Brush seal for use on rough rotating surfaces
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsChristopher Edward Wolfe, Bharat Sampathkumar Bagepalli, Norman Arnold Turnquist, Robert Harold Cromer, Minyoung Lee
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A brush seal which, among other applications, may be used for sealing a steam leakage gap between the shrouded free end of steam-turbine buckets (blades) of a steam-turbine rotor and a circumferentially surrounding steam-turbine stator. In a first embodiment, the brush seal includes first and second bristle packets having, respectively, first and second bristles, wherein the second bristles are more abrasive than the first bristles. In a second embodiment, the brush seal includes a bristle packet having bristles which are more abrasive proximate their free ends than not proximate their free ends.
Claims11
A brush seal for generally sealing a leakage gap between a rotor and a circumferentially-surrounding stator, said brush seal comprising:
- a) a brush-seal backing plate having opposing first and second edges and attached to said stator;
- b) first bristle packet contacting said backing plate, having a secured end attached to said backing plate, having a free end overhanging said second edge, and containing a plurality of generally identical first bristles, wherein said free end of said first bristle packet extends towards and at least proximate said rotor;
- and
- c) a second bristle packet disposed adjacent said first bristle packet, contacting said backing plate, having a secured end attached to said backing plate, having a free end overhanging said second edge, and containing a plurality of generally identical second bristles, wherein said free end of said second bristle packet extends towards and makes interference contact with said rotor and wherein said second bristles are more abrasive than said first bristles,
- wherein said rotor has a circumferential row of generally identical blades each having a shrouded free end,
- wherein said second bristles are more abrasive than said shrouded free end of said blades,
- wherein said shrouded free end of said blades is more abrasive than said first bristles,
- wherein said free end of said second bristle packet makes interference contact with said shrouded free end of said blades of said rotor;
- and
- wherein said free end of said first bristle packet contacts said shrouded free end of said blades of said rotor.
A brush seal comprising:
- a) a brush-seal backing plate having opposing first and second edges;
- and
- b) a bristle packet contacting said backing plate and having a plurality of generally identical bristles, wherein said bristles each have a secured end attached to said backing plate and a free end overhanging said second edge, and wherein the free-end portions of said bristles are more abrasive than the non-free-end portions of said bristles.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.