Turbomachine shroud fibrous tip seal
AssigneeSiemens Canada Limited
InventorsFrank Stauder, Ian Lockley, Sylvain Nadeau, William Holmes, Alexander Graham Hunt
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A turbomachine for moving air comprising includes a shroud disposed about a longitudinal axis and a rotor assembly mounted for rotation about the longitudinal axis. The rotor assembly has a plurality of blades and tips of the blades are coupled to an annular band. The annular band is disposed with respect to the shroud so as to define a gap extending continuously between an outer surface of the annular band and an inner surface of the shroud. A seal structure extends from the inner surface of the shroud and into the gap. The seal structure has a density sufficient to reduce swirl in recirculating airflow and to minimize air leakage across the gap.
Claims18
A turbomachine for moving air comprising:
- a shroud disposed about a longitudinal axis,
- a rotor assembly mounted for rotation about the longitudinal axis, the rotor assembly having a plurality of blades, tips of the blades being coupled to an annular band, the annular band being disposed with respect to the shroud so as to define a gap extending continuously between an outer surface of the annular band and an inner surface of the shroud, and
- seal structure extending from substantially the inner entire surface of the shroud and into the gap to reduce swirl and minimize air leakage across the gap, wherein the seal structure comprises one of a plurality of fibers, a plurality of bristles and a plurality of filaments.
A turbomachine for moving air comprising:
- a shroud disposed about a longitudinal axis,
- a rotor assembly mounted for rotation about the longitudinal axis, the rotor assembly having a plurality of blades, tips of the blades being coupled to an annular band, the annular band being disposed with respect to the shroud so as to define a gap extending continuously between an outer surface of the annular band and an inner surface of the shroud, and
- seal structure extending from the inner surface of the shroud and into the gap to reduce swirl and minimize air leakage across the gap, wherein the seal structure comprises an air permeable foam material mounted directly on the inner surface of the shroud.
A turbomachine for moving air comprising:
- a shroud disposed about a longitudinal axis,
- a rotor assembly mounted for rotation about the longitudinal axis, the rotor assembly having a plurality of blades, tips of the blades being coupled to an annular band, the annular band being disposed with respect to the shroud so as to define a gap extending continuously between an outer surface of the annular band and an inner surface of the shroud, and
- seal structure extending from the inner surface of the shroud and into the gap to reduce swirl and minimize air leakage across the gap, wherein the inner surface the shroud includes a roughened surface defining the seal structure.
A turbomachine for moving air comprising:
- a shroud disposed about a longitudinal axis,
- a rotor assembly mounted for rotation about the longitudinal axis, the rotor assembly having a plurality of blades, tips of the blades being coupled to an annular band, the annular band being disposed with respect to the shroud so as to define a gap extending continuously between an outer surface of the annular band and an inner surface of the shroud, and
- seal structure extending from the inner surface of the shroud and into the gap to reduce swirl and minimize air leakage across the gap, wherein the inner surface of the shroud includes a roughened surface defining the seal structure,
- wherein the inner surface includes sandpaper mounted thereto defining the roughened surface.
A turbomachine for moving air comprising:
- a shroud disposed about a longitudinal axis,
- a rotor assembly mounted for rotation about the longitudinal axis, the rotor assembly having a plurality of blades, tips of the blades being coupled to an annular band, the annular band being disposed with respect to the shroud so as to define a gap extending continuously between an outer surface of the annular band and an inner surface of the shroud, and
- seal structure extending from the inner surface of the shroud and into the gap to reduce swirl and minimize air leakage across the gap, wherein the seal structure comprises wax adhered to the inner surface of the shroud.
A method of reducing effects of air flow between a shroud and a rotor assembly, the shroud being disposed about a longitudinal axis and the rotor assembly being mounted for rotation about the longitudinal axis, the rotor assembly having a plurality of blades, tips of the blades being coupled to an annular band, the annular band being disposed with respect to the shroud so as to define a gap extending continuously between an outer surface of the annular band and an inner surface of the shroud, the method including:
- providing seal structure extending from substantially the inner entire surface of the shroud and into the gap to reduce swirl and minimize air leakage across the gap, the seal structure comprising one of a plurality of fibers, a plurality of bristles and a plurality of filaments.
A method of reducing effects of air flow between a shroud and a rotor assembly, the shroud being disposed about a longitudinal axis and the rotor assembly being mounted for rotation about the longitudinal axis, the rotor assembly having a plurality of blades, tips of the blades being coupled to an annular band, the annular band being disposed with respect to the shroud so as to define a gap extending continuously between an outer surface of the annular band and an inner surface of the shroud, the method including:
- providing seal structure extending from the inner surface of the shroud and into the gap to reduce swirl an minimize air leakage across the gap, wherein the inner surface the shroud includes a roughened surface defining the seal structure.
A method of reducing effects of air flow between a shroud and a rotor assembly, the shroud being disposed about a longitudinal axis and the rotor assembly being mounted for rotation about the longitudinal axis, the rotor assembly having a plurality of blades, tips of the blades being coupled to an annular band, the annular band being disposed with respect to the shroud so as to define a gap extending continuously between an outer surface of the annular band and an inner surface of the shroud, the method including:
- providing seal structure extending from the inner surface of the shroud and into the gap to reduce swirl and minimize air leakage across the gap, wherein the inner surface of the shroud includes a roughened surface defining the seal structure,
- wherein sandpaper is mounted to the inner surface to define the roughened surface.
A method of reducing effects of air flow between a shroud and a rotor assembly, the shroud being disposed about a longitudinal axis and the rotor assembly being mounted for rotation about the longitudinal axis, the rotor assembly having a plurality of blades, tips of the blades being coupled to an annular band, the annular band being disposed with respect to the shroud so as to define a gap extending continuously between an outer surface of the annular band and an inner surface of the shroud, the method including:
- mounting an air permeable foam directly on the inner surface of the shroud so as to extend into the gap to reduce swirl and minimize air leakage across the gap.
A method of reducing effects of air flow between a shroud and a rotor assembly, the shroud being disposed about a longitudinal axis and the rotor assembly being mounted for rotation about the longitudinal axis, the rotor assembly having a plurality of blades, tips of the blades being coupled to an annular band, the annular band being disposed with respect to the shroud so as to define a gap extending continuously between an outer surface of the annular band and an inner surface of the shroud, the method including:
- providing wax on the inner surface of the shroud so as to extend into the gap to reduce swirl and minimize air leakage across the gap.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.