The ingress of hot gas through the rim seal of a gas turbine depends on the pressure difference between the mainstream flow in the turbine annulus and that in the wheel-space radially inward of the rim seal. In this paper, a previously published orifice model is modified so that the sealing effectiveness εc determined from concentration measurements in a rig could be used to determine εp, the effectiveness determined from pressure measurements in an engine. It is assumed that there is a hypothetical “sweet spot” on the vane platform where the measured pressures would ensure that the calculated value of εp equals εc, the value determined from concentration measurements. Experimental measurements for a radial-clearance seal show that, as predicted, the hypothetical pressure difference at the sweet spot is linearly related to the pressure difference measured at an arbitrary location on the vane platform. There is good agreement between the values of εp determined using the theoretical model and values of εc determined from concentration measurements. Supporting computations, using a 3D steady computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code, show that the axial location of the sweet spot is very close to the upstream edge of the seal clearance. It is shown how parameters obtained from measurements of pressure and concentration in a rig could, in principle, be used to calculate the sealing effectiveness in an engine.
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March 2015
Research-Article
Use of Pressure Measurements to Determine Effectiveness of Turbine Rim Seals
J. Michael Owen,
J. Michael Owen
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Bath
,Bath BA2 7AY
, UK
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Kang Wu,
Kang Wu
Department of Thermal Engineering,
Tsinghua University
,Beijing 100084
, China
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James A. Scobie,
James A. Scobie
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Bath
,Bath BA2 7AY
, UK
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Carl M. Sangan,
Carl M. Sangan
1
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
e-mail: c.m.sangan@bath.ac.uk
University of Bath
,Bath BA2 7AY
, UK
e-mail: c.m.sangan@bath.ac.uk
1Corresponding author.
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GeonHwan Cho,
GeonHwan Cho
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Bath
,Bath BA2 7AY
, UK
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Gary D. Lock
Gary D. Lock
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Bath
,Bath BA2 7AY
, UK
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J. Michael Owen
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Bath
,Bath BA2 7AY
, UK
Kang Wu
Department of Thermal Engineering,
Tsinghua University
,Beijing 100084
, China
James A. Scobie
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Bath
,Bath BA2 7AY
, UK
Carl M. Sangan
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
e-mail: c.m.sangan@bath.ac.uk
University of Bath
,Bath BA2 7AY
, UK
e-mail: c.m.sangan@bath.ac.uk
GeonHwan Cho
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Bath
,Bath BA2 7AY
, UK
Gary D. Lock
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Bath
,Bath BA2 7AY
, UK
1Corresponding author.
Contributed by the Structures and Dynamics Committee of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING FOR GAS TURBINES AND POWER. Manuscript received July 21, 2014; final manuscript received July 28, 2014; published online October 7, 2014. Editor: David Wisler.
J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power. Mar 2015, 137(3): 032510 (10 pages)
Published Online: October 7, 2014
Article history
Received:
July 21, 2014
Revision Received:
July 28, 2014
Citation
Michael Owen, J., Wu, K., Scobie, J. A., Sangan, C. M., Cho, G., and Lock, G. D. (October 7, 2014). "Use of Pressure Measurements to Determine Effectiveness of Turbine Rim Seals." ASME. J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power. March 2015; 137(3): 032510. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4028395
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