3-D Laser Anemometer Measurements in a Labyrinth Seal

The flow field inside a seven-cavity labyrinth seal with a 0.00127-m clearance was measured using a 3-D laser-Doppler anemometer system. Through the use of this system, the mean velocity vector and the entire Reynolds stress tensor distributions were measured for the first, third, fifth, and seventh cavities of the seal. There was one large recirculation region present in the cavity for the flow condition tested, Re = 28,000 and Ta = 7000. The axial and radial mean velocities as well as all of the Reynolds stress terms became cavity independent by the third cavity. The azimuthal mean velocity varied from cavity to cavity with its magnitude increasing as the flow progressed downstream.