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Leakage analysis of helical grooved pump seal using CFD

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Abstract

The helical grooved seal, which is a non-contact sealing device using the viscosity of the fluid, prevents leakage by reducing fluid pressure according to the shapes of the rotor and stator. It has been widely adopted to turbomachinery because no wear deliveries high efficiency, unlike to the existing contact sealing device. In this study, parametric study was performed by CFD analysis, considering helical grooved seal shape: ratio of groove width and land width (Wratio), helical angle (β) and groove depth (d). Based on the leakage characteristics analyzed through CFD results, improved seal shape of the helical grooved seal to reduce leakage was suggested.

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Abbreviations

C :

Clearance

C ε1 :

k-ε model constant

C ε2 :

k-ε model constant

C μ :

k-ε model constant

d :

Groove depth

d r :

Groove depth of rotor

d s :

Groove depth of stator

k :

Turbulent kinetic energy

L :

Seal length

N :

Number of threads

r :

Inner radius of rotor

t :

Time

U :

Component of the mean velocity vector

w g :

Groove width

w l :

Land width

w rg :

Groove width of rotor

w rl :

Land width of rotor

w sg :

Groove width of rotor

w sl :

Land width of rotor

X i :

Component of space coordinate

β :

Helix angle

β r :

Helix angle of rotor

β s :

Helix angle of stator

δ ij :

Kronecker delta function

ε :

Turbulent dissipation rate

μ :

Viscosity

μ t :

Turbulent viscosity

ρ :

Density

σ k :

k-ε model constant

σ ε :

k-ε model constant

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Technology development Program(S2588866) funded by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS, Korea).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan, 46241, Korea

    Seongjun Woo, Hyoseong Jang, Younghoon Moon & Chul Kim

  2. School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Youngsan University, Yangsan, 50510, Korea

    Hyoseo Kwak

Authors
  1. Seongjun Woo
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  2. Hyoseong Jang
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  3. Hyoseo Kwak
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  4. Younghoon Moon
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  5. Chul Kim
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chul Kim.

Additional information

Seongjun Woo is a master’s course in the School of Mechanical Engineering, Pusan National University, Pusan, Korea. His research interests include Contactless sealing device and computational fluid dynamics.

Hyoseong Jang is a doctor’s course in the School of Mechanical Engineering, Pusan National University, Pusan, Korea. He received master’s degree of creative engineering system at Pusan National University in 2015. His major research fields are gear design and computational fluid dynamics.

Hyoseo Kwak received M. S. degree in School of Creative Engineering and Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Convergence Technology, Pusan National University, Korea, in 2012, 2014 and 2017. She is currently an Assistant Professor in Youngsan University. Her research fields extend into machine design and FEM simulation.

Young Hoon Moon received his Ph.D. degree (Manufacturing Technology) from Colorado School of Mines, US in 1991. He is a Professor at School of Mechanical Engineering, Pusan National University, Republic of Korea. His research interests are development of advanced processing technology, laser processing, hydroforming and materials engineering.

Chul Kim received M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in 1987 and 1997. Professor Kim is currently a Professor in the Research Institute of Mechanical Technology at Pusan National University in Busan, Korea. His research fields extend into FEM simulation, optimal structural design and CAD/CAM.

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Woo, S., Jang, H., Kwak, H. et al. Leakage analysis of helical grooved pump seal using CFD. J Mech Sci Technol 34, 4183–4191 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-020-0910-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-020-0910-0

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