HOT GAS SEAL
A hot gas seal for sealing an opening in a heat shield element or between heat shield elements of a heat shield includes a resilient portion for providing a force which is designed such that the hot gas seal can be held in the opening by the force and/or that the sealing efficiency of the hot gas seal is increased by the force. Further, a hot gas seal assembly for sealing an opening in a heat shield element or between heat shield elements of a heat shield against a hot gas is provided, the assembly including a sealing body and a further sealing element which is in a solid state at room temperature and in a high viscosity liquid state at a temperature of the hot gas.
This application is a divisional application of U.S. non-provisional application Ser. No. 10/837,006 filed Apr. 30, 2004, and claims the benefit thereof. All of the applications are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to a hot gas seal and a hot gas seal assembly.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONWalls of high temperature gas reactors, e.g. the walls of turbine combustion chambers, need to be shielded by a suitable thermal shielding against attack of the hot gas. The thermal shielding can be achieved by providing a hot gas resistant liner, which usually comprises a number of shield elements covering a wall to be shielded. The heat shield elements can e.g. be implemented in form of ceramic heat shield elements (CHS elements) or in form of suitable metallic heat shield elements. To allow for thermal expansion when being exposed to the hot gas, the heat shield elements are arranged such that gaps are left between neighboring heat shield elements. In order to prevent hot gas from passing through these gaps from the hot gas side of a heat shield, e.g. to a carrier structure to which the heat shield elements are fixed, gaps would need purging with air to avoid overheating. This air is costly leakage.
In EP 1 302 723 A1 it is proposed to seal gaps between heat shield elements with sealing elements to prevent hot gas from passing the gaps.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIt is an object of the present invention to provide an improved hot gas seal.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved hot gas seal assembly.
The first object is solved by a hot gas seal as claimed in claim 1, the second object is solved by a hot gas seal assembly as claimed in claim 28.
An inventive hot gas seal for sealing an opening, e.g. a gap or hole, in a heat shield element or between heat shield elements of a heat shield or a liner comprises at least one resilient portion for providing a force which is designed such that the hot gas seal can be held in said opening by said force and/or that the sealing efficiency of the hot gas seal is increased by said force. Thus, further means for holding the seal in place and/or for increasing the sealing efficiency are not necessary. The invention is particularly useful if the design of said resilient portion is such that the force provides a holding action and increases the sealing efficiency, at the same time.
In a first embodiment of the inventive hot gas seal, the at least one resilient portion may form a leg portion of a clamp. Preferably, two resilient portions are provided, each forming a leg portion of a clamp.
In a second embodiment of the inventive hot gas seal, at least two leg portions are provided which are linked by a resilient bracket portion which forms said at least one resilient portion for providing said force. The leg portions do therefore not necessarily need to be resilient themselves. In a further development of this embodiment, the resilient bracket portion is pre-tensioned for providing said force. The pre-tension may be chosen such that the leg portions tend to open or, alternatively, such that the leg portions tend to close. The pre-tension can be used to assure a secure fixing of the hot gas seal to a liner and/or to provide a tight sealing by pressing the leg portions against a wall of a liner.
In a third embodiment, a metallic sealing plate comprising at least one corrugated portion is provided. The at least one corrugated portion forms said at least one resilient portion for providing said force.
In a fourth embodiment, the hot gas seal comprises at least one spring like portion which forms said at least one resilient portion for providing said force. By setting the spring parameters of the spring like portion, it is possible to adjust the force provided by the spring like portion.
In a fifth embodiment, the hot gas seal comprises a tubular sealing body which comprises a resilient core which forms said at least one resilient portion for providing said force. The resilient core may comprise a spring element which may, e.g., have a spiral shaped cross section, a cross section which has the shape of an elliptical spiral, or an omega shaped cross section. As an alternative to forming the resilient core by a spring element, it is possible to provide at least one gas tight and gas filled space inside of the tubular sealing body. The gas filled space forms the resilient core of the tubular sealing body, i.e. the sealing body acts similar to a gas spring. The spring force provided by the gas depends on the gas temperature and the gas pressure inside the gas tight space at a reference temperature. By suitably setting the gas pressure at the reference temperature, the resilient properties of the seal may be set.
In a sixth embodiment, the hot gas seal comprises a flexible rolled sheet which forms said at least one resilient portion for providing said force. The flexible rolled sheet may have a sandwich structure comprising a soft, compliant or flexible surface on a flexible material. In a further development of the fifth embodiment, the cross section of said flexible rolled sheet may resemble the shape of an elliptical spiral.
In a seventh embodiment, the hot gas seal comprises a body and a number of resilient extensions extending from the body. In the seventh embodiment, the extensions form said at least one resilient portion for providing said force. The body may have a planar shape. The extensions then protrude from at least one side of the planar shaped body. As an alternative, the body may have a circular or elliptical cross section. The extensions then protrude radially from the body. The extensions may e.g. have a bristle like shape, a wedge like shape, a coil like shape, or a serpentine like shape. Preferably, the body and/or the extensions are surrounded by a cloth seal.
In the inventive hot gas seal, said at least one resilient portion is preferably pre-tensioned for providing said force.
An inventive hot gas seal assembly for sealing an opening, e.g. a gap or a hole, in a heat shield element or between heat shield elements of a heat shield or liner against a hot gas, comprises a sealing body and at least one further sealing element which is in a solid state at room temperature and in a high viscosity liquid state at the temperature of the hot gas. During installation of the hot gas seal assembly, the further sealing element is solid. During operation of the heat shielded structure, i.e. when hot gas is present, the further sealing element melts, and the inventive sealing assembly provides a tight seal of the opening.
Further features, properties, and advantages of the present invention are described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, by means of detailed embodiments.
A first embodiment of the present hot gas seal will now be described with reference to
A second example of the first embodiment is shown in
A third example of the first embodiment is shown in
A fourth example of the first embodiment of the inventive hot gas seal is shown in
The holding portions 35, 36 each comprise a leg portion 37a, 38a, which can be used together with central sections 37b, 38b of the hot gas sealing portion 39 to clamp the hot gas seal 35 to the heat shield elements 31, 33. The sealing is provided by a pre-tension of the hot gas seal, e.g. by a pre-tension of the leg sections 37a, 37b and/or the central sections 38a, 38b.
The first sample of the second embodiment is shown in
A second example of the hot gas seal according to the second embodiment is shown in
A third example of the second embodiment is shown in
The shielding part 77 of the hot gas seal 75 is made of a bent metal sheet which is bent such that the center section 77a of the metal sheet forms a closed loop in cross section and that the peripheral sections 77b, 77c of the metal sheet are folded back onto each other. The folded back peripheral sections 77b, 77c are fixed to a rod 78 which extends through a major part of the gap 72 in a direction perpendicular to the cross section.
The holding part 76 of the hot gas seal is also made of a bent metal sheet. The metal sheet is bent such that the central section 76a of it forms a loop and that its peripheral sections 76b, 76c are substantially parallel to each other with leaving a gap there between. The central section 76a of the holding part 76 is pre-tensioned such that the peripheral sections 76b, 76c tend to open.
When the hot gas seal 75 is placed in the gap 72 between the heat shield elements 72 and 73, the peripheral sections 77b, 77c of the shielding part 77 are inserted into the holding part 76 such that the rod 78 extends through the tubular space formed by the central section 76a of the holding part 76. Then, the holding part 76 is inserted into the gap 72 while pressing the peripheral sections 76b, 76c against the pre-tension together, thereby fixing the shielding part 77 in the holding part 76. After being inserted into the gap 72, an opening movement of the peripheral sections 7ab, 76c of the holding part 76 due to the pre-tension is restricted by the heat shield elements 71, 73. Therefore, the spring force provided by the central section 76a of the holding part 76 provides for a tight sealing of the gap 72. In the example shown in
An example of the third embodiment is shown in
An example of the fourth embodiment of the inventive hot gas seal is shown in
The spring like portion 85c is made from a spring loaded metal. It allows for thermal movement of the heat shield element 81 while still maintaining the sealing. Although the spring like portion 85c is, in the example shown in
The plate like portion 85a of the hot gas seal 85 is captured in the bottom part 84 of the notch 82, thus holding the hot gas seal 85 in place. This way of holding the hot gas seal 85 in place provides the advantage of increased serviceability.
A first example of the fifth embodiment of the inventive hot gas seal is shown in
A second example of the fifth embodiment is shown in
An example of the use of a hot gas seal 90, as shown in
A third example of the fifth embodiment is shown in
A first example of the sixth embodiment of the inventive hot gas seal is shown in
A second example of the sixth embodiment is shown in
A third example of the sixth embodiment is shown in
A first example of the seventh embodiment of the inventive hot gas seal is shown in
A second example of the seventh embodiment of the inventive hot gas seal is shown in
Instead of sealing bristles 193, flexible sealing wedges 194, as in the brush seal 191a shown in
An embodiment of the inventive hot gas seal assembly is shown in
Claims
1. A hot gas seal for sealing an opening in a heat shield element or between heat shield elements of a heat shield, which comprises at least one resilient portion for providing a force which is designed such that the hot gas seal is held in said opening by said force and/or that the sealing efficiency of the hot gas seal is increased by said force.
2. The hot gas seal as claimed in claim 1, further comprising at least two leg portions which are linked by a resilient bracket portion which forms said at least one resilient portion for providing said force.
3. The hot gas seal as claimed in claim 2, in which the resilient bracket portion is pre-tensioned such that the leg portions tend to open for providing said force.
4. The hot gas seal as claimed in claim 2, in which the resilient bracket portion is pre-tensioned such that the leg portions tend to close for providing said force.
5. The hot gas seal as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a metallic sealing plate which comprises at least one corrugated portion which forms said at least one resilient portion for providing said force.
6. The hot gas seal as claimed in claim 1, further comprising at least one spring like portion which forms said at least one resilient portion for providing said force.
7. The hot gas seal as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a flexible rolled sheet which forms said at least one resilient portion for providing said force.
8. The hot gas seal as claimed in claim 7, in which said flexible rolled sheet has a sandwich structure comprising a soft surface on a flexible material.
9. The hot gas seal as claimed in claim 7, in which the cross section of said flexible rolled sheet resembles the shape of an elliptical spiral.
10. The hot gas seal as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a body and resilient extensions extending from the body, the extensions forming said at least one resilient portion for providing said force.
11. The hot gas seal as claimed in claim 10, in which the body has a planar shape and in which the extensions protrude from at least one side of the planar shaped body.
12. The hot gas seal as claimed in claim 10, in which the body has a circular or elliptical cross section and in which the extensions protrude radially from the body.
13. The hot gas seal as claimed in claim 10, in which the extensions have a bristle like shape.
14. The hot gas seal as claimed in claim 10, in which the extensions have a wedge like shape.
15. The hot gas seal as claimed in claim 10, in which the extensions have a coil like shape.
16. The hot gas seal as claimed in claim 10, in which the extensions have a serpentine like shape.
17. The hot gas seal as claimed in claim 12, in which the body and/or the extensions are surrounded by a cloth seal.
18. The hot gas seal as claimed in claim 1, in which the at least one resilient portion is pre-tensioned.
19. Hot gas seal assembly for sealing an opening in a heat shield element or between heat shield elements of a heat shield against a hot gas, comprising a sealing body and at least one further sealing element which is in a solid state at room temperature and in a high viscosity liquid state at the temperature of the hot gas.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 19, 2014
Publication Date: Dec 18, 2014
Inventors: Stefan Dahlke (Mulheim a.d. Ruhr), Jesse Eng (Jupiter, FL), John Carl Glessner (Kings Mills, OH), Daniel Hofmann (Uttenreuth), Kenneth Michael Tamaddoni-Jahromi (Orlando, FL)
Application Number: 14/184,063
International Classification: F16J 15/02 (20060101);