Numerical Investigation on the Leakage of Brush Seals

This paper presents a brief history of the development of brush seals and their use in propulsive and power applications. Based on previous research of the authors a computational fluid dynamics model of the leakage mass flow in a brush seal is developed further, treating the inner structure of this sealing by an array of bristles in transverse flow. Multiple dimensional differing domain setups are simulated over a wide pressure ratio range, and tested against each other as well as against own validation data and those of other authors. In addition, the influence of varying the turbulence model regarding the viscous flow over the rotor’s surface and the effect of considering support and cover ring are investigated