Turbomachine having a seal device

#The invention relates to a turbomachine having a seal device as described in detail below.

#For sealing out air at annular gaps between adjacent static hot gas guides of turbomachines in the flow direction, such as the stationary gas turbines of aircraft engines, segmented sealing plates are frequently used, which are pressurized during operation by a differential pressure on component-side sealing edges or sealing surfaces. In order to equilibrate displacements of the sealing edges relative to one another resulting from thermal expansion, engine vibrations, and the like, the sealing plates are frequently mounted tippable on at least one component of the hot gas guides. Since at the beginning, during startup of the turbomachine from the shutdown state, the differential pressure can build up, it is necessary that the sealing plate already represents an obstacle to the flow of air and develops its sealing effect, even without a pressure load. For this purpose, the sealing plates are pressed against the sealing edges by springs in the shutdown state. During operation, the springs follow the displacement of the components relative to one another, which is impressed by the environment. Now if, in addition to thermal loads, the springs are subjected to high expansions due to large relative displacements, their material can begin to creep. The springs lose their prestressing action, so that during the startup of the turbomachine, the sealing plates can no longer tightly press against the sealing edges.

#A turbomachine with a seal device for sealing a gap between two stator components is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,988,369 B2; it has a segmented sealing element for mounting or holding it on one of the components and for bridging the gap, and a prestressing element for pressing the sealing element against a sealing edge of the stator components in each case. The prestressing element is attached to the stator component on the mounting side. The sealing edge of the stator component on the mounting side is next to the mounting and the sealing edge of the stator component free of the mounting is far from the mounting. The sealing edge next to the mounting is disposed between the mounting and the sealing edge far from the mounting, whereby the prestressing element engages on the back relative to the sealing edges, between the sealing edges on the sealing element near the sealing edge next to the mounting and remote from the sealing edge far from the mounting. The prestressing element is V-shaped and has a support leg, by which it is applied to the stator component on the mounting side. When the prestressing element is compressed as a consequence of a displacement of the sealing edges relative to one another, the support leg of the prestressing element tends to lift off the mounting-side stator component.

#Preferred embodiment examples of the invention will be explained in more detail in the following on the basis of schematic representations. Herein:

#FIG. 1 shows a lengthwise section through a turbomachine according to the invention in the region of a first exemplary seal device;

#FIG. 2 shows an exemplary positioning of prestressing elements on a sealing element;

#A section in the axial direction x through a first exemplary embodiment of a turbomachine 1 in the region of a gap 2 between two stator components 4, 6 is shown in FIG. 1. The stator components 4, 6 essentially extend in the axial direction x of the turbomachine 1, which is defined by a lengthwise axis of the rotor, in fact lying in the sectional plane of FIG. 1, but not shown. The stator components 4, 6 embrace the lengthwise axis of the rotor and are thus executed as rotationally symmetrical annular components, but can be designed segmented in the peripheral direction as needed. Correspondingly, gap 2 is an annular gap. All non-rotating components of the turbomachine are therefore perceived as stator components 4, 6.

#The gap 2 extends between an outer region 8, which is joined directly to a cooling air cavity, for example, and an inner region 10, which is joined, for example, to a hot-gas channel of the turbomachine. The same pressure at rest prevails in both regions 8, 10 when the turbomachine is shut down. Upon starting up, a pressure builds up more rapidly in the inner region 10 than in the outer region 8. During operation, in contrast, a higher pressure prevails in the outer region 8 than in the inner region 10. In order to prevent the occurrence of a pressure equilibration between the regions 8, 10, the turbomachine has a seal device 12 for sealing or closing the gap 2 in any operational state.

#The seal device 12 has a plurality of sealing elements 14, mounting pins 16 and prestressing elements 18.