Rotating group for turbomachine having integrated wheel and labyrinth seal arrangement

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12435639-B2
Application number	US-202318351593-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 13, 2023
Priority date	Jun 1, 2023
Publication date	Oct 7, 2025
Grant date	Oct 7, 2025

Abstract

A turbomachine includes a housing and a rotating group supported for rotation about an axis of rotation within the housing. The rotating group includes a wheel and seal member that is unitary. The wheel and seal member includes a first wheel feature and a second wheel feature that are disposed in a back-to-back arrangement with an outer radial area disposed between the first and second wheel features and facing radially outward from the axis of rotation. The turbomachine also includes a plurality of labyrinthine seal members included on the outer radial area that cooperatively define, with the housing, a labyrinthine seal.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A turbomachine comprising:
a housing;
a rotating group supported for rotation about an axis of rotation within the housing, the rotating group including a wheel and seal member that is unitary, the wheel and seal member including a first wheel feature with a first outer radial edge and a second wheel feature with a second outer radial edge that are disposed in a back-to-back arrangement with an outer radial area disposed between the first and second wheel features and facing radially outward from the axis of rotation, the outer radial area defined by a surface extending axially between the first outer radial edge and the second outer radial edge and disposed at a common radius with the first outer radial edge and the second outer radial edge, the common radius defined from the axis of rotation; and
a plurality of labyrinthine seal members recessed into the outer radial area to cooperatively define, with the housing, a labyrinthine seal.

2. The turbomachine of claim 1 , wherein the wheel and seal member includes an extension that extends along the axis of rotation from the first wheel feature, the extension including a contoured flow surface on an outer radial portion of the extension, the contoured flow surface defining part of a flow path for fluid that is directed toward the first wheel feature.

3. The turbomachine of claim 2 , wherein the labyrinthine seal is a first labyrinthine seal; and
wherein the extension includes a plurality of second labyrinthine seal members that cooperates with the housing to define a second labyrinthine seal.

4. The turbomachine of claim 3 , further comprising a seal plate that receives the extension and that cooperates with the plurality of second labyrinthine seal members to define the second labyrinthine seal, the seal plate defining another part of the flow path through the housing to the contoured flow surface.

5. The turbomachine of claim 4 , further comprising an electric motor that is received in a motor cavity of the housing, the electric motor operatively connected to the wheel and seal member; and
wherein the flow path extends in a downstream direction from the motor cavity, through the seal plate, to the contoured flow surface.

6. The turbomachine of claim 1 , wherein the first wheel feature is a first compressor wheel of a first stage compressor of the turbomachine, and wherein the second wheel feature is a second compressor wheel of a second stage compressor of the turbomachine configured to receive flow from the first stage compressor.

7. The turbomachine of claim 1 , further comprising a fluid bearing system with a thrust bearing member that is configured to support rotation of the rotating group about the axis of rotation; and
wherein the wheel and seal member includes an extension that extends along the axis of rotation from the first wheel feature, the extension abutting against the thrust bearing member to secure the thrust bearing member to the rotating group.

8. The turbomachine of claim 7 , wherein the labyrinthine seal is a first labyrinthine seal; and
wherein the extension includes a plurality of second labyrinthine seal members that cooperates with the housing to define a second labyrinthine seal.

9. A turbomachine comprising:
a housing;
a fluid bearing system;
a rotating group supported for rotation about an axis of rotation within the housing by the fluid bearing system, the rotating group including an integrated wheel and seal member that is unitary;
the integrated wheel and seal member including a first wheel feature and a second wheel feature that are disposed in a back-to-back arrangement with an outer radial area of the wheel and seal member defined by a surface extending axially between the first and second wheel features and disposed at a common radius with outer radial edges of the first wheel feature and the second wheel feature, the outer radial area facing radially outward from the axis of rotation, a plurality of first labyrinthine seal members recessed into the outer radial area;
a first compressor stage, at least part of which is cooperatively defined by the first wheel feature and the housing;
a second compressor stage, at least part of which is cooperatively defined by the second wheel feature, the second compressor stage fluidly connected to the first compressor stage for receiving a fluid therefrom;
the plurality of first labyrinthine seal members and the housing cooperatively defining a first labyrinthine seal between the first compressor stage and the second compressor stage;
the wheel and seal member including an extension that is integrally attached to the first wheel feature and the second wheel feature, the extension extending along the axis of rotation from the first wheel feature, the extension including a contoured flow surface on an outer radial portion of the extension, the contoured flow surface defining part of a flow path for fluid that is directed toward the first wheel feature; and
the extension including a plurality of second labyrinthine seal members recessed into the extension and the plurality of second labyrinthine seal members cooperating with the housing to define a second labyrinthine seal.

10. The turbomachine of claim 9 , wherein the fluid bearing system includes a thrust bearing member configured to support the rotating group for rotation within the housing against thrust loads, the wheel and seal member having an end that abuts against the thrust bearing member, and the second labyrinthine seal defined axially between the thrust bearing member and the flow path.

11. The turbomachine of claim 10 , further comprising an electric motor that is received in a motor cavity of the housing, the electric motor operatively connected to the wheel and seal member; and
wherein the flow path extends in a downstream direction from the motor cavity to the first wheel member.

12. A motorized compressor device comprising:
a motor stage with an electric motor and a motor housing with a motor cavity that receives the electric motor;
a first compressor stage with a first compressor stage housing; and
a second compressor stage with a second compressor stage housing, the first compressor stage disposed axially along a longitudinal axis between the motor stage and the second compressor stage;
a rotating group extending along the longitudinal axis through the motor stage, the first compressor stage and the second compressor stage, the rotating group supported for rotation about the longitudinal axis relative to the motor housing, the first compressor stage housing, and the second compressor stage housing, the rotating group including a wheel-and-seal member that is unitary, the wheel-and-seal member including a first wheel feature that is disposed in the first compressor stage housing and a second wheel feature that is disposed in the second compressor stage housing, the first wheel feature and the second wheel feature disposed in a back-to-back arrangement along the longitudinal axis, the rotating group including an outer radial area disposed between the first wheel feature and the second wheel feature along the longitudinal axis and facing radially outward from the axis of rotation, the outer radial area defined by a surface extending axially along the longitudinal axis between the first wheel feature and the second wheel feature and disposed at a common radius with outer radial edges of the first wheel feature and the second wheel feature, the wheel-and-seal member including an extension that extends along the longitudinal axis from the first wheel feature and the second wheel feature, the extension including a contoured flow surface on an outer radial portio

Assignees

• Garrett Transportation I Inc

Inventors

• Nazare Kiran Somashekar Rao
• John Poomkuzhimannil
• Polak Lubos
• Ingr Adam

Classifications

• F05D2240/55

  Seals · CPC title

• F04D29/08

  Sealings · CPC title

• F04D1/00

  Radial-flow pumps, e.g. centrifugal pumps; Helico-centrifugal pumps (adapted for pumping specific fluids F04D7/00; priming or boosting F04D9/00) · CPC title

• F02K5/00

  Plants including an engine, other than a gas turbine, driving a compressor or a ducted fan · CPC title

• F05D2250/51

  Inlet · CPC title