Seal assembly for rotational equipment

Abstract

Assemblies are provided for rotational equipment. One of these assemblies includes a rotor disk structure, a stator structure and a seal assembly. The rotor disk structure includes a rotor disk and a seal land circumscribing the rotor disk. The stator structure circumscribes the seal land. The seal assembly is configured for sealing a gap between the stator structure and the seal land, where the seal assembly includes a non-contact seal.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An assembly for rotational equipment, the assembly comprising:
 a rotor disk structure including a rotor disk and a seal land circumscribing the rotor disk;   a stator structure circumscribing the seal land; and   a seal assembly configured for sealing a gap between the stator structure and the seal land, wherein the seal assembly includes a non-contact seal.   
     
     
         2 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the non-contact seal is a hydrostatic non-contact seal. 
     
     
         3 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the non-contact seal comprises:
 an annular base;   a plurality of shoes arranged around and radially adjacent the seal land; and   a plurality of spring elements, each of the spring elements radially between and connecting a respective one of the shoes to the base.   
     
     
         4 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the seal land is an outer hub of the rotor disk structure. 
     
     
         5 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the rotor disk includes an annular counterweight mass and an annular web extending radially inward to the counterweight mass. 
     
     
         6 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the seal land includes a cylindrical outer surface, and the gap extends radially between the stator structure and the outer surface. 
     
     
         7 . The assembly of  claim 6 , wherein the seal land comprises an axially extending annular flange which forms the outer surface. 
     
     
         8 . The assembly of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a bladed rotor assembly including a second rotor disk structure; and   a linkage extending axially between and connected to the rotor disk structure and the second rotor disk structure.   
     
     
         9 . The assembly of  claim 8 , wherein the bladed rotor assembly is a compressor rotor assembly. 
     
     
         10 . The assembly of  claim 8 , further comprising a nozzle configured to direct cooling air onto the second rotor disk structure. 
     
     
         11 . The assembly of  claim 10 , wherein the second rotor disk structure is in a last stage of a high pressure compressor section. 
     
     
         12 . The assembly of  claim 10 , wherein the nozzle comprises a tangential onboard injection nozzle. 
     
     
         13 . The assembly of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 a guide circumscribing the linkage and configured to form a duct with the linkage;   wherein the duct flows at least some of the cooling air directed out from the nozzle axially along the linkage, and the guide is configured with the stator structure.   
     
     
         14 . The assembly of  claim 13 , wherein the duct extends towards the seal assembly, and the seal assembly is configured with an aperture to provide a controlled leakage axially thereacross. 
     
     
         15 . The assembly of  claim 13 , wherein the guide includes an aperture which receives cooling air from the duct, and the aperture is configured to direct the received cooling air into a cavity for cooling the stator structure. 
     
     
         16 . The assembly of  claim 8 , wherein the linkage is a conical linkage. 
     
     
         17 . The assembly of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 a combustor downstream of the bladed rotor assembly; and   a diffuser structure forming a diffuser plenum around the combustor, wherein the stator structure is configured with the diffuser structure.   
     
     
         18 . An aircraft propulsion system, comprising:
 a rotor disk structure including a rotor disk, wherein the rotor disk includes an annular counterweight mass and an annular web extending radially inward to the counterweight mass;   a stator structure; and   a seal assembly including a first seal element and a second seal element configured to form a seal with the first seal element, the first seal element configured with the rotor disk structure and circumscribing the rotor disk, and the second seal element configured with the stator structure and circumscribing the first seal element.   
     
     
         19 . The aircraft propulsion system of  claim 18 , wherein the first seal element is an annular seal land configured as an outer hub of the rotor disk structure, and wherein the second seal element is a non-contact seal. 
     
     
         19 . The aircraft propulsion system of  claim 18 , wherein the first seal element comprises a knife-edge seal element, and the second seal element comprises an abradable seal land.