Active seal
AssigneeUnited Technologies Corporation
InventorRichard A. Meinzer
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A seal assembly includes a seal element having a plurality of movable seal segments and further includes a plurality of actuators, each associated with a respective one of the seal segments. Each of the seal segments has a coil that generates electrical energy in the presence of a varying magnetic field. Each of the actuators receives energy from the associated seal segments and in response thereto produces a force that causes the segment to move toward or away from a surface on an opposing seal member. A method for fabricating a seal element for a gas turbine engine includes providing a wafer, forming seal segments on the wafer, dividing the wafer into a plurality of seal segments, and arranging at least two of the plurality of seal segments into a seal element.
Claims15
A seal assembly comprising:
- a seal member having a sealing surface;
- a magnet;
- a seal element having a plurality of seal segments each having a sealing surface that faces the sealing surface of the seal member, each of the seal segments further having at least one coil;
- a plurality of actuators, each one of the actuators being associated with a respective one of the plurality of seal segments, and each of the plurality of actuators having at least a portion integral to the associated one of the plurality of seal segments;
- wherein at least one of the seal element and the magnet rotates relative to the other such that the coils on each of the plurality of seal segments generate electrical energy, and each of the plurality of actuators receives energy generated by the coil of the associated one of the plurality of seal segments and in response thereto, produces a force to move the associated one of the plurality of seal segments in at least one direction from a group comprising a direction toward the sealing surface of the seal member and a direction away from the sealing surface of the seal member.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.