effect on the effective damping. The FPDS possesses the lowest leakage flow rate when the cavity depth is about 2.0 mm. Compared to the plain smooth seal, the FPDS possesses larger positive direct stiffness and significantly less direct damping and effective damping. Increasing cavity depth results in a significant decrease in the stabilizing direct damping and the magnitude of the destabilizing cross-coupling stiffness. H= 3.175 mm is a preferable value of the cavity depth for which the effective damping of the FPDS is largest, especially for the concerned frequencies (80–120 Hz) where most multistage high-pressure centrifugal compressors have stability problem.


Author(s):  
Yeming Yao ◽  
Hua Zhou ◽  
Yinglong Chen ◽  
Huayong Yang

Counterbalance valves are widely used in hydraulic deck machinery to balance the overrunning loads. However, as is well known, counterbalance circuit designed with poor choice of counterbalance valve tends to introduce instability to the system. This paper investigates the dynamic behavior of a pilot operated counterbalance valve which can operate at a flow rate about 2000L/min. A linearized stability analysis of such a hydraulic circuit which consists of a slip in cartridge, a pilot counterbalance valve and a hydraulic winch is presented. Pole-zero plots are employed to reveal the effect of the volume of control cavity, the hydraulic resistance on pilot line and counterbalance valve pilot area ratio on the stability of the system. The analysis results indicate that such a system will be unstable within the normal range of each parameter. An alternative approach that guarantees system stability by adding an accumulator on the pilot line is put forward. The approach stabilizes the pilot pressure by reducing the hydro-stiffness of pilot control cavity, thus the system can reach its stability condition. Finally, a numerical optimization method is putted forward, with the optimized parameters, the dynamic performance of considered system become better.


1978 ◽  
Vol 100 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-78
Author(s):  
W. E. Thompson

A mechanism by which compressor rotor lateral vibration perturbs the mass flow-rate, the velocity and the pressure distributions within impeller passages is postulated. Such a perturbation will develop an unbalanced force on the rotor which, if it enhances the rotor vibration, is termed self-exciting. The concepts of rotor orbital velocity, the virtual center of shaft rotation, the reduction of unsteady flow to quasi-steady flow, the fluid dynamic force coefficient, mechanical orbital stability and the stability increment are introduced. The ideas are imposed on the streamline curvature method of quasi-three dimensional analysis of passage flow and a computer program has been assembled to carry out computation. No generalized guidelines have been found as yet but rather individual passage calculations are needed to determine the potentially exciting or damping character of the induced fluid dynamic forces. The average stability increment per stage for nine industrial multistage centrifugal compressors has been determined and compared with known operating experience. Important engineering characteristics of two of the compressors are shown in an example of the analysis. A provisional limit of the stability increment per stage ⩽ 1.85 lbf-s/in. (323.9N-s/m) is suggested, below which unstable nonsynchronous vibration of the compressor rotor can be expected.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 705
Author(s):  
Seung Il Baek ◽  
Joon Ahn

A straight-through labyrinth seal is one of the most popular non-contacting annular seals through which energy dissipation by turbulence viscosity interaction is achieved with a series of teeth and cavities. The geometric parameters of the straight-through labyrinth seal, such as clearance, tooth width, tooth height, cavity width, and tooth inclination angle, affect its performance. The space for installing a labyrinth seal in turbomachinery is limited, and so it is important to optimize its geometry for a fixed axial length in order to minimize the leakage flow rate and the discharge coefficient. The objective of the current study is to understand the effects of changing the geometric parameters of the seal on the leakage flow rate and the discharge coefficient, and to determine the optimized geometry for a fixed axial length. When the whole axial length is fixed, the most effective way to decrease the discharge coefficient is to reduce the cavity width by increasing the number of cavities. However, if the number of cavities is too high, the beneficial effect of more cavities can be reversed. The results of this study will help turbomachinery manufacturers to design a more efficient labyrinth seal. Numerical simulations of leakage flow for the straight-through labyrinth seal were carried out using Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) models, and the results for their discharge coefficients and pressure distributions were compared to previously published experimental data.


2013 ◽  
Vol 655-657 ◽  
pp. 526-530
Author(s):  
Gang Ma ◽  
Jun He ◽  
Xin Min Shen

Non-contacting gas film seal applies to the high speed working condition and a numerical method was presented for analyzing the effect of speed on the stability of cylinder gas film seal. The dynamics analysis model was established, solving the time-dependent Reynolds equation coupling with the dynamic equations. Through numerical simulation, the critical speed of cylinder gas film seal system and the diagram of critical mass versus rotor speed were obtained. The influence of the speed on dynamic stability was studied. The results show that the system stability becomes worse as rotor speed increases.


Author(s):  
Sivakumar Subramanian ◽  
A. S. Sekhar ◽  
B. V. S. S. S. Prasad

A computational methodology is proposed to predict the running clearance of a six-tooth straight-through rotating labyrinth seal numerically by taking into account both the centrifugal and thermal growths. Four different angular velocities ranging from 0 to 3000 rad/s are chosen to study the influence of rotation on the leakage flow rate. The detailed leakage flow fields and the structural deformations are presented. Further, different pressure ratios in the range of 1.1 to 2.5 have been investigated for a wide range of initial clearances. The methodology is validated against the available data in the literature. It is found out that there is a significant reduction in leakage flow rate by incorporating the radial growth for a particular operating condition. However, for a given initial clearance, the rotation has negligible effect on the reduction in the leakage flow rate, except at pressure ratios lower than 1.7. Further; the rotation has more prominent effect for smaller clearance values.


2011 ◽  
Vol 291-294 ◽  
pp. 2034-2040
Author(s):  
Wan Fu Zhang ◽  
Jian Gang Yang ◽  
Hao Cao ◽  
Rui Guo ◽  
Dan Sun

This paper sets up a dynamic analysis model for cylinder-seal system. A new identification method for fluid-induced force and stiffness coefficients in eccentric seal is presented. The study shows that the system stability decreases with increasing cross-coupled stiffness in a certain range. Beyond this range, the system will be destabilized. Influences of rotating speed, inlet pressure, eccentricity and clearance on fluid-induced force were tested in the rig. It was found that a large tangential fluid-induced force was produced in the direction perpendicular to the eccentric displacement of rotor. The difference between the tangential and radial fluid-induced force became larger and larger with the increasing rotating speeds. Under the action of the seal force, the logarithmic decrement descended with increasing rotating speeds, and the stability of the system decreased. These effects became more and more serious for higher inlet pressure and tighter clearance.


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