Numerical investigation of temperature field in brush seals

The mechanism of frictional heat generation and heat transfer in brush seals was analyzed and a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was developed. In the model, the brush was treated as an anisotropic porous region with nonlinear resistance coefficients and the frictional heat as a heat source. The pressure distribution, velocity field and temperature field were obtained and the maximum temperature under various interference and pressure difference conditions were studied. The investigation shows a steep temperature rise in bristle-rotor interface, which diminishes further away in the radial direction; fluid convection and leakage flow affect temperature distribution deeply. The results can be used to guide brush seal geometry design, contact-pair material selection and interference fit.