Coupled analysis of non-contacting profiled finger seals taking into account friction effects

A computational model for coupled fluid-structure interaction analysis taking into account friction contacts is developed to study lifting capability and leakage performance of non-contacting finger seals. A cyclic finger seal segment consisting of one low-pressure finger, halves of two high-pressure fingers, front and back plates is considered. Compressible air flow in the finger seal is modeled using a computational fluid dynamics approach. A non-linear three-dimensional solid model takes into account friction contacts between the fingers and seal plates