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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Mech. Eng.
Sec. Tribology
Volume 10 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmech.2024.1488803
This article is part of the Research Topic Visualization Techniques in Tribology View all 15 articles

The Effect of Inner Ring Groove on Leakage Reduction in Dry Gas Seals and Its Visualization Verification

Provisionally accepted
  • Tokai University, Hiratsuka, Japan

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    This study investigates the impact of incorporating an Inner Ring Groove (IRG) on the leakage characteristics of dry gas seals, commonly used in turbomachinery such as gas turbines and compressors. The primary objective is to enhance sealing performance and reduce gas leakage, which is critical for improving the efficiency of these machines. The research focuses on various groove shapes, including spiral grooves for single-direction rotation and T-grooves and tree grooves for bidirectional rotation. The experimental setup involved measuring air leakage rates across different seal configurations, both with and without the IRG. The results indicated that while the IRG increased leakage in spiral groove seals, it significantly reduced leakage in T-groove and tree groove seals. Specifically, the IRG reduced leakage by approximately 26% in T-groove seals and 15.8% in tree groove seals, compared to their standard configurations. Additionally, the study employed Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) to visualize gas flow within the seal gaps. The visualization revealed that the IRG altered the flow dynamics, particularly in T-groove seals, where it redirected the gas flow from a radial to a circumferential direction, thereby reducing leakage. In contrast, the IRG in spiral groove seals promoted radial flow, leading to increased leakage. These findings suggest that the application of IRGs can be particularly effective in bi-directional rotation seals, offering a potential design modification to enhance sealing performance. The study concludes that while IRGs may not be suitable for all groove types, their strategic application can lead to significant improvements in leakage reduction and overall efficiency of dry gas seals.

    Keywords: dry gas seal1, non-contacting mechanical seal2, Visualization3, PIV4, groove5, bai directional rotation seal6

    Received: 30 Aug 2024; Accepted: 30 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Ochiai and Ohya. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Masayuki Ochiai, Tokai University, Hiratsuka, Japan

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.