Integral aft seal for turbine applications

An integral aft seal for sealing an interface between a transition piece component and a first stage nozzle component of a gas turbine, said aft seal comprising:

• a contiguous material having a planar shape including an inner radial portion and an outer portion connected by side portions, and a variable thickness to span and seal the interface, wherein said contiguous material comprises corrugations to provide sufficient flexibility for said variable thickness;
• and
• a stiffener attached to said contiguous material at each planar face such that one said stiffener contacts and abuts against the transition piece and another said stiffener contacts and abuts against the first nozzle stage to provide wear resistance and to seal the interface therebetween.

A variable thickness, integral seal for sealing an interface between components in a gas turbine, said seal comprising:

• a monolithic and consubstantial seal material having a planar shape corresponding to the shape of the interface, said seal material having a compressible thickness sufficient to span the interface;
• and
• a pair of planar stiffeners having a planar shape corresponding to the shape of the interface, each said stiffener attached to a planar face of said seal material.

A variable thickness, integral seal for sealing an interface between components in a gas turbine, said seal comprising:

• a contiguous seal material having a planar shape including an inner radial portion and an outer radial portion connected by side portions shaped to form an arcuate annular segment, said seal material including corrugations along a thickness dimension to provide flexibility and variability to the thickness;
• a first planar stiffener having a planar shape corresponding to the planar shape of said seal, said stiffener attached to a planar face of said seal material to provide a wear resistant face to said seal, and;
• an attachment structure for attaching said seal to one of the components, wherein said attachment structure comprises a bendable tab on said first planar stiffener for affixing said seal to one of the components.

A variable thickness, integral seal for sealing an interface between components in a gas turbine, said seal comprising:

• a contiguous seal material having a planar shape including an inner radial portion and an outer radial portion connected by side portions shaped to form an arcuate annular segment, said seal material including corrugations along a thickness dimension to provide flexibility and variability to the thickness;
• a first planar stiffener having a planar shape corresponding to the planar shape of said seal, said stiffener attached to a planar face of said seal material to provide a wear resistant face to said seal, and;
• an attachment structure for attaching said seal to one of the components, wherein said attachment structure comprises an extended tab with an aperture on said first planar stiffener for affixing said seal to one of the components by a threaded connector.