U.S. patent application number 10/559315 was filed with the patent office on 2006-11-09 for brush seal for sealing components, which move relative to one another, from a drop in pressure.
Invention is credited to Stefan Beichl, Carsten Butz, Christoph Cernay.
Application Number | 20060249910 10/559315 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 33441522 |
Filed Date | 2006-11-09 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060249910 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Beichl; Stefan ; et
al. |
November 9, 2006 |
Brush seal for sealing components, which move relative to one
another, from a drop in pressure
Abstract
A brush seal for sealing off components movable relative to one
another with respect to a pressure difference is disclosed. The
brush seal having bristles which are arranged in a bristle housing
which consists of two housing halves having free ends of legs which
project into the area of the ends of the bristles, which legs carry
mutually facing supporting surfaces for the bristles.
Inventors: |
Beichl; Stefan; (Herrsching,
DE) ; Butz; Carsten; (Muenchen, DE) ; Cernay;
Christoph; (Bruckmuehl, DE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
CROWELL & MORING LLP;INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY GROUP
P.O. BOX 14300
WASHINGTON
DC
20044-4300
US
|
Family ID: |
33441522 |
Appl. No.: |
10/559315 |
Filed: |
April 24, 2004 |
PCT Filed: |
April 24, 2004 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/DE04/00863 |
371 Date: |
May 15, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
277/355 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F16J 15/3288
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
277/355 |
International
Class: |
F16J 15/44 20060101
F16J015/44 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
May 30, 2003 |
DE |
103247092 |
Claims
1-5. (canceled)
6. A brush seal for sealing off components movable relative to one
another with respect to a pressure difference, having bristles to
which a supporting surface is assigned against which the bristles
come to rest which are deflected to a side of a lower pressure, and
having a bristle housing having one or more bundles of bristles and
having at least two surfaces supporting in opposite directions for
a purpose of sealing off the components even when a direction of a
pressure is changed.
7. The brush seal according to claim 6, wherein the bristle housing
consists of two opposite, symmetrically arranged and mutually
identical housing halves with legs which project into an area of an
end of the bristles and whose free ends have mutually facing
supporting surfaces for the bristles.
8. The brush seal according to claim 6, wherein the bristle housing
includes two separately held bristle bundles and consists of two
opposite, symmetrically arranged and mutually identical housing
halves with legs having supporting surfaces for the bristle bundles
and a separating plate arranged between the housing halves.
9. The brush seal according to claim 6, wherein the bristle housing
has a T-like cross-section and includes bristle bundles and has a
central leg whose foot area forms opposite supporting surfaces for
the bristle bundles which are held between plates and the central
leg, which plates engage in leg halves of a leg situated
transversely to the central leg.
10. The brush seal according to claim 6, wherein the bristles are
divided into two adjoining bundles of bristles which are assigned
to oppositely acting pressure differences.
11. A brush seal for sealing off components movable relative to one
another with respect to a reversible pressure difference,
comprising: a bristle housing having a first lower extending
surface and a second lower extending surface; and bristles engaged
in the bristle housing; wherein, in an operational configuration,
when a pressure difference in a gap between the components is in a
first direction, the bristles engage with the first lower extending
surface to seal the gap between the components and wherein when the
pressure difference in the gap is in a second direction, which
second direction is opposite the first direction, the bristles
engage with the second lower extending surface to seal the gap
between the components.
12. The brush seal according to claim 11, wherein when the pressure
difference is in the first direction, the bristles are deflected in
the first direction to a lower pressure side of the pressure
difference to engage with the first lower extending surface and
wherein when the pressure difference is in the second direction,
the bristles are deflected in the second direction to the lower
pressure side of the pressure difference to engage with the second
lower extending surface.
13. The brush seal according to claim 11, wherein the bristle
housing includes a first housing half with a first lower extending
leg and a second housing half with a second lower extending leg,
wherein the first lower extending surface is included on the first
leg and the second lower extending surface is included on the
second leg, and wherein the first and second lower extending
surfaces oppose each other and the bristles are disposed between
the opposing surfaces.
14. The brush seal according to claim 11: wherein the bristles are
included in a first bundle and a second bundle and the bristle
housing includes a first housing half and a second housing half
divided by a separating plate, wherein the first bundle is engaged
in the first housing half and the second bundle is engaged in the
second housing half; and wherein when the pressure difference is in
the first direction, the first bundle engages with the first lower
extending surface and wherein when the pressure difference is in
the second direction, the second bundle engages with the second
lower extending surface.
15. The brush seal according to claim 11: wherein the bristles are
included in a first bundle and a second bundle and the bristle
housing includes a first housing half and a second housing half
divided by a central leg, wherein the first bundle is engaged in
the first housing half and the second bundle is engaged in the
second housing half, and wherein the first and second lower
extending surfaces are included on opposing sides of the central
leg; and wherein when the pressure difference is in the first
direction, the first bundle engages with the first lower extending
surface and wherein when the pressure difference is in the second
direction, the second bundle engages with the second lower
extending surface.
16. The brush seal according to claim 11, wherein the bristles are
included in a first bundle and a second bundle, and wherein when
the pressure difference is in the first direction, the first bundle
engages with the first lower extending surface and wherein when the
pressure difference is in the second direction, the second bundle
engages with the second lower extending surface.
17. A method for sealing off components movable relative to one
another with respect to a reversible pressure difference,
comprising the steps of: engaging bristles of a brush seal with a
first lower extending surface of a bristle housing to seal a gap
between the components when a pressure difference in the gap is in
a first direction; reversing the pressure difference in the gap
such that the pressure difference is in a second direction which is
opposed to the first direction; and engaging the bristles of the
brush seal with a second lower extending surface of the bristle
housing to seal the gap when the pressure difference in the gap is
in the second direction.
18. The method according to claim 17: wherein the step of engaging
the bristles with the first lower extending surface includes the
step of deflecting the bristles in the first direction to a lower
pressure side of the pressure difference; and wherein the step of
engaging the bristles with the second lower extending surface
includes the step of deflecting the bristles in the second
direction to the lower pressure side of the pressure difference.
Description
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This application claims the priority of International
Application No. PCT/DE2004/000863, filed Apr. 24, 2004, and German
Patent Document No. 103 24 709.2, filed May 30, 2003, the
disclosures of which are expressly incorporated by reference
herein.
[0002] The invention relates to a brush seal for sealing off
components movable relative to one another with respect to a
pressure difference, having bristles to which a supporting surface
is assigned against which the bristles come to rest which are
deflected to the side of the lower pressure.
[0003] The use of brush seals for sealing off components, which can
be moved relative to one another and, in particular, are
rotationally movable, with respect to a pressure difference are
sufficiently known. Such brush seals comprise essentially a bristle
housing which is disposed in a component of the arrangement to be
sealed off and is used for accommodating the bristles. In this
case, the bristles are oriented with their free ends toward a
sealing surface of the second component of the arrangement to be
sealed off and, with respect to the pressure difference to be
sealed off, can be supported on a supporting plate arranged in the
bristle housing. The cover plate and the supporting plate of the
bristle housing are connected with one another and are disposed
within a corresponding recess in the first component on the correct
side; compare German Patent Document DE 100 18 273 A1.
[0004] All brush seals known so far have the common disadvantage
that they can be used only for a pressure difference in one
direction. However, in industrial applications, a pressure reversal
may occur so that the brush seal also has to be effective in the
opposite pressure direction. Similar requirements also occur in the
case of bearing chamber seals in aircraft engines when no reliable
admission of sealing air takes place to the seal under certain
operating conditions, - for example, below an idling rotational
speed.
[0005] It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a
remedy here by a construction of the bristle housing which permits
the use of one and the same brush seal independently of the
direction of the pressure difference.
[0006] Based on a brush seal of the initially mentioned type, this
object according to the invention is achieved in that a bristle
housing with one or more bundles of bristles and with at least two
surfaces supporting in opposite directions is provided for the
purpose of sealing off the components also in the case of a change
of the pressure direction.
[0007] According to a first embodiment of the invention, the
bristle housing consists of two opposite, particularly
symmetrically arranged and mutually identical housing halves with
legs projecting into the area of the bristle ends, the free ends of
the legs having mutually facing supporting surfaces for the
bristles.
[0008] According to another embodiment of the invention, two
bundles of bristles, which are kept separate, are arranged in a
bristle housing with two opposite, particularly symmetrically
arranged and mutually identical housing halves whose legs have
supporting surfaces for the bundles of bristles, if required, with
a separating plate between the bundles of bristles.
[0009] According to another embodiment of the invention, the
bristle housing comprising the bundles of bristles has a formation
with a T-like cross-section which has a central leg whose foot area
forms opposite supporting surfaces for the bundles of bristles,
which are held between plates and the central leg, which plates
engage in the leg halves of a leg situated transversely with
respect to the central leg.
[0010] Finally, it is also conceivable to divide the bristles held
by the bristle housing into two bundles of bristles which are
assigned to oppositely acting pressure differences and adjoin one
another.
[0011] By means of the design of the new brush seal according to
the invention, it is ensured that there are always bristles which
rest against the respective supporting surface in the correct
pressure direction. Particularly when the brush seal according to
the invention is used as a bearing chamber seal for aircraft
engines, this means that a housing ring on the low-pressure side
acts as a supporting ring and a housing ring on the high-pressure
side operates as a cover ring.
[0012] In the last-mentioned preferred embodiment, a bundle of
bristles securely comes to rest on the respective supporting
surface only starting at a certain pressure difference, so that the
full sealing effect is reached only starting at such a pressure
difference. However, even this type of an embodiment has a sealing
effect which is independent of the direction of the pressure
difference.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] In the following, the invention will be described by means
of four embodiments more or less schematically illustrated in the
drawings.
[0014] FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the arrangement of a brush
seal of the invention according to a first embodiment of the
invention;
[0015] FIG. 2 is a view of a second embodiment of a brush seal
according to the invention;
[0016] FIG. 3 is a view of a third embodiment of a brush seal
according to the invention; and
[0017] FIG. 4 is a view of a fourth embodiment of a brush seal
according to the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0018] A brush seal, which, as a whole, has the reference number 10
in FIG. 1, for sealing off a gap between two components of a
turbo-engine, for example, of a gas turbine of an aircraft engine
or the like, which can be moved relative to one another, comprises
two identical mirror-inverted housing halves 12 and 14 forming a
housing 17 comprising bristles 15. Each housing half 12 and 14
constructed in a j-shape rests by means of the face of its short
legs 16 and 18 respectively against the adjacent housing half at
reference number 19 in a plane manner. The long legs 22, 24 of the
housing halves 12 and 14 of the housing 17 taper here in their end
regions; with respect to the not deflected bristles 15, these legs
22, 24 are inclined toward these bristles and carry mutually facing
supporting surfaces 21 and 23 for the bristles 15.
[0019] The bristles 15 are laid around a core wire and are held in
a frictionally engaged manner in their position by an adapter
sleeve 31, the arrangement according to FIG. 1 being such that the
bristles 15 are held in a divided manner as a partial bundle 15a
and a partial bundle 15b. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the adapter
sleeve 31 is fixed between the housing halves 12 and 14 of the
bristle housing 17 while resting against their short legs.
[0020] As a result of the above-described construction of the
bristle housing and the bristle bundles, such an operating
performance of the brush seal is achieved in that, as a function of
the direction of the respectively existing pressure difference, the
bristles, while being in each case deflected in the direction of
the lower pressure, are placed against the supporting surface 21 or
23 of the housing halves 12 and 14 so that, in the event of a
pressure reversal, a reliable sealing-off of the sealing gap takes
place.
[0021] In the embodiment of a brush seal 20 according to FIG. 2,
the components of the bristle housing 17 which correspond to FIG. 1
have the same reference numbers. A separating plate 13 is clamped
in between the housing halves 12 and 14, so that a core wire 29 and
an adapter sleeve 31 are provided for each of the mutually
separated bristle bundles 15a, 15b and are held in the position
within the bristle housing 17 illustrated in FIG. 2.
[0022] There also, the long legs 22 and 24 of the housing halves 12
and 14 have surfaces 21 and 23 which are inclined toward the
bundles of bristles and which are used as supporting surfaces for
the bundles of bristles 15a and 15b which are in each case
deflected to the side of the respective lower pressure.
[0023] In the embodiment of a brush seal 30 according to FIG. 3,
the bristle housing 17 has a construction with a T-like
cross-section with a central leg 33 and a leg 34 which is situated
perpendicularly thereto. A core wire 29 and an adapter sleeve 31
are in each case also assigned to each bundle of bristles 15a and
15b. The adapter sleeves 31 holding the bundles of bristles are
held in their position illustrated in FIG. 3 by means of plates 35
and 36 engaging in the leg halves of the leg 34 situated in a
horizontal position in this case. The surfaces 21 and 23 situated
opposite one another in the foot area of the leg 33 which is
perpendicular here form the supporting surfaces for the bristle
bundles 15a and 15b, so that also there the bristles of the bristle
bundles, while in each case being deflected to the side of the
lower pressure, can come to rest against the assigned supporting
surface during the operation.
[0024] The brush seal 40 according to the embodiment of FIG. 4,
corresponds to the brush seal 10 according to the embodiment of
FIG. 1. The difference is, however, that the bristles 15 are held
in an undivided manner over the core wire 29 by the adapter sleeve
31 and are situated in the center in the gap bounded by the
supporting surfaces 21 and 23 of the housing 17, There also, during
the operation, the bristles, which are in each case deflected to
the side of the lower pressure, can come to rest against the
surfaces 21 or 23 serving as the supporting surfaces.
* * * * *