Numerical simulation of gas seal flowfield in an axially staggered configuration

Labyrinth seals have been used extensively in industrial production. Better prediction of the performance of a labyrinth seal requires that these mechanisms be understood. This cannot be achieved except by investigating the flowfield details. Therefore, a total variation diminishing (TVD) finite volume scheme is applied to the Navier-Stokes equations to obtain gas seal flowfield characteristics of axially staggered configuration in this paper. The calculation results here show the evolution process from unsteady flowfield characterization to steady flow pattern. Also, these new flowfield details may provide referable basis for understanding seal mechanisms.