Visualization experiment of gas flow in dry gas seals

Abstract

Dry gas seals are widely used for turbomachinery. Recently, they are being required to much further reduce gas leakage from many industries. It has known that sealing characteristics depend strongly on the geometry and dimensions of the grooves on the surfaces. Therefore, we conducted the optimization of groove geometry for improving the sealing characteristics. Moreover, the optimized dry gas seal was made and it was verified the effectiveness. In this study, it is intended that the effect of the groove geometry is verified. Therefore, the experimental apparatus to perform the leakage quantity measurement and visualization experiment was made. Moreover, it was conducted the leakage quantity measurement and visualization experiment of the air lubricating flow.