ORCID

0009-0000-5363-2392

Keywords

Supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO₂), Hybrid seal, Labyrinth seal, Honeycomb seal, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), Leakage performance

Subject Categories

Energy Systems | Heat Transfer, Combustion | Mechanical Engineering

Abstract

Leaks account for large losses in turbomachinery systems, which has led to research on sealing technologies. The work presented studies the effect of a hybrid seal combining conventional labyrinth geometry and honeycomb structure by simulating supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO₂) flow through this geometry. The CFD solver compares effects such as changes in mass flow rate, formation of vortices, pressure profile, and seal performance as geometry angles of labyrinth teeth and honeycomb walls change at conditions normally found at higher pressures in these seals. Honeycomb walls were placed on the stator, ranging from 125°< θc< 55°. Labyrinth teeth were placed on the rotor at the same degrees. Honeycomb cell diameters were also varied, creating more resistance and turbulence within the flow. It was discovered that the honeycomb angle created stronger effects on vortices and boundary layer formation, while the labyrinth angle mainly affected the throttling of flow and loss generation. Combining all three angles created a relationship dictating the seal leakage. Dimensions of seals were based on gas turbine seals with changes to meet sCO₂ conditions. ANSYS was used to simulate static and rotating conditions until convergence on a specific geometry

Completion Date

2026

Semester

Summer

Committee Chair

Jayanta Kapat

Degree

Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering (M.S.A.E.)

College

College of Engineering and Computer Science

Department

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Format

PDF

Document Type

Thesis

Language

English

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