Fluid-Structure Interaction in a Labyrinth Gas Seal Coupled to a Flexible Stator

摘要

This paper deals with the prediction of aeroelastic instabilities occuring in labyrinth gas seal of turbomachinery components. The purpose of this work is to carry out a numerical investigation on an advanced labyrinth gas seal model comprising a non-deformable rotor, and a flexible stator. The flexibility of the static part induces pressure and velocity fluctuations within the leakage flow. The model retains several cavities formed by the teeth located on the shaft and a strong coupling between the fluid and the structure is assumed. A qualitative analysis is performed to identify the various causes of aeroelastic instability occurence. Then, a comparison with the literature is carried out in order to propose a better approach to predict such instabilities.