Performance of Radial Clearance Rim Seals in Upstream and Downstream Rotor–Stator Wheelspaces

A new experimental facility for the investigation of rim sealing is described and measurements are presented for two representative radial clearance seals with a nominally axisymmetric external flow. One radial seal has an upward rotor lip and is upstream of the rotor, while the other has an upward stator lip and is downstream of the rotor. Measurements include surface pressures, tangential velocities in the core region of the disk cavity flow, and traverses of gas concentration in the cavity showing the distribution of mainstream ingestion. Tests were conducted at rotational Reynolds numbers up to 3 × 10⁶ with nominal seal clearance to radius ratios in the range 0.002 to 0.01. For the radial seals a differential pressure criterion is found to overestimate the minimum sealing flow. Tangential velocity measurements in the wheelspace are in excellent agreement with other workers’ measurements and with theoretical predictions.