Effects of cavity on leakage loss in straight-through labyrinth seals

Labyrinth seals are widely used in rotating fluid machinery, due to its low-cost, simplicity and reliability. A straight-through labyrinth seal consists of a clearance between the stator and rotor, and sometimes cavities which are included on the stator or the rotator side. In this type of seals, making cavities are an effective way to convert turbulence kinetic energy into thermal energy by forming turbulence vortices, thereby reducing pressure difference and leakage flow. In this paper, the effect of cavities on leakage loss in straight-through labyrinth seals are studied by changing cavity dimensions such as depth and length, cavity number and cavity location. The influences of unilateral cavities and bilateral cavities on the leakage loss in straight-through labyrinth seals are also compared. The fluid flow characteristics through straight-through labyrinth seals were obtained by using viscous flow analysis along with a standard k-omega turbulence model. The cavity dimensions and cavity numbers have significant effects on the leakage as well as on the flow pattern in the seal. The bilateral cavity has better leakage performance than the unilateral cavity when cavity dimensions are identical. However, the cavity location shows no significant influences on the leakage flow.