The present invention relates to supports for brush seals at various locations within a turbine and particularly relates to supports for brush seals whereby the bristle tips are located accurately and maintained in accurate locations during turbine operation in relation to a sealing surface.
Brush seals having been proposed and constructed in the past and are typically employed for sealing between stationary and rotating components. While certain seals are preloaded by springs, other seals are installed without any supporting structure. Specifically, brush seals typically comprise a base mounting the bristles with the bristle tips projecting distally from the base. The brush seal is conventionally mounted by sliding the base along a premachined groove in a support structure, for example, the inner barrel of a turbine or the inner wall of a turbine diaphragm. The expectation is that the machined features of the groove consistently match the dimensions and tolerances used to manufacture the brush seal, including the base, whereby the seal is supported at a predetermined position and achieves the required configuration between the brush seal bristle tips and the adjoining seal surface.
However, it has been found that the brush seal moves radially outwardly during operation of the turbine, allowing the predetermined spacing to vary, thus reducing the expected performance benefit of the brush seals in the turbine. Moreover, at turbine startup, brush seals mounted in the stationary component along the underside of the rotating member, e.g., the turbine rotor, are typically spaced by gravity a further distance from the rotor than the desired predetermined distance, while the converse is true with respect to those brush seals located above the rotating member. As a consequence, there is a need to provide and maintain required and accurate spacing between the bristle tips and the opposing sealing surface, e.g., the rotating rotor, to enhance the performance of the turbine.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a brush seal between a stationary component and a movable component in a turbine. The stationary component includes a groove having a recess defining a hook, the groove opening toward the movable, e.g., rotatable, component. The seal includes a base mounting a plurality of bristles, terminating in tips for engagement against the movable component to form a seal therewith. The base of the brush seal includes a laterally extending flange disposed in the recess and in engagement with the hook. To maintain the desired consistent accurate location of the base relative to the stationary component, at least a pair of apertures are provided through the stationary component on the side of the groove opposite the groove opening. Pins and, preferably, set screws, are provided in the apertures to engage the base maintaining the flange of the base in accurate and consistent engagement against the hook of the groove throughout the range of operation of the turbine including startup and shutdown. The set screws or pins are fixed in place by staking to the stationary component or by providing a wire insert threaded within each aperture with the set screw screwthreaded relative to the wire insert. In this manner, the pin or set screw is fixed, thereby fixing the location of the bristles relative to the movable member.
In a preferred embodiment according to the present invention, there is provided a seal comprising a brush seal segment including a base having a flange and a plurality of bristles secured to the base having distal tips for engaging a movable member, a mounting structure for the seal having a groove for receiving the base of the brush seal and having a hook, the groove being sized to enable the brush seal bristles to project beyond a surface of the mounting structure to engage the movable member upon engagement of the brush seal flange and the hook, at least a pair of threaded apertures extending through the mounting structure and opening into the groove, a screw threaded into each of the apertures with an end thereof engaging the base to maintain the brush seal flange in engagement with the hook of the base and means connecting between the mounting structure and the screw for securing the screw in the threaded aperture.
In a turbine seal arrangement comprising an inner barrel about a turbine axis and having an arcuate groove opening inwardly toward the axis, the groove including an axially extending recess spaced within and back from the groove opening and defining a hook, a rotor rotatable relative to the inner barrel, a brush seal including an arcuate base disposed within the arcuate groove and a plurality of bristles extending from the base through the groove opening and terminating in tips engaging a sealing surface on the inner barrel, the base having a flange extending axially into the recess and engaging the hook, a pair of apertures extending through the inner barrel into the groove from a side thereof opposite the groove opening, a pin in each aperture engaging a back side of the base away from the groove opening at circumferentially spaced positions about the base to maintain the flange and the hook in engagement with one another and means for securing each pin in the aperture against axial movement relative to and within the aperture to maintain the bristle tips in sealing engagement with the rotor.
In a further preferred embodiment according to the present invention, there is provided a turbine seal arrangement comprising a diaphragm having a generally arcuate inner wall extending about an axis, the inner wall having a groove opening inwardly toward the axis, the groove including an axially extending recess spaced within and back from the groove opening and defining a hook along the diaphragm wall, a rotor rotatable relative to the inner wall, a brush seal including an arcuate base disposed within the groove and a plurality of bristles extending from the base through the groove opening and terminating in tips engaging a sealing surface on the rotor, the base having a flange extending axially into the recess and engaging the hook, a pair of apertures extending through the inner wall of the diaphragm into the groove from a side thereof opposite the groove opening, a pin in each aperture engaging a back side of the base away from the opening at spaced positions along the inner wall to maintain the flange and the hook in engagement with one another and means for securing each pin in the aperture against axial movement relative to and within the aperture to maintain the bristle tips in sealing engagement with the rotor.
Referring now to
Brush seal 18 typically comprises part of an annular array of arcuate brush seal segments 20 (
As noted previously, the tolerances and dimensions of the brush seals and machined grooves are such that they do not consistently match one another, consequently permitting movement of the brush seal 18, typically in a radial outward direction relative to the groove. This movement, in turn, causes fluttering and inconsistent performance of the seal. To preclude such relative movement, and in accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a plurality of apertures 40 are formed through the inner barrel at circumferentially spaced positions thereabout and in radial opposition to the flange 36 of the brush seal 18 disposed within the grooves 22. Set screws or pins 42 are disposed within the apertures 40 with inner ends of the set screws or pins 42 engaging the flange 36 of the base of the brush seal 18. The set screws may be threaded directly to female threads along aperture 40 at a predetermined torque load and insertion depth to maintain the brush seal at the required location through the engagement of the set screws and flange 36. As illustrated in
Alternatively, the set screws or pins 42, as illustrated in
Referring now to
While the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiment, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.