Numerical investigation on the effects of structural parameters of labyrinth cavity on sealing performance

This paper presents a study on the leakage characteristics of a labyrinth piston compressor. A computational fluid dynamics model was applied to predict the effects of different structural parameters of the labyrinth seal on the sealing performance. The velocity field through the sealing clearance and labyrinth cavity was demonstrated and analyzed. An experimental rig was built to validate the simulation model, and the results of the simulation and experimental data showed a good agreement. The effects of the cavity width, cavity depth, tooth thickness, and clearance of the seal on the leakage characteristics were discussed in detail. The results showed that, except for the significant influence of the labyrinth clearance, d/δ (the ratio of cavity depth to labyrinth clearance) should be bigger than 2.7 to achieve the minimum leakage flow, and the effect of the varied cavity width can be ignored. Moreover, when the piston length and cavity width remain constant, the thinner the tooth thickness, the greater the number of labyrinth cavities that can be arranged, and the higher the sealing performance achieved.