Leakage and rotordynamic effects of pocket damper seals and see-through labyrinth seals

Leakage and Rotordynamic Effects of Pocket Damper Seals and See-Through Labyrinth Seals. (December 2007) Ahmed Mohamed Gamal Eldin, B.Sc., The American University in Cairo; M.S., Texas A&M University Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. John M. Vance This dissertation discusses research on the leakage and rotordynamic characteristics of pocket damper seals (PDS) and see-through labyrinth seals, presents and evaluates models for labyrinth seal and PDS leakage and PDS force coefficients, and compares these seals to other annular gas seals. Low-pressure experimental results are used alongside previously-published high-pressure labyrinth and PDS data to evaluate the models. Effects of major seal design parameters; blade thickness, blade spacing, blade profile, and cavity depth; on seal leakage, as well as the effect of operating a seal in an off-center position, are examined through a series of non-rotating tests. Two reconfigurable seal designs were used, which enabled testing labyrinth seals and PDS with two to six blades. Leakage and pressure measurements were made with air as the working fluid on twenty-two seal configurations. Increasing seal blade thickness reduced leakage by the largest amount. Blade profile results were more equivocal, indicating that both profile and thickness affected leakage, but that the influence of one factor partially negated the influence of the other. Seal leakage increased with increased eccentricity at lower supply pressures, but that this effect was attenuated for higher pressure drops. While cavity depth effects were minor, reducing depths reduced leakage up to a point beyond which leakage increased, indicating that an optimum cavity depth existed. Changing blade spacing produced results almost as significant as those for blade thickness, showing that reducing spacing can detrimentally affect leakage to the point of negating