A Numerical Simulation of

a Brush Seal Section and

Some Experimental Results
M.J. Braun The brush seal technology represents quite a promising advance in the effort of
construction of more efficient, and possibly smaller size engines. Conclusions of recent
workshops determined that while the brush seal works well, there is a need to improve
V. V. Kudriavtsev its performance characteristics. The considerable amount of experimental work
performed to date has indicated the importance of the local flow phenomena in the
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
global sealing process performance of the brush (Braun et al, 1990a, 1991b, 1992;
The University of Akron,
Hendricks et al, 1991a). The distributed flow and pressure fields are thus of vital
Akron, OH 44325 importance for the prediction of the possible sudden failure of the brush seal under
unexpected local "pressure hikes." It is in this context that the authors developed a
numerical, two-dimensional time accurate dependent formulation of the Navier-Stokes
equations with constant properties, and included the effects of inertia, viscous, and
pressure terms. The algorithm is applied to a set of noncompliant multirow,
multicolumn pin configurations that are similar to the ones found in an idealized brush
seal configuration. While the numerical parametric investigation aims at establishing the
occurrence of major flow patterns and associated pressure maps, the experimental
portion of the paper is aimed at gaining further insight into the relevant flow structures,
and thus guiding the development of the mathematical and numerical models.

I Introduction
Turbomachine seals control leakage, dynamics, and toler-
ance to boundaries, and manage lubricant flow. As all these
functions affect engine performance, it is important to under-
stand both their interdependence and fundamental aspects.
From the many types of contacting or noncontacting seal that
are used in turbomachinery applications, this paper will treat
the subject of the brush seal. In particular, we shall present a
numerical model for flow in a generic array of brushlike pins,
and the experimental work conducted for guidance and qual-
itative validation of the numerical effort.
The reduced leakage and physical compliance of the brush
body to external perturbing factors are features that stand
out in turbomachinery applications where there are expected
boundary variations due to mass flow, brush fibers' pressure
compliance, temperature, and time-dependent eccentric shaft
motion. All these features have made the brush configuration
an especially interesting and worthy candidate. The geomet-
ric configuration of a simulated brush seal is shown in Fig.
1(A). Recently, among others, Chupp and Dowler (1993) and
Braun et al. (1990a, 1991a, 1992) have published extensive
experimental information concerning the nature of the flow
Contributed by the International Gas Turbine Institute and presented
at the 38th International Gas Turbine and Aeroengine Congress and
Exposition, Cincinnati, Ohio, May 24-27, 1993. Manuscript received at
ASME Headquarters March 3, 1994. Paper No. 93-GT-398. Associate
Technical Editor: H. Lukas.
and pressure drops in a brush, and formulated theoretical
models that explain the physical concept of sealing, and the
functionality of the brush seal (Braun et al., 1990b).
The initial concept of such a seal has been investigated by
General Electric many years ago (1955) under the J-47 en-
gine test program. In the 1980s, Rolls-Royce (RR) has suc-
cessfully introduced a brush seal (manufactured by Cross
Mgf. Ltd. (CML)) on a demonstrator engine, and tested it for
several thousand hours (Fergusson, 1988). More recently
EG & G Sealol, Technetics, and Detroit-Allison have imple-
mented full programs of study of this type of seal. Unfortu-
nately, a large amount of the data generated by industry is
restricted.
Following experiments done by CML, Flower (1990) cited
leakages that are approximately 5 to 10 percent of those
found in finned labyrinth configurations. The brushes manu-
factured by CML have been eventually incorporated in the
RR design of the IAE V2500. Detroit-Allison has also re-
ported successful incorporation of brush seals in some of
their engines. According to Holle and Krishman (1990), the
T800 engine was tested with a brush seal located at the
turbine discharge, while the T406 Plus engine contained 13
brush seals between the compressor interstages. Experiments
performed at Teledyne CAE (Chupp et al, 1991) have also
shown that the leakages are reduced by a factor of four to
seven, and the leakage performance follows a hysteresis
curve dependent on the shaft speed excursions. Gorelov et al.
(1988) examined the effects of the brush seal's geometric

190 / V o l . 117, JANUARY 1995 Transactions of the ASME

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 h^M
n
T
±^M_ -
I =E
i,
i i i
< ~" II_
J~
jr

fi _ _ "'
«
"
SIDE CROSS
SECTION
v
!
1 J<
%
-"
^

TTT~s /c"1
"
\ ~ fTTT"jj

_
;PTDRL= L PTDItp= ST/d_
.. 1 1 1 1 1 1 .1 \ 1

Fig. 1 Brush seal geometry: (A) physical configuration; (B) com-

putational grid

parameters on the leakage flow rate of air, and compared
them with data available from labyrinth seals. Braun et al.
(1990a, 1991a, 1992) studied nonintrusively the fundamental
flow patterns and reconstructed graphically the fluid veloci-
ties inside a cascade of brushes. The flow field was visualized
by means of the Full Flow Field Tracking (FFFT) method,
and revealed regions that are characterized by river jetting,
and vortical or crossflow formations that exist upstream,
downstream, or within the seal. These patterns are caused by
variations in fiber void that are spatial and temporal, and
affect changes in seal leakage and stability. The morphologi-
cal deformation of the brushes was determined to be a
function of upstream pressure and the magnitude of the mass
flow leakage. The pressure measured during these experi-

Nomenclature

e x (u), Qy(u), Qx(v), <By(u) = first-order conservative upwind T0 = h/U0; time scale
approximation for convective T = t/T„; dimensionless time
terms U = u/Ua; dimensionless velocity in
d = pin diameter X direction
Eu = P 0 /pt/ 0 2 ; Euler number Ua = free-stream velocity, m / s
h = channel height (ft/sec)
p = pressure, Pa (lb/in. 2 ) V = u/U0; dimensionless velocity in
P=p/P0;P0 = pUlEu =l Y direction
PTDR L = SL/d; longitudinal pitch-to-di- X = x/h\ dimensionless coordinate
ameter ratio Y = y/h; dimensionless coordinate
PTDR T = ST/d; transverse pitch-to-diame- Axx{u), Ayy{u) = second-order central finite dif-
ter ratio ference for diffusion terms, u di-
Qy(pX Qn(p) = second-order central finite dif- rection
ference for the pressure terms Axx(v), A (v) = second-order central finite dif-
Q,(u,u)n + 1 = finite difference approximation ference for the diffusion terms,
of the source terms in the Pois- v direction
son equation Axx(p), Ayy(p) = second-order central finite dif-
Rch = U0hp/n; Reynolds number ference for pressure terms in the
based on channel height Poisson equation
Re d = U0dp/fjb; Reynolds number /x = dynamic viscosity, N • s / m 2 (lb •
based on pin diameter s/ft 2 )
SL = longitudinal pitch p = fluid density, kg/m 3 (lb/ft 3 )
ST = transverse pitch a- = pseudo-time step, the pressure
t — time, s equation
u, v = fluid velocities, m / s (ft/sec) AT = real time step

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 ments fell monotonically across the brush. Pressure inver- It is in this context that the development and validation of
sions were observed due to peculiar flow patterns that form a numerical model with distributed primitive variables (u, u,
immediately downstream of the brush. Braun et al. (1991b) p) becomes important. The numerical parametric investiga-
studied the effects of the brush morphology on the leakage tion aims to simulate the occurrence of major flow patterns
path, and mapped the ensuing pressure drops. Through vis- and associated pressure maps that characterize the geometry
ual observation, the authors identified three major types of under study. The experimental portion of the paper is aimed
flow resistance networks that are instrumental to brush per- at gaining further insight into the relevant flow structures,
formance, and to its failure modes. It has been found that and guiding the development of the mathematical and nu-
high brush resistance to throughflow can result in sudden merical models.
catastrophic failure of the seal, while at lower brush resis-
tance the failure is gradual. Hendricks et al. (1991a) reported
experimental brush seal leakage rates in air for different Ill Development of the Analytical and Numerical
cases of brush-rotor radial clearance. The authors found that
leakages were greatly altered by bristle hysteresis, or inlet Models
flow variations. It was generally concluded that configura- III.l Mathematical Model. "Unexpected" local recircu-
tions that contain series of brushes allow higher pressure lation, reverse and lateral flows between the rows of the
drops, are more insensitive to shaft speed excursions, and brush, or downstream of the brush zone, appear to play a
significantly reduce the leakage level. major role in the sealing process. What's more, the compli-
Presently, there is a strong ongoing numerical effort to ance of the brush body generates an ever-changing geometry
simulate the hydraulic behavior and performance of the during operation and requires continuous prediction of the
brush seal. Braun et al. (1990b) and Hendricks et al. (1991b) bristle position. It was shown that the operating environment
have developed a bulk flow model based on the porosity of a brush seal will generate component flows that are mainly
concept. Their analysis predicts the pressure and leakage directed ( 0 normally to the brush surface (crossflow due to
performance as a function of bristle configuration, "porosity," the pressure difference between the upstream and down-
deformation, interface loading, and type of brush interfer- stream of the brush), and G'O circumferentially (due to the
ence with the rotating shaft. The authors identified five shaft rotation and its interaction with the stationary brush).
design similitude parameters: load per unit length, bristle tip While the rotation Reynolds number is rather high Re r o t =
pressure, Reynolds number, interface wear and heating, and 10 4 -10 6 , the leakage Reynolds number associated with the
fatigue life. The model indicated an abrupt upward change in crossflow is, by comparison, relatively low, Re l e a k = 10 2 -10 3 .
leakage flow when the compliant interface of the brush Such low velocities justify both the laminar and incompress-
changes from interference fit to hydrodynamic lubrication. ible assumptions used in the numerical model.
Trend-wise, for the interference fit, these results compare If one considers a uniform flow with zero angle of inci-
favorably with experimental results reported by Flower (1990), dence past an array of round cylinders (pins), Fig. 1, the
even though the abrupt changes predicted by the model (due two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations for unsteady in-
to change in the lubrication regime) do not appear in Flower's compressible viscous flow in a Cartesian coordinate system
reported data. Another leakage flow model is reported by can be written in dimensionless conservative form as
Chupp et al. (1991). While the basic premise of the model is
similar to that advanced by Braun et al. (1990b) and Hen- dU d(UU) d(UV)
dricks et al. (1991b), the only parameter considered is the dT dX dY
effective brush thickness. Chupp et al. (1991) showed that the
single-parameter model has the capability to predict pressure dP 1 d2U d2U'
drops and temperature rises, when compared to experimen- -Eu —- + — + (1)
tal data generated by Teledyne CAE and Detroit-Allison.
dX Re dX2 dY2
dV d(W) (SUV)
+ +
~df dY dX
II Scope of the Present Work
Conclusions of a recent brush seal workshop (Liang, 1991) dP 1 d2V d2V
= -Eu— + (2)
indicate that there is a need to improve the performance dY Re \ dX2 dY2
characteristics of the brush seals. Such a goal can be achieved
by using cascades of brushes, nonhomogeneous brush mor- The continuity equation (for constant properties) is
phology, "nonconventional" brush structure design dU dV
(Hendricks et al., 1992), and in general, a process of opti- + — =o (3)
mization of brush design parameters (Griner, 1991). The dX dY
concept employed by the lumped bulk flow numerical models where Re and Eu are the Reynolds and Euler numbers,
(Braun et al, 1990b; Hendricks et al., 1991b; Chupp et al., respectively. One should note that the characteristic length
1991) cannot predict local brush compliance, and the associ- used in this study is the vertical size of the physical domain
ated local flow and pressure patterns. Neither can the empir- (h) while the time scale is determined by the division of this
ical formulas used for the calculation of the pressure drops in length by the free stream velocity U0. Taking the divergence
an array of tubes (Zukauskas, 1972). The importance of the of the X- and y-momentum equations, and using continuity
local flow phenomena in the sealing process is paramount to for simplification, one obtains a pressure equation that ap-
the global performance of the brush (Braun et a l , 1990a, pears under a Poisson-type format.
1991b, 1992; Hendricks et al, 1991a). The distributed veloc-
ity fields (u, v), and the associated pressure maps are of vital d2(U2) d2(UV) d2(V2)
importance for the prediction of the average pressure drop, Eu.V 2 P =
dX2 dXdY ' dY2
or the possible sudden failure of the brush seal under unex-
2
pected local "pressure hikes." The momentum carried by d£> 1 d S> d2£)'
these velocities, or the upstream pressure, can force the + (4)
dY2
brush deformation, and can create favorable conditions for
~d~T Re
ax2
the brush "opening," followed by seal failure (Braun et al., One can see that the dilation term, 3D = dU/dX + dV/dY,
1991b). is similar to the continuity equation, and during calculations

192/Vol. 117, JANUARY 1995 Transactions of the ASME

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 represents the residual that has to become identically zero if n+ 1/2 _
u
the continuity is to be satisfied. This is a necessary but not a - = - ^ [ A „ ( « ) " + , / 2 + A^( M )"]
AT/2
sufficient condition for the convergence of pressures in Eq.
(4).
+ e>)" + 1 / 2 + ey(«)" + q.,(P)" W
III.2 Boundary and Initial Conditions + 1 _ ,,"+1/2 1

The Momentum Equation. The boundary conditions on

the lateral solid walls assume nonslip conditions and non-
porous walls. At the pin array entrance the velocity is as- + e,(M)"+1/2 + e,(w)"+, + £U/>)n (io)
sumed to be uniform with U = 1, V = 0 (angle of incidence is
zero). A reference pressure is assigned to one point on the vn+\/2 _ vn
inflow boundary. At the exit, the flow is allowed to develop
AT/2
- [ A . „ ( , r i / 2 + A^o"]
naturally with the boundary conditions for velocities derived
from the satisfaction of the continuity equation:
+ ex(u)n+l/2 + ey(u)" + %(P)" (ii)
dU dV dV
and — = 0 (5)
Jx JY'
ax
V
« + l _ „B+ 1/2
+,/2
AT/2
-^[A„(»)"
Re
+ A,,0,)"]
Boundary Conditions for the Poisson Equation. The dy-
namic pressures on the inflow and outflow boundaries are + eAvr+l/2 + ey(vy+l + Q.y(p)" (12)
allowed to float and were determined through the balance of
the normal forces with the inertia and viscous forces. The rs+ l/2,n + l _ ns,n+\

effects of the terms dU/dT and dV/ST both at inflow and

outflow have been considered negligible. Thus one obtains
s+ 1/2, n+ 1
3P 1 ' d{UU) d{UV) - A„(p) + Ayy(Py'"+i + Q.(u,v)" +l
(13)
Jx ~ ~ Eu dX ' dY „ s + l,n+ 1 _ „ J + 1/2.M+ 1

1 ( d2U d2U\
+ 2
Re • E u ^ Z ' dY2)'
= A„(p)
s+ l/2,n+ I
+ AyJpy+l•"+i + z^(u,vy•+, (u)
at X = 0; X = 1; and 0 < Y < 1 (6)
On the noncontiguous internal boundaries of the pins, in All the spatial derivatives except those of the convection
addition to Eq. (6), one needs to add an expression for terms and cross-derivatives are approximated by a second-
dP/dY order central finite difference. For the convection terms we
employed the first-order conservative scheme proposed by
dP I d(UV) 3{W) Torrance (1968). This scheme contributes to the stability of
JY Eu dX dY the whole computational process, and proves to handle well
conditions of high and intermediate convection (Roach, 1982).
1 d 2V d2V While the computations presented herein use a first-order
+ • (7) scheme, an alternate higher-order scheme for the treatment
Re • Eu 1 dX dY2
of convective terms was also considered. The deferred-cor-
This formulation is independent of the internal boundary rection (DC) concept utilizes a two-dimensional version of
configuration. the third-order scheme proposed by Kudriavtsev (1991, 1992)
At the channel's upper and lower walls the pressure and Hayase et al. (1992). The outflow boundary conditions
boundary condition takes a simplified form due to the fact for the momentum equations, Eq. (5), can be written in
that U = V = 0 operator finite difference form as

8P I dlV ex(u)"+' = -ey(vy (15)

2
JY Re Eu \ dY +1
e»" =o (16)
at Y = 0; 7=1; and 0 <X < 1 (8)
At the test section inlet the velocities are prescribed as

Initial Conditions (T = 0). The velocities are given as wly=l; vXj = 0; for \<j<M (17)
U = 1, V = 0. The pressures are set initially to P = P rcf =
const. and on the channel walls as
un = 0; vn = 0 ; for 1 <i <N (18)
III.3 Numerical Implementation and Solution Procedure.
The finite difference method applied here uses a collocated u, 0; viM = 0; for 1< i <N (19)
uniform grid throughout the entire domain. The geometric
details of the grid and the layout of the array of pins are On the internal boundaries (B) one can write generally the
shown in Fig. 1(B). The discretization of the system of boundary condition as
governing equations follows through the use of the alternat-
ing direction iteration method (ADI). The procedure uses uBJj = 0 and vBM = 0 (20)
the full direct approximation of each term within the differ-
ential equation on every half time step, A T / 2 . One obtains The pressure boundary conditions represented by Eqs. (6)
the following system of linear algebraic equations: and (7) can be written in operator finite difference form as

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 p A C P U
"f tr.edgc Ptr.edge Pin Pout
+ 1 +1
, T fa IU \ " +
, /o t - \ " l / - 1 1 \ 32 997330 0768 100.098 9JMH0 VOM
+ -^~\™A ) m.u) V ^ 1 ) 16 99.330 0.768 100.098 99.030 75.73
bU l J
8 99.333 0.766 100.099 99.033 42.75
5 99.337 0.763 100.100 99.038 30.11
1 r ,, , , •• 3 99.318 0.782 100.099 99.012 22.05
+ 1
qy(^)" = [A,,(f) + Ayy(v) J 1 99-395 0.708 100.103 99.122 13.77

+ + e
"j=77
tiu
[ ^(^O y(y) J (22) Table 2 Iterative convergence on 61 x 61 grid; Re„ = 25,000 (Re„
=5000) "
while that of Eq. (8) takes the form of ^L'^I6''"^!^ 6 6
~^n ' ° * ~°™
1 16 99.031 1.020 loSToir 99M3 297T32
+1 + 1 8
« ( rA" - TA C I A " OV\ "-032 1019 100 051
- 99.014 166.36
*<y\P) ~ D
K eo R
n
„u I 7 V A ^ I k^J^ 5 99.031 1.021 100.051 99.012 117.18
3 99.031 1.021 100.052 99.013 84.47
1 99.024 1.031 100.054 99.006 51.78
Solution Procedure. When the boundary conditions are
combined with Eqs. (9) through (14), the entire system of
linear algebraic equations becomes self sufficient. The solu- __ J [ * ' ! l J ! ^ _ ^ ? ™ ^
p A
tion follows according to the time-dependent ADI method "f tr.edge Ptr.edge Pin Pout
using a tridiagonal matrix algorithm (TDMA). T h e steps of gridlTxJiT
tu l <•• . L „„ f„ll^,„o. 16 99.208 0.865 100.073 98.902
the solution are as follows: 8
3
99.208 0866 100-074 98 902
• . tr j - *• r l L , , , ., , , , , 1 /<•> 99.199 0.876 100.075 98.888
• solve in the X direction for the U velocity at the n + 1/2 i 99 . 2 69 0.809 100.078 98.985
time step, Eq. (9) 8 99 034 0 916 99 95 98 98
• solve in the Y direction for the U velocity at the n + 1
time step, Eq. (10)
• solve in the X direction for the V velocity at the n + 1/2
time step, Eq. (11) that the average pressure field converges within 3-5 internal
• solve in the Y direction for the V velocity at the « + 1 iterations for the 31 X 31 grid, and roughly in 1-2 iterations
time step, Eq. (12) on the 61 X 61 grid. On inspection, it was found that the
• solve the Poisson equation of pressure at the n = 1 time differences between the isobar fields for nf = 5 and n <• = 8
step by means of the pseudo-transient method: (i) in the are minimal (Kudriavtsev et al, 1993), thus mitigating our
X direction at the 5 + 1/2 time ste, Eq. (13), and Hi) in approach of judging the convergence by the average value of
the Y direction at the s + 1 time step, Eq. (14). the field.
The pseudo-time marching form of the Poisson equation Table 3 presents comparisons of average pressure drops
allows a stable implicit implementation of the TDMA solver (A/? = P[n - pout) for 31 X 31 and 61 X 61 grids. One can
with the ADI method, thus enabling faster iterative conver- see that for nf = 8, the difference in the calculated A/? is
gence of the computations (Washpress, 1966). about 5.5 percent for Re,, = 2500 (Rerf = 500). If one further
compares data from Table 1 and Table 2, for nf = 8 and
ReA = 25,000 (Rerf = 5000), one can see changes in kp as
high as 24.8 percent. It becomes evident that the computa-
IV Iterative Convergence and Accuracy Considera-
tional error increases considerably with the Reynolds number
tions if the grid size is maintained constant. For all the numerical
The code verifications were performed for start-up flows experiments presented below we have used a 139 X 139
(low time T), on grids of 31 X 31 and 61 X 61 points, respec- computational grid, which provides a resolution that is identi-
tively, with a range of Reynolds numbers of Re A = 2500, . . . cal to the one used in the discussion presented above.
25,000 (or Re d = 500, . . . 5000). The verification concerned A further code validation test was performed through the
the flow and pressure fields around a body of cylindrical comparison of our numerical results with experimental visu-
cross section, of diameter 0.2, positioned in the center of a alization of flow around an impulsively started cylinder
square channel (h = 1.0). (Bouard and Coutanceau, 1980). The Reynolds number is
The iterative convergence was checked for both u and v Rerf = 5000, and the nondimensional times considered were
velocities. The pressure field convergence was monitored T = 1.5, 2, and 2.5. The results of this comparison are shown
through its calculated average value across the cross section. in Figs. 2(A), 2(B), and 2(C). The experimental and the
In order to obtain an optimal combination of accuracy, numerical results show a good coincidence for the flow
computational stability and computational costs, we used a patterns, the size of the recirculation, and the position of the
pseudo-time step of <r = 0.025 (computations marched to vortex center with respect to the moving cylinder.
time T = 1, with a AT = 0.005). It was found that the compu-
tational process on the 61 X 61 grid was no longer stable at
times approaching T = 2, if the time step remained the same V Results and Discussion
as the one used for the 3 1 x 3 1 grid. To re-achieve stability it V.l Numerical Results (PTDR L , PTDRT = 1). There is
was necessary to reduce the time step in the same proportion a wide body of numerical work treating the flow around a
as the space step. Tables 1 and 2 display average values of circular cylinder in crossflow (Kawamura et al., 1986; Forn-
pin, p o u t , and Ar.edge. a n d t h e C P U t i m e o f a CRAY-YMP as berg, 1980; Ohya et al., 1992; Li et al., 1992). However, few
a function of the number of internal iterations nf, when a researchers focused their attention on the nature of the flow
fixed pseudotime cr is used for the Poisson equation iterative changes when it interacts with a bank of tubes (Reynell et al,
solution. Generally, the pseudotime is chosen equal to the AT 1991). The effects of the cylinder arrangement and the array
of the transient calculation. For the present calculations, the size on the flow structure are presently not fully understood,
optimal o- was adjusted to be larger than AT, based on trial especially when the pitch-to-diameter-ratio (PTDR) is small
and error that yielded the lowest CPU time. The results show (< < 1).

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 isr*>
Fig. 2 Qualitative comparison between experimental (Bouard and
Coutanceau, 1980) and numerical results for flow around a cylinder
at Red = 5000

TYPICAL RECIRCULATION
RIVERING JET ZQNE

•IP ^C~ [Jj

J»^«^&~
mr=~

W^z?W
"%s^m I I I
^P°^
•::

^ » 4 — ^r^ fefaj^p
JiiB a r*^i i i - ^ H
' -~J itfJHii.vi;.1.:;:.—vrr—-•^^=:

HE-.,
I,,, fjjTj— ^ J fA
gjjjg *%^ ^^^^^H
iiS=== J
~~"*%j
J?
- ^[ffffffPP^^RssziiHiiiiuui;
lL
*ajwr - = =
~" ^
••••]

I "^ Sc=£ t,,.,,!}).^/ ~-=^^

^B^fti
lEfe ml ^fe-^jjp

ZONE A ZONE B
fTTL, , , ' V

ZONE C
Fig. 3 Flow across array of pins at Re„ = 2000, PTDRL = 1, PTDRT
= 1: (A) six rows; (B) cascade of two elements (three rows each),
C = 3d; (C) cascade of two elements (three rows each), C = 5d

Flow and Pressure Patterns. Figure 3(A) presents the flow,
at Rch = 2000, for a staggered array of six rows of tubes with
a PTDR L = PTDR T = 1. The flow enters the cross section
with a symmetric velocity distribution, which completely
changes its structure upon passing through the first row of
tubes. One can notice the characteristic jetting between the
pins, and the formation of recirculation zones in the wake of
the pins. The nature of the PTDR does not allow the growth
of the recirculation zones and forces their closure within one
pin diameter. In the wake of the last row of pins one can
notice the shedding of eddies as well as the formation of
steady recirculation zones. The computed nondimensional
pressure drop was 28.8. Figure 3(B) and 3(C) present for the
same Reynolds number and nondimensional time (T = 0.14),
the flow patterns between a cascade of two formations (A
and B) of three rows of pins each. The spacing (C) between

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 SEE DETAIL FIG 4C
Vs.
Fig. 4 Flow through basic array configuration 7 rows x 11 pins:
(A) Reh = 100; (B) Re„ = 2000; (C) detail of flow in the quadrant
indicated in Fig. 4(A); (D) detail of flow in the quadrant indicated in
Fig. 4(B)
the two formations of pins is different, C = 3d (Fig. 3B) and
C = 5d (Fig. 3C) respectively. The recirculation zones be-
tween A and B, Fig. 3(B), occupy longitudinally the entire
space C, while laterally they are limited by the rivering jets to
one width diameter. The wake behind the last rows of pins is
qualitatively similar to the one of Fig. 3(A), even though its
length has increased and shows diminished shedding. The
computed pressure drop was 29.08. The larger distance,
C = 5d (Fig. 3C), gives the jets the opportunity to expand
and merge all across the cross section, only to re-accelerate
upon entering the first row of pins of zone B. This phe-
nomenon is associated with an additional expenditure of
mechanical work that causes an increase in the pressure drop
to 31.53. This effect can be crucial for design of more
effective brush seal configurations.
Figures 4(A) and 4(B) present the development of flow in
an array of 7 (rows) X 11 round pins with a PTDRL =
PTDRT = 1. In Fig. 4(A), Re,, = 100, while in Fig. 4(B),
Re,, = 2000. The same basic flow patterns of Fig. 3 are
visible. The flow patterns in the regions marked in Figs. 4(A)
and 4(B) are shown in detail in Figs. 4(C) and 4(D), respec-
tively. One can see the lack of recirculation in the wake of
the pins for Re,, = 100 in Fig. 4(C), while for Re,, = 2000,
the formation of two standing vortices is clearly displayed.
Figure 5 presents the calculated pressure fields for the two
cases considered in Fig. 4. Figure 5(A) exhibits the pressure
distribution for the case of Re,, = 100. The nondimensional
pressure drop is 67.3. As the Reynolds number is increased
to 2000, the pressure drop decreases to 35.3. One should
keep in mind that the pressure nondimensionalization fol-
196/Vol. 117, JANUARY 1995
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RECIRCULATION
ZONE —
lows as P = p/pU0z, with U0 varying directly proportional
with the Reynolds number. The same wavy pattern of pres-
sure drops was reported by Braun et al. (1991a, 1991b).
Figure 6 shows the calculated pressure profiles upstream
of, and in the wake of each one of the rows of pins. Figures
6(A) and 6(B) present the pressure variations at Re,, = 100,
while Figs 6(C) and 6(D) correspond to Re,, = 2000. Analysis
of these images indicates that the drop in pressure occurring
at the leading edge of any given row is followed by a pressure
recovery in the wake of the row, followed by a renewed drop
in pressure as the fluid enters the next row of pins. The
phenomena exhibited by these numerical experiments shed
light on a mechanism of kinetic energy consumption that we
believe is instrumental in the sealing process.
Figures 7 demonstrate the effect of PTDRL decrease on
the development of the flow pattern structure. The numerical
experiments were performed at Re,, = 2000 for PTDRL = 1
(Fig. 7A), 0.66 (Fig. 7C), and 0.33 (Fig. 7E) respectively. The
decrease in the PTDRL engenders a contraction, and even
complete disappearance (Fig. 7E) of the recirculation zones
behind the inner cylinders (bold contours), but shows little
influence on the size or shape of the wakes behind the last
row of cylinders. A close view at the physical nature of the
wakes shrinkage is detailed in Figs. 7(B), 7(D), and 7(F). The
variations of the pressure drops associated with the events in
Figs. 7 can be studied in Table 4, Part A. Part B contains the
pressure drops in the same array of pins for Re,, = 100. The
pressure drops show a consistent increase with the decrease
of PTDRL. At low Re,, the lack of the recirculation zones
eliminates one of the mechanisms responsible for the pres-
Transactions of the ASME
 CHANNEL BOTTOM

Fig. 5 Nondimensional pressure maps for pressure drops in the

basic array configuration (7 rows x 11 pins): (A) Reh = 100; (8)
Re„= 2000

LEADING EDGE TRAILING EDGE

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PLOW FLOW

00

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o55 TRANSVERSAL DIR.
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Fig. 6 Nondimensional pressure variation in the transverse direc-
tion: (A), (C) leading edge of the row, at Re„ = 100 and Re„ = 2000;
(B), (D) trailing edge of the row, at Re„ = 100 and Reh = 2000

sure drops, and leaves friction and fluid acceleration as the
only responsible mechanisms.
Effect of the Numerical Scheme (Table 5). To ascertain
the physical veracity of the results, the first-order upwind
scheme used for the present analysis has been compared with
the third-order deferred correction scheme (Kudriavtsev,
1991; Hayase et al., 1992). The comparison covers a range of
Re,, between 500 and 2000. The flow patterns observed
between the pins and in the wake of the array were similar
for the two methods. The comparison of the corresponding
pressure drops yielded by the two schemes has been found to
be within a 4 percent envelope, Table 5. One can conclude
that the amount of artificial viscosity introduced by the

Journal of Turbomachinery JANUARY 1995, Vol. 117/197

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 FLOW
<C *& <^7

V "d V
1? T>
T> T> T>
t? T>
"C : T>' 'O
t> Jo '
'&. "» o
o o
o
P P' P
P P P
P P P
J? P P
S> P P
£• P P
£ > £ > £ >
O P .°
'^ .£> £>

Fig. 7 Variation of the flow field structure with the change in the
longitudinal pitch

Table 4 Effect of PTDR on the pressure drop Table 5 Effect of the convective approximation on the pressure
drop
Part A H«=20b0
Re=2000

PTDRL i1 0.83
0.83 b766
0.66 0.l3~~
0.33 0.16 Scheme Upwind Third-order PUI DC
AP 35.33 35ToI
35.01 3tH
34.73 34T57~
34.57 49.1
Re=500
Part B ___i_6~
Re=100
AP
7: 38.54 40.19
PTDRL 11 0.83~
0.83 0.66
0.66 0.50"
0.50
AP„, 36.81 38.63
AP "67.3 70T84 74.56" IflT
Re=1000
AP,, 36.21 37.83

AP„ 34.31 36.07

conservative first-order upwind scheme does not deteriorate Re=2000
the truthfulness of the solution within the range of Reynolds
numbers considered in this paper. AP7r 35.13 36.42
AP„ 33.25 34.64
V.2 Experimental Results (PTDR L, PTDR T < 0.1). The

198/Vol. 117, JANUARY 1995 Transactions of the ASME

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Fig. 8 Experimental flow visualization at Re h : 197 (A), 500 (B),
956 (C)
experiments were conducted in a test facility that is briefly
described in the appendix.
Figure 8 presents qualitatively the flow in the wake of a 3
(rows) X 11 pin array, at Re,, = 197 (Fig. 8A), Re,, = 500
(Fig. 8B), and Re,, = 956 (Fig. 8C). In Fig. 8(A) the exiting
jets have a coherent structure interrupted by small recircula-
tion zones behind the pins, Fig. 9(A). These zones close
within 1/2 pin diameter and do not influence either the jet
development or the unimpeded flow of mass through the
array. As Re,, increases to 500 (Fig. 8B) and 956 (Fig. 8C),
the flow changes its structure visibly, and one can observe a
nonsymmetry situation between the flow near the upper and
the lower walls. These structures are due to, slightly nonequal
pitches between the walls and the adjacent pins. Details of
the local flow structures between pin 1 and the upper wall
are shown in Figs. 9(B) and 9(C). The strong jet flowing
adjacent to the upper wall generates a low-pressure zone that
molds the S-shaped jet emerging from pins 2 and 3, and the
associated vortex zones. The increase in the Re,, to 956
allows the development of two recirculation zones of butter-
fly-like structure that are symmetric with respect to pin 6.
The low-pressure region engendered by the wall jet (Fig. 9C)
becomes dominant across the entire section, and the jets
emerging from the spaces between the pins deviate toward
the zones of lower pressure. This situation is instrumental in
creating both the structure of Fig. 9(C), and the butterfly
effect, which can be seen in detail in Fig. 10. One notices the
structure of the upper half of the butterfly as it is confined by
Joumal of Turbomachinery
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WAKE BEHIND UPPER
FOUR PINS - LAST ROW OF PINS
the jet emerging from between the pins (zone A, Fig. 8). A
similar flow formation was also reported in experiments
performed by Zdravkovich and Stonebanks (1988). The but-
terfly, which appears due to an interplay of transverse low-
pressure zones, and longitudinal pressure inversions has the
net effect of "sealing" the exit of the array, thus preventing
the flow from "leaking"downstream.
Comparison of Some Experimental and Numerical Results
(PTDRL, PTDRT < 0.1). The magnitude and trends of the
pressure drops across the array are very important parame-
ters in the determination of the sealing effectiveness. The
authors compared the measured pressure drops with their
numerical counterparts. The physical configuration involved
was identical to the one described in the section above, and
the appendix. The results are detailed in Table 6. For Re,, =
195 one can observe a difference of only 7 percent between
the numerical and experimental results. As the Re,, increase
to 327 this good coincidence deteriorates. The result can be
mitigated through the consideration of the error introduced
by the scaling factor pt/02.
Figure 11 presents the flow pattern in the array of three
rows discussed above when Re,, = 195. This allows direct
comparison between this figure and the experimental results
presented in Figs. 8(A) and 9(A). Figure 11(A) models the
same geometric asymmetry mentioned in the discussion of
Figs. 8 and 9. The effect of this asymmetry is evident in the
upward deviation of the inlet flow of Fig. 11(A). Experimen-
JANUARY 1995, Vol. 117/199
 FLOW
A WAKE BEHIND UPPER
fc FOUR PINS - LAST ROW OF PINS

Fig. 9 Details of flow in the sections indicated in Fig. 8 at Re„ = 197

(A), 500 (B), 956 (C)

Table 6 Comparison of experimental and numerical results; tem-

perature T= 70° F; p= 950 k g / m 3 ; fluid velocities: U = 18.5 cm/s
(Re„ = 195); U = 31 cm/S (Re„ = 327)
JET ZONE
Reh Ap(pai) Ap(Pa) & A/^nondimensional)

195 (exp) 4.02 27,758 32.16 863

195(num) 4.31(e=7%) 926

327(exp) 6.82 47,056 91.29 516

327(num) 8.6(«=26%) 650

'•'SYMMETRY ZONE
asymmetry carries through, and in both figures the fluid jet
adjacent to the upper wall is much stronger than the one
BUTTERFLY
flowing along the lower wall. The reader has an even more
PLOW FORMATION convincing comparison in the similarity of the flow structures
presented in Figs. 11(B), 11(C), and 8(A). These figures show
in detail the wall jet and adjacent flow formations in the
upper exit corner of the pin array.
LAST ROW OF PINS
VI Conclusions
Fig. 10 Details of the butterfly recirculation zone of Fig. 8(C) at This paper presents an analysis and numerical simulation
Re,, = 956
for flow in an array of pins with a PTDR varying between 0.1
and 1. The effects of the Reynolds number variation and
tal observation confirmed the same trend for the inlet flow as array configuration have been studied. The experimentally
the one reproduced numerically. In the exit section of the obtained results concerning the jet rivering between the pins,
array, a comparison of Fig. 11(A) and 8(A) shows good and the formations of recirculation zones between cascades
qualitative coincidence. One can see that the inlet flow of pins have been confirmed numerically. It was found that

200 / Vol. 117, JANUARY 1995 Transactions of the ASME

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 |— — SEE DETAIL IN
Fig. 11 Comparison of numerical and experimental flow patterns
at Reh = 195
the distance (zone C, Fig. 3) between zones of densely
packed pins can be influential on the overall pressure drop.
Contrary to expectations, an increase in zone C length can
carry with it an increase in the pressure drops. This phe-
nomenon has been attributed to the nature of the develop-
ment of the recirculation zones in zone C. The interplay of
successive pressure drops and partial pressure recovery, Fig.
8, inside the array of pins has also been found to contribute
greatly to the overall pressure drop. Finally, the experimental
results shown in Figs. 8, 9, and 10, indicate the onset of large
recirculation zones in the wake of the array of pins that are
associated with longitudinal and cross-sectional pressure in-
versions that contribute to the sealing effect.
Acknowledgments
The authors want to express their gratefulness to Dr. R.
Bill and Mr. G. Bobula for their continued support. The
work has been performed under the auspices of NASA Grant
NAG 3-969, NASA Lewis Research Center.
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ment of the Wake Behind an Impulsively Started Cylinder for 40 < Re <
l O 4 , " / . Fluid Mech., Vol. 101, Part 3, pp. 583-607.
Braun, M. J., Hendricks, R. C , and Canacci, V. A., 1990a, "Flow
Visualization in a Simulated Brush Seal," ASME Paper No. 90-GT-217.
Braun, M. J., Hendricks, R. C , and Canacci, V. A., 1990b, "Non-intru-
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Braun, M. J., Canacci, V. A., and Hendricks, R. C , 1991a, "Flow
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Braun, M. J., Hendricks, R. C , and Yang, Y„ 1991b, "Effects of Brush
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Zdravkovich, M. M., and Stonebanks, K. L., 1988, "Intrinsically Non- dure is given by Braun et al. (1992, 1990a, b, 1991a, b).
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Heat Transfer, Vol. 8, pp. 93-160. This facility is designed to study the behavior of one or
more brushes in a pump pressurized environment at higher
flow velocities. The tunnel is manufactured contains a lucite
wall test section that is 333 mm (1 ft) long and 25.4 mm (1
APPENDIX in.) thick. The tunnel is 1524 mm (5 ft) long with a square
cross section of 76.2 mm X 76.2 mm (3 in. X 3 in.). The test
section contains a breadboard on which pins can be mounted
Description of the Test Facility in any arbitrary configuration. The board has pins that are
The test facility, Fig. Al, comprises four parts: the oil 0.250 in. diameter and are spaced at ST = 0.020 in. and
tunnel with the test section, the laser assembly and appropri- SL = 0.020 in. for a pitch-to-diameter ratio of PTDRL =
ate optical lenses, the low-luminosity TV camera with a PTDRT = 0.08.

202 / Vol. 117, JANUARY 1995 Transactions of the ASME

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