Internally cooled seal runner
AssigneePratt & Whitney Canada Corp.
InventorsDaniel BLAIS, Alain Lewis, Alain C. Martel
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A contact seal assembly for a shaft of a gas turbine engine includes a seal runner adapted to be connected to the shaft and rotatable relative to a carbon ring. The seal runner includes concentric inner and outer annular portions radially spaced apart to define at least one internal fluid passage between the inner and outer annular portions of the seal runner.
Claims19
A contact seal assembly for a shaft of a gas turbine engine, comprising:
- one or more carbon ring segments mounted in a fixed position within a housing;
- and
- an annular seal runner adapted to be connected to the shaft of the gas turbine engine and rotatable relative to the carbon ring segments, the seal runner being disposed adjacent to and radially inwardly from the carbon ring segments and abutting thereagainst during rotation of the seal runner to form a contact interface between the seal runner and the carbon ring segments which forms a substantially fluid tight seal;
- the seal runner comprising concentric inner and outer annular portions which are radially spaced apart to define therebetween at least one internal fluid passage, said fluid passage defining a tortuous fluid flow path through the fluid passage and being adapted to receiving cooling fluid therein for cooling the seal runner from within, and the seal runner having one or more oil scoops integrally formed in one of the inner and outer annular portions and disposed in fluid flow communication with the internal fluid passage, the oil scoop feeding cooling oil into said fluid passage.
A gas turbine engine comprising one or more compressors, a combustor and one or more turbines, at least one of said compressors and at least one of said turbines being interconnected by an engine shaft rotating about a longitudinal axis thereof, at least one contact shaft seal being disposed about the rotating engine shaft to provide a fluid seal therewith, the contact shaft seal comprising one or more carbon ring assemblies having carbon ring segments mounted in a fixed position within a housing and an annular seal runner fixed to the engine shaft for rotation within the carbon ring assemblies, the seal runner abutting the carbon ring segments during rotation of the seal runner to form a contact interface therebetween which forms a substantially fluid tight shaft seal, the seal runner having concentric inner and outer annular portions which are radially spaced apart to define therebetween at least one internal fluid passage enclosed within the seal runner, the fluid passage defining a tortuous fluid flow path through the fluid passage and receiving cooling fluid therein for cooling the seal runner from within, the seal runner having one or more oil scoops integrally formed in one of the inner and outer annular portions and disposed in fluid flow communication with the internal fluid passage to feed cooling oil into said fluid passage.
A method of cooling an annular seal runner of a shaft seal assembly having carbon ring segments abutting the seal runner during relative rotation therebetween to form a contact interface between an outer runner surface of the seal runner and an inner surface of the carbon ring segments to form a fluid seal around the shaft, the method comprising:
- providing the seal runner with an internal fluid passage disposed radially between inner and outer annular portions of the seal runner;
- using an oil scoop integrally formed in the seal runner to feed cooling oil into the internal fluid passage within the seal runner;
- and
- internally cooling at least a radially outer portion of the seal runner having the outer runner surface thereon by circulating the cooling oil through the internal fluid passage of the seal runner to cool the seal runner from within, including rotating the seal runner to collect the cooling oil using the oil scoop and force the flow of the cooling oil through the internal fluid passage.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.