Turbine bucket cover and brush seal
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsNorman Arnold Turnquist, Lawrence D. Willey, Christopher Edward Wolfe
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The adjoining edges of bucket covers are sealed one to the other. A brush seal projecting from a stationary shroud overlies the bucket covers. A joint at which the adjacent covers sealingly engage each other precludes radial outflow of high pressure fluid into bristles of the brush seal, preventing radial and axial deflection of the bristles and consequent failure of the bristles. The joints between the covers may comprise lap or tongue-and-groove joints.
Claims21
In a turbine having a plurality of rotatable buckets, a stationary shroud surrounding the rotatable buckets, and a fluid medium flow path through the turbine, a seal between said buckets and said stationary shroud, comprising:
- a plurality of arcuate covers carried by radial outer ends of said buckets for rotation with said buckets about an axis of the turbine in a predetermined circumferential direction, said covers having leading edges and trailing edges in the direction of rotation of the buckets;
- a brush seal projecting from the shroud and comprising a plurality of bristles for sealingly engaging radially outer surfaces of said covers;
- and
- a joint between circumferentially adjacent covers wherein adjoining leading and trailing edges sealingly engage one another substantially to preclude radial outflow of the fluid medium onto said bristles as the buckets and covers rotate relative to the brush seal.
In a turbine having a plurality of rotatable buckets, a stationary shroud surrounding the rotatable buckets, and a fluid medium flow path through the turbine, a seal between said buckets and said stationary shroud, comprising:
- a plurality of arcuate covers carried by radial outer ends of said buckets for rotation with said buckets about an axis of the turbine in a predetermined circumferential direction, said covers having adjoining edges;
- a brush seal projecting from the shroud and comprising a plurality of bristles for sealingly engaging radially outer surfaces of said covers;
- a joint between circumferentially adjacent covers wherein at least portions of said adjoining edges overlap one another to substantially seal said adjacent covers to one another at axial locations corresponding to axial locations of said cover surfaces engaged by said bristles to substantially preclude radial outflow of the fluid medium past the overlapping portions of said adjoining edges.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.