Experimental and numerical validation study of the labyrinth seal configurations

Abstract

This article presents a validation study of the labyrinth seal testing. Both experimental and numerical simulations are performed. Literature data focused on simple labyrinth seals are surveyed, and two different configurations widely described in literature are investigated: a labyrinth seal with two straight fins against a smooth and a honeycomb land and a seal with three straight fins against a smooth land only. For experimental testing the vacuum-feeding test rig is used, with the high-precision Hot Wire Thermoanemometry method applied for the mass flow evaluation. The dimensions of specimens described in literature are adapted to the in-house test rig conditions, meeting all the geometrical requirements mentioned by the author. The computational method is based on the Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes scheme, with various turbulence models. The results of the simulations show good agreement with the in-house experiment, whereas some discrepancies are found compared to literature data.