Labyrinth Seal Preprocessor and Post-Processor Design and Parametric Study

Abstract

Vibrations caused due to aerodynamic excitation may cause severe limitation to the performance of turbomachines. The force resulting from the non-uniform pressure distribution within the labyrinth cavity is identified as a major source of this excitation. In order to perform rotor dynamic evaluation of rotor-bearing-seal system, accurate prediction of this force is essential.

A visual basic based front-end, for a labyrinth seal analysis program, has been designed herein. In order to accurately predict the excitation force, proper modeling of labyrinth leak path is important. Thus, the front-end developed herein incorporates a leak-path geometric diagram for visual analysis of labyrinth leak path and tooth location. Furthermore, to investigate influence of various operating conditions and gas properties on excitation force (effective cross-coupling stiffness), a parametric study is performed on both the eye seal and the balance piston labyrinth seal.