Have you read Rocket Propulsion Elements by George P. Sutton, 1st thru 8th
editions have a chapter on the topic.
With common shaft designs the turbine usually sits between the F&Ox pumps
so any propellant leakage doesn't mix.
Good Luck,
Ken
On Mon, Oct 18, 2021 at 11:27 AM elias Aoubala <eliaslina88@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Hey Guys,
Anyone have experience with the design of turbo pumps and what kind of
seals they use? More specifically I’m looking into centrifugal pumps and
sealing the shaft from my propellent. I’m seeing mechanical seals being
used in a lot of commercial- non rocketry uses, but I haven’t seen it
addressed much anywhere- I’ve found floating ring seals but that’s it,
thought maybe one of you guys might have more experience in the topic?
My question at that point is what’s the easiest method of sealing the
pump/turbine, is their any method similar to running tradition orings or
piston rings for rotational applications?
My concern with mechanical sealing is the number of components required
for a single seal/ lack of reusability/ tolerances being tight- which are
some what problematic when designing for smaller application uses and
budgets. I recognise I’ll definitely need right tolerances for my impeller
and turbines (which I was hoping to run AM with post processing for surface
finish and dimensions) but i would like to lessen the overall burden in
manufacturing if I can loosen and not be so stringent for the seal
tolerances, to save some money.
So yeh, any advice or criticism is welcomed!
Cheers Guys,
Elias