Rotating seal arrangement for turbine bucket cooling circuits

• Main Authors: LECUYER RAYMOND, WORLEY KEVIN, RACE NATHAN
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 02.11.2005
• Edition: 7
• Subjects: AIR INTAKES FOR JET-PROPULSION PLANTS; BLASTING; COMBUSTION ENGINES; CONTROLLING FUEL SUPPLY IN AIR-BREATHING JET-PROPULSION PLANTS; CYLINDERS; ENGINE PLANTS IN GENERAL; ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GAS-TURBINE PLANTS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVEFUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; HEATING; HOT-GAS OR COMBUSTION-PRODUCT ENGINE PLANTS; LIGHTING; MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS; MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; NON-POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT MACHINES OR ENGINES, e.g. STEAMTURBINES; OR A REACTIVE PROPULSIVE THRUST, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; PISTONS; PRODUCING MECHANICAL POWER; SEALINGS; STEAM ENGINES; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL; WEAPONS; WIND MOTORS; WIND, SPRING WEIGHT AND MISCELLANEOUS MOTORS

The dovetails of turbine buckets are received in dovetail grooves between circumferentially adjacent wheelposts on a turbine wheel of a gas turbine rotor. The wheel and a spacer are rabbeted one to the other and an axially forwardly extending projection on each bucket dovetail is undercut to space the bucket projection from the outer rim of the spacer eliminating stress on the bucket from the spacer. A cavity is formed between radially outwardly converging wall portions of the spacer and end faces of the wheelposts and bucket dovetails. An annular seal wire conforms and seals between the spacer wall portions and end faces of the wheelposts and bucket dovetails in response to centrifugal forces during turbine operation.