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, / (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.
In the reciprocating labyrinth piston compressor, the characteristic of the internal leakage is crucial for the leakage management and performance improvement of the compressor. However, most of the published studies investigated the rotor-stator system, and those who study the reciprocating piston-cylinder system basically focus on the effects of the geometrical parameters. These conclusions could not directly be applied to predict the real-time leakage flow rate through the labyrinth seal because of the fast reciprocating motion of the piston, which will cause continually pressure change in two compression chambers, and then the pressure fluctuation will affect the flow through the labyrinth seal. A transient simulation model employing the multiscale dynamic mesh, which considers the effect of the reciprocating motion of the piston in the cylinder, is established to identify the characteristics of the internal leakage. This model was verified by a specially designed compressor, and the influence of various parameters was analyzed in detail. The sealing performance decreased linearly with the increase in the pressure ratio, and higher pressure inlet leads to higher leakage flow under the same pressure ratio. The labyrinth seal performance positively correlated to the increase of the rotational speed. Leakage characteristics of five working mediums were carried out, and the results indicated that the relative leakage decreased with an increase in the relative molecular mass. From this study, the realistic internal leakage flow rate under different operating parameters in the reciprocating labyrinth piston compressor could be predicated.
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