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At least 559 records · Page 31

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS1980

High-Pressure Hot-Gas Self-Acting Floating Ring Shaft Seal for Liquid Rocket Turbopumps

Design analysis, detail design, fabrication, and experimental evaluation was performed on two self acting floating ring shaft seals for a rocket engine turbopump high pressure 24132500 n/sq m (3500 psig) hot gas 533 K 9500 F) high speed 3142 rad/sec (30000 rmp) turbine. The initial design used Rayleigh step hydrodynamic lift pads to assist in centering the seal ring with minimum rubbing contact. The final design used a convergent tapered bore to provide hydrostatic centering force. The Rayleigh step design was tested for 107 starts and 4.52 hours total. The leakage was satisfactory; however, the design was not acceptable due to excessive wear caused by inadequate centering force and failure of the sealing dam caused by erosion damage. The tapered bore design was tested for 370 starts and 15.93 hours total. Satisfactory performance for the required life of 7.5 hours per seal was successfully demonstrated.

Burcham, R. E.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Simulation and visualization of face seal motion stability by means of computer generated movies

A computer aided design method for mechanical face seals is described. Based on computer simulation, the actual motion of the flexibly mounted element of the seal can be visualized. This is achieved by solving the equations of motion of this element, calculating the displacements in its various degrees of freedom vs. time, and displaying the transient behavior in the form of a motion picture. Incorporating such a method in the design phase allows one to detect instabilities and to correct undesirable behavior of the seal. A theoretical background is presented. Details of the motion display technique are described, and the usefulness of the method is demonstrated by an example of a noncontacting conical face seal.

Etsion, I.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Damping seals for turbomachinery

A rotor seal is proposed that restricts leakage like a labyrinth seal, but extends the stabilizing speed range beyond twice the first critical speed. The dynamic parameters were derived from bulk flow equations without requiring a dominant axial flow. The flow is considered incompressible and turbulent. Damping seals are shown to be feasible for extending the speed range of high performance turbomachinery beyond the limit imposed by conventional seals.

Vonpragenau, G. L.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Continuous self-locking spiral wound seal

A spiral wound seal for effecting a seal between two surfaces is described. The seal consists of a strip of gasket material wound into a groove machined into one of the surfaces. The gasket strip is wider than the groove is deep so that a portion of the gasket material protrudes from the groove. The seal is effected by clamping the second surface onto the first surface and compressing the protruding gasket material.

Irick, S. C.↗

NASA NTRS1982

An experimental investigation of interfacial temperatures in blade-seal material rubbing of aircraft compressors

Results are presented for the rubbing of rotating (100 m/s) titanium blade specimens, with different plasma-sprayed tip coating, against an abradable porous seal material at two different incursion rates. In general, there was a good correspondence between the average transverse force of rubbing and the seal specimen surface temperature. Instantaneous seal surface temperature measurement showed a significant temperature jump before and after each rubbing with a high rate of cooling during each revolution and a high overall temperature level. Numerical predictions of both blade and seal temperature agreed well for the bare blade tip experiments but were consistently high for the coated blades. This suggests that the thermal properties of the coatings may significantly affect the temperatures and hence the wear characteristics of the system.

Emery, A. F.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Measurement and evaluation of swirl-type flow in labyrinth seals of conventional turbine stages

The effects of load factor and rotor eccentricity were determined on flow conditions in test series for two stages. The results indicate that swirl-type entry flow follows the rules of potential swirl. Within the labyrinth cavities two spatial separated flow areas are considered. A dominating flow in periphera direction nearly fills the space between the sealing strips and the ceiling of the cavity. Below this flow, an area of axial mass transport is situated, with a slight peripheral component, limited on the nearest surroundings of the seals gap and the rotor surface. Between both flows, an exchange of energy takes place. Within the gaps, flow direction depends on axial velocity and therefore on variable flow contraction. A balance of energy within the seal and the cavities interprets the results of lateral force measurements as an influence of friction at the sealing strips surface and the rotating shaft surface. Stages with their blades put together in buckets by means of shrouding segments are particularly influenced by the rotating speed of the shrouding.

Hauck, L.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Technical support package: Flexible seal accommodates part mismatch. NASA Tech Briefs, Fall 1982, volume 7, no. 1

A radial seal for the inside diameter of a part that develops an out-of-round condition and grows under pressure was developed. The primary seal consists of overlapping segments fabricated from metal or composite material that has been molded into a rubber jacket. The purpose of the segments is to provide the strength to withstand side loads (seal tested at 2,300 psi), and the rubber encapsulation provides the sealing surface and needed flexibility to conform to the variable eccentric shape.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1983

Hermetic edge sealing of photovoltaic modules

The edge sealing technique is accomplished by a combination of a chemical bond between glass and aluminum, formed by electrostatic bonding, and a metallurgical bond between aluminum and aluminum, formed by ultrasonic welding. Such a glass to metal seal promises to provide a low cost, long lifetime, highly effective hermetic seal which can protect module components from severe environments. Development of the sealing techniques and demonstration of their effectiveness by fabricating a small number of dummy modules, up to eight inches square in size, and testing them for hermeticity using helium leak testing methods are reviewed. Non-destructive test methods are investigated.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1983

A comparison of flow rates and pressure profiles for N-sequential inlets and three related seal configurations

Experimental and analytical results are presented for choked flows of fluid nitrogen over a range of reduced inlet stagnation temperatures (from 0.67 to ambient) and reduced inlet stagnation pressures to 2. Flow rate and pressure profile comparisons are made between N aligned sequential orifice inlets, a 33-tooth labyrinth seal, a 3-step seal, a cylindrical seals and the classic venturi. Seal effectiveness appears strongly dependent on upstream losses and geometry configuration.

Hendricks, R. C.↗

NASA NTRS1983

The SSME HPFTP interstage seals: Analysis and experiments for leakage and reaction-force coefficients

An improved theory for the prediction of the rotordynamic coefficients of turbulent annular seals was developed. Predictions from the theory are compared to the experimental results and an approach for the direct calculation of empirical turbulent coefficients from test data are introduced. An improved short seal solution is shown to do a better job of calculating effective stiffness and damping coefficients than either the original short seal solution or a finite length solution. However, the original short seal solution does a much better job of predicting equivalent added mass coefficient.

Childs, D. W.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Hermetic edge sealing of photovoltaic modules

The feasibility of using an electrostatic bonding (ESB) and ultrasonic welding process to produce hermetic edge seals on terrestrial solar cell modules was investigated. The fabrication sequence is to attach an aluminum foil "gasket' to the perimeter of a glass sheet. A cell circuit is next encapsulated inside the gasket, and its aluminum foil back cover is seam welded ultrasonically to the gasket. An ESB process for sealing aluminum to glass was developed in an ambient air atmosphere, which eliminates the requirement for a vacuum or pressure vessel. An ultrasonic seam welding process was also developed which did not degrade the quality of the ESB seal. Good quality welds with minimal deformation were produced. The effectiveness of the above described sealing techniques was tested by constructing 400 sq cm (8 x 8 s64 sq in) sample modules, and then subjecting them to nondestructive fine and gross leak tests. The gross leak tests identified several different causes of leaks which were then eliminated by modifying the assembly process.

Nowlan, M. J.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Comparison of seal materials for use in Stirling engines

In a dry, reciprocating sliding test, rods of 12 different surface materials rubbed against a glass filled PTFE gas seal. To simulate operation in a Stirling engine a gas (N2) pressure of 1 MPa differential pressure was applied across the seal. Gas leakage rates, rods surface temperatures, changes in the surface finish of the rod, surface hardness of the rod and wear rate of the seals were measured. The rod surface materials that produced the least seal were: plasma sprayed molybdenum (75 Mo 18 Ni 4 Cr), gas nitrided steel, and plasma sprayed aluminum oxide (94 Al2O3 6 TiO2). In contrast to almost all other mating surfaces, the surface roughness of the rods coated with Mo did not decrease during wear. This property is very important for the formation of a PTFE transfer film on the mating surface. The presence of a stable transfer film gives a low PTFE wear rate.

Lundholm, G.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Thermal and elastohydrodynamic analysis of reciprocating rod seals in the Stirling engine

Sliding seals and pumping rings for use in Stirling engines are analyzed from an elastohydrodynamic point of view. The oil film thickness and pressure distribution are found by a finite element method and then used to determine the operating temperature of sliding seals. Thermal aspects of dry seals (cap seals) are also discussed. A parametric study has been made and the results summarized in a set of curves.

Yang, Y.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Low-Temperature Seal for Actuator Rod

Combination bearing and seal used on Space Shuttle functions reliably at temperatures as low as - 160 degrees F and as high as + 130 degrees F. Corrosion-resistant stainless-steel spacer separates secondary and primary seals in both old and new versions of seal assembly. In new version, combination of flexible sealing lip and bridge is less susceptible to cracking at low temperatures.

Lindfors, R. J.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Shaft Seal Compensates for Cold Flow

Seal components easy to install. Ring seal for rotating or reciprocating shafts spring-loaded to compensate for slow yielding (cold flow) of sealing material. New seal relatively easy to install because components preassembled, then installed in one piece.

Myers, W. N.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Analysis of dynamic characteristics of fluid force induced by labyrinth seal

Flow patterns of the labyrinth seal are experimentally investigated for making a mathematical model of labyrinth seal and to obtain the flow induced force of the seal. First, the flow patterns in the labyrinth chamber are studied on the circumferential flow using bubble and on the cross section of the seal chamber using aluminum powder as tracers. And next, the fluid force and its phase angle are obtained from the measured pressure distribution in the chamber and the fluid force coefficients are derived from the fluid force and the phase angle. Those are similar to the expression of oil film coefficients. As a result, it is found that the vortices exist in the labyrinth chambers and its center moves up and down periodically. The pressure drop is biggest in the first stage of chambers and next in the last stage of chambers.

Iwatsubo, T.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Identification of dynamic coefficients of annular turbulent seals

An identification procedure to determine dynamic coefficients of annular turbulent seals in turbopumps is presented. Measurements were carried out at a built test rig with two symmetrical arranged seals. A rigid rotating shaft is surrounded by an elastically supported housing, which is excited by impact forces. The relative radial motion between the rotating parts and the housing, respectively between the seal surfaces, is measured by displacement pick-ups and from the time signals complex frequency response functions can be calculated. Finally an analytical model, depending on the seal parameters, is fitted to the measured data, to find the dynamic coefficients.

Nordmann, R.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Oxidizing seal for a turbine tip gas path

The sealing of the gas path in a gas turbine engine at the blade tips is improved by maintaining a minimum clearance between the rotor blade tips and the gas path seal. This is accomplished by taking advantage of an increase in volume during controlled oxidation of certain intermetallic compounds which have high melting points. The increase in volume closes the clearance subsequent to a rub between the blades and the seal. Thus, these compounds re-form the tip seal surface to assure continued engine efficiency.

Cawley, J. D.↗