Centrifugal compressor with labyrinth seal

A compressor, comprising:

• an impeller assembly;
• and
• a motor assembly configured to drive the compressor;
• the impeller assembly including
• a stator having a stator profile;
• and
• a rotor having a rotor profile, the rotor being rotatable about a rotational axis,
• the stator and the rotor being separated from each other by a gap formed between the stator profile and the rotor profile;
• the gap including an inlet, an outlet, and at least three cavities, each channel of a plurality of channels connecting two cavities adjacently disposed in a flow direction through the gap,
• each cavity including a first concave portion defined by the stator profile and a second concave portion defined by the rotor profile, the first concave portion being positioned at least partially opposite from the second concave portion,
• a first channel extending between a first cavity and a second cavity, and a second channel extending between the second cavity and a third cavity, the first and second channels being non-collinear, and
• the second concave portion of the second cavity being at least partially disposed on a first imaginary line extending along the first channel, and the first concave portion of the second cavity being at least partially disposed on a second imaginary line extending along the second channel.

A compressor, comprising:

• an impeller assembly;
• and
• a motor assembly configured to drive the compressor;
• the impeller assembly including
• a stator having a stator profile;
• and
• a rotor having a rotor profile, the rotor being rotatable about a rotational axis,
• the stator and the rotor being separated from each other by a gap formed between the stator profile and the rotor profile;
• the gap including an inlet, an outlet, and at least two cavities connected by a channel,
• each cavity including a first concave portion defined by the stator profile and a second concave portion defined by the rotor profile, the first concave portion being positioned at least partially opposite from the second concave portion, and
• in a direction along the rotational axis, a first distance from a center of a first cavity which is disposed upstream of the channel to an upstream end of the channel being smaller than a second distance from the center of the first cavity to a mid-portion of the second concave portion of the first cavity, the mid-portion of the second concave portion of the first cavity being disposed at a mid-point of the second concave portion of the first cavity in a direction perpendicular to the direction along the rotational axis.

A compressor, comprising:

• an impeller assembly;
• and
• a motor assembly configured to drive the compressor;
• the impeller assembly including
• a stator having a stator profile;
• and
• a rotor having a rotor profile, the rotor being rotatable about a rotational axis,
• the stator and the rotor being separated from each other by a gap formed between the stator profile and the rotor profile;
• the gap including an inlet, an outlet, and at least two cavities connected by a channel,
• each cavity including a first concave portion defined by the stator profile and a second concave portion defined by the rotor profile, the first concave portion being positioned at least partially opposite from the second concave portion,
• the channel having a substantially constant distance from a rotor side of the channel to the rotational axis, and
• each of the at least two cavities provided in the gap having a substantially similar shape.