Study on Sealing Characteristics of T-Groove End Face Seal Based on Force Equilibrium Due to the Spring Stiffness

Abstract The selection of T-groove end face seals (T-EFS) with optimized structural parameters, based on operating conditions, is critical to regulating gas flow into the bearing chamber in aero-engine accessory gearboxes. Therefore, according to the actual force of T-EFS, based on the force equilibrium, the leakage model for T-groove end face seals is modeled by considering the change in closing force due to the spring stiffness, and after verifying the accuracy, the effect of structural and operational parameters on sealing characteristics are analyzed. The results show that the proposed modeling can accurately solve and analyze the sealing characteristics of noncontact end face seals. The increase of preload spring force can reduce leakage, but the increase of revolving speed and pressure ratio can increase leakage. Among them, the pressure ratio has the most considerable effect. Increasing the number of grooves can increase leakage exponentially, increasing groove depth can increase leakage logarithmically, and increasing groove width ratio can increase leakage. Among them, the number of grooves has the greatest effect.