HYDRODYNAMIC CALCULATION OF CONTACTLESS SEALS WITH PLANE SLOTS IN DRIVES OF ELECTRIC POWER SYSTEMS

Non-contact seals with fl at slott ed gaps of drives of electric power systems used in switchgears of hydraulic units, as well as in pumps and hydraulic motors have been investigated. Calculation of seals based on average clearance results in an underestimation or overestimation of the leakage rate compared to the operational values. The regularity of the distribution of pressure and fl ow rate in the gap of a fl at conical slot is determined, and formulas for the fl ow rate (leakage) and friction forces acting on the walls of the conical slot are found. To solve the problem, the approximate Navier-Stokes and fl ow continuity equations are used. Several special cases of the fl ow of the working fl uid in diff erent gaps are considered: a plane-parallel gap with an oscillating wall and at a constant pressure gradient and a conical gap at diff erent ratios of the pressure drop and the frictional action of the moving channel wall. When the wall oscillates in a conical gap and constant pressure, the presence of an extremum is characteristic. In this case, an excess pressure appeared in the slott ed gap, creating a supporting force, and the pressure value became high enough. When the lower wall of the conical slot moves in the direction of the increasing gap, the pressure inside the slott ed channel, under certain conditions, can reach a complete vacuum, the value of which is limited by the bulk strength of the liquid and the pressure of saturated vapor at a given temperature. When the pressure drop and oscillations of the wall of the conical gap are additive, then at a suffi ciently high velocity of the wall movement, the pressure inside the slot can even increase and exceed the value of the supplied pressure.