Simulation of flow leakage in blade seals and investigating the effect of geometrical parameters on their performance

Blade seals are one of the ring non-contact seals that decrease the leakage. In this paper, decreasing the leakage using these types of seals is investigated. Since sealing improves the performance of turbomachines, developing a method for decreasing the leakage is very important. In this study, four different geometries are used where the first one is employed to verify the results and the other three ones are applicable in different stages of centrifugal gas compressors. Straight and stepped seal geometries were used to investigate the effects of clearance and number of teeth on the leakage. Further, the fourth geometry was employed to develop a new method for improving the leakage. Considering a new geometry including extra steps shows a significant improvement in the leakage flow. Simulations were carried out using Ansys Fluent 18. ICEM software was implemented to discretize the model. Mesh study was implemented to determine the best element sizes and generate cost effective results. It should be noted that the seals are applicable in centrifugal gas compressors with pressure ratio of 1.5 .

کلیدواژه ها:

Seal ، Leakage ، Numerical Simulation ، Optimal Profile