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Numerical investigation on sealing behaviors of an extremely high‐speed two‐stage impellers structure in cryogenic rockets
Author(s) -
Ma Yuan,
Li Yanzhong,
Xie Fushou,
Wang Lei,
Zhu Kang
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
asia‐pacific journal of chemical engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.348
H-Index - 35
eISSN - 1932-2143
pISSN - 1932-2135
DOI - 10.1002/apj.2229
Subject(s) - impeller , rotational speed , materials science , mechanics , mechanical engineering , turbulence , rocket (weapon) , rocket engine , leakage (economics) , axial compressor , engineering , aerospace engineering , gas compressor , physics , economics , macroeconomics
Aiming at a high‐speed‐impeller mechanical seal structure that plays a significant role in the oxidant turbopump of cryogenic rocket systems, the computational fluid dynamic approach is introduced to analyze its working performance, including the phase distribution in the flow channel, the cooling effect of the frictional element, and the sealing function as well as the power consumptions of the impellers. The established periodic 3D model, which could simultaneously account for the turbulent flow, coupled heat transfer, cavitation, and evaporation, as well as the change of thermophysical properties, was successfully verified by the experimental data. The results show that the sealing ability of a totally liquid‐filled impeller would increase with increasing rotational speed, blade size, and density of the working fluid. After the rotational speed increasing over a certain value (14,000 r/min in this case), a dynamically steady gas–liquid interface would be maintained at the Impeller II's blades, which indicates the completely effective sealing of liquid. Meanwhile, the friction surface could be effectively cooled by this two‐stage leakage cooling scheme, and its maximum temperature could be stably controlled at the rated speed. Based on the good sealing performance and effective cooling, this high‐speed‐impeller seal structure was proved to be feasible and available for cryogenic rocket systems.