Analytical and experimental investigations of a labyrinth seal test rig and damper seals for turbomachinery

Due to the character of the original source materials and the nature of batch digitization, quality control issues may be present in this document. Please report any quality issues you encounter to digital@library.tamu.edu, referencing the URI of the item.Includes bibliographical references.Issued also on microfiche from Lange Micrographics.Rotating shaft seals, such as labyrinth seals, are used in high speed turbomachinery including aircraft gas turbine engines and industrial centrifugal compressors. Analysis, design, and testing of a non-rotating cantilever beam style shaft seal test rig is described. The test rig is used to evaluate the direct damping characteristics of conventional two bladed, teeth on stator labyrinth seals with converging and diverging clearances. Pertinence of data from non rotating tests used for rotating applications is discussed. The direct damping coefficients of the shaft seals are determined experimentally by processing measured displacement vibration impact response data with an equivalent single degree of freedom model of the cantilever beam test rig. The test rig is also used during the development of a unique damper seal device. The experimental data used to determine the direct damping coefficient of the damper seal device are presented. Results of vibration and pressure measurements that demonstrate the principles of operation of the damper seal are included. An analytical technique to determine the direct stiffness and damping coefficients of the damper seal is described. The experimental results are compared with the analytical results. Applications for the damper seal and recommendations for future research are included