Self-Balancing Face Seals and Gas Turbine Engine Systems Involving Such Seals
AssigneeUnited Technologies Corporation
InventorsJorn A. Glahn, Peter M. Munsell
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Self-balancing face seals and gas turbine engine systems involving such seals are provided. In this regard, a representative self-balancing face seal assembly includes: a rotatable seal runner having a first seal runner face and an opposing second seal runner face; a first face seal operative to form a first seal with the first seal runner face, the first face seal being one of a hydrostatic seal and a hydrodynamic seal; and a second face seal operative to form a second seal with the second seal runner face, the first face seal being one of a hydrostatic seal and a hydrodynamic seal.
Claims20
A self-balancing face seal assembly comprising:
- a rotatable seal runner having a first seal runner face and an opposing second seal runner face;
- a first face seal operative to form a first seal with the first seal runner face, the first face seal being one of a hydrostatic seal and a hydrodynamic seal;
- and
- a second face seal operative to form a second seal with the second seal runner face, the second face seal being one of a hydrostatic seal and a hydrodynamic seal.
A turbine assembly for a gas turbine engine comprising:
- a turbine having a rotatable blades and a self-balancing face seal assembly;
- the self-balancing face seal assembly having a seal runner, a first face seal and a second face seal;
- the seal runner having a first seal runner face and a second seal runner face;
- the first face seal being operative to form a first seal with the first seal runner face, the first face seal being one of a hydrostatic seal and a hydrodynamic seal;
- and
- the second face seal being operative to form a second seal with the second seal runner face, the second face seal being one of a hydrostatic seal and a hydrodynamic seal.
A gas turbine engine comprising:
- a compressor;
- a shaft interconnected with the compressor;
- and
- a turbine operative to drive the shaft, the turbine having a self-balancing face seal assembly having a seal runner, a first face seal and a second face seal;
- the seal runner having a first seal runner face and a second seal runner face;
- the first face seal being operative to form a first seal with the first seal runner face, the first face seal being one of a hydrostatic seal and a hydrodynamic seal;
- and
- the second face seal being operative to form a second seal with the second seal runner face, the second face seal being one of a hydrostatic seal and a hydrodynamic seal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.