Experimental Analysis of Small Diameter Brush Seals and Comparisons With Theoretical Predictions

The paper presents the experimental results obtained for brush seals of 38 mm diameter operating with air at pressure differences up to 7 bars and rotation frequencies up to 500 Hz. The seals had bristles of 70 μm diameter, made of Haynes 25. Seals with two radial interferences (0 and 100 μm) between the brush and the rotor were tested. The presented running in procedure underlines the influence of the initial wear on the brush temperatures. The test results consisted of leakage mass flow rates. The temperatures of a limited number of points on the brush and on the rotor were also recorded. The results confirmed the important impact of the radial interference on the leakage. The test data were further confronted with theoretical predictions obtained with an original model. The model considers the brush as a deformable porous medium. Its local porosity and permeability are obtained from a fluid–structure interaction between the bristle pack and the leakage flow. The comparisons showed nearly close values of the mass flow rates. The differences between experimental and theoretical predictions are considered to be due to an underestimation of the porosity because the model neglects the friction forces between bristles and between the bristles and the rotor.