Dynamic Performance of Liquid Smooth Annular Seal Operating in the Transition Regime

This paper presents the experimental leakage and rotordynamic performance for a liquid smooth annular seal operating in the transition regime. The test conditions include pressure differentials up to 64 bars with 1∼2 bar increments for 6 rotor speeds (2.5, 3.8, 5, 7.5, 8.8, and 10 krpm), as well as nonrotating rotor case under zero preswirl condition. The rotordynamic coefficients for all the test conditions are obtained by pseudo-random excitation of the seal at multiple subsynchronous frequencies. By considering the transition Reynolds number (1000 <$Re$ < 3000) and the Taylor Number (⁠$Ta$⁠) versus Axial Reynolds Number (⁠$Rez$⁠), the variations in the direct stiffness coefficients (⁠$K$⁠) can used as an indicator of the flow regime transition boundaries. The direct stiffness $K$ resulting from the Lomakin and hydrodynamic effects significantly drops until $Rez$ reaches ∼1500. For higher $Rez$⁠, $K$ increases mainly due to hydrodynamic effects. When $K$ drops, the cross-coupled stiffness $k$⁠, the direct damping $C$ and the cross-coupled virtual mass $m$ increase while the cross-coupled damping $c$ and virtual mass $M$ decrease. None of predictions based on either laminar or turbulent flow show the variations in rotordynamic coefficients obtained from experimental results. The leakage is not highly influenced by rotor speeds for low speed cases crossing laminar boundary as $ΔP$ increases, however, results for higher speeds in the superlaminar region show reduced leakage rates as rotor speed increases.