Diametrically expandable/collapsible piston seal
AssigneeRaytheon Technologies Corporation
InventorsJason B. Husband, Canio Michael Hoffarth, Philip Andrew Varney
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A gas turbine engine includes a rotor that has a seal surface and a shaft that is rotatable about an engine central axis. The shaft has an annular seal channel that opens to the seal surface. There is a seal for sealing against the seal surface. The seal has channels formed therein that define a tortuous seal wall with interconnected spring ligaments such that the seal is elastically diametrically expandable for installation clearance around the shaft and, once on the shaft, elastically diametrically collapsible into the annular seal channel.
Claims19
A gas turbine engine comprising:
- a rotor having a seal surface;
- a shaft rotatable about an engine central axis, the shaft having an annular seal channel that opens to the seal surface;
- and
- a seal for sealing against the seal surface, the seal having channels formed therein that define a tortuous seal wall with interconnected spring ligaments such that the seal is elastically diametrically expandable for installation clearance around the shaft and, once on the shaft, elastically diametrically collapsible into the annular seal channel.
A seal for a gas turbine engine, comprising:
- a metallic tortuous seal wall with interconnected spring ligaments such that the seal is elastically diametrically expandable and elastically diametrically collapsible.
A method of assembling a seal into a gas turbine engine, the method comprising:
- providing a metallic tortuous seal wall with interconnected spring ligaments such that the seal is elastically diametrically expandable and elastically diametrically collapsible;
- applying an expanding force to the seal to elastically diametrically expand the seal, and then moving the seal over a shaft and into an annular seal channel of the shaft;
- and
- releasing the expanding force from the seal such that the seal elastically diametrically collapses into the annular seal channel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.