This paper is a continuous study of a previously investigated novel winglet-shroud (WS) tip configuration. Two additional sealing fins are fixed on the WS tip to further reduce tip leakage. This configuration is referred to WS with seals (WSS) tip. Secondary flow structures and total pressure loss coefficients on a transverse plane downstream of the blade trailing edge are measured. Flow in a blade cascade is also numerically simulated to obtain more information of flow fields. Compared with the WS tip, both experimental and numerical results show that the WSS tip can further improve the aerodynamic performance as expected. Relative to the plain tip, the WSS and WS tips can reduce total pressure loss on one plane downstream of the blade trailing edge by 50% and 28%, respectively. This is mainly due to reduced intensity of tip leakage vortex (TLV). For the tip leakage mass flow rate, the WS tip decreases it by 33.6%, while the implement of two additional sealing fins contributes to an extremely high reduction of 88.7%. This demonstrates that the use of sealing fins is effective to control the tip leakage flow and improve flow fields. In addition, a deeper analysis by applying a normalized helicity scheme to identify the evolution of different vortices and by tracing trajectories of the fluid near the tip offers credible supports for results.

The dynamics of the thin film established, by oil injection, on the inside wall of the casing in certain rotary compressors are analyzed both experimentally and theoretically. The film may provide an effective pressure seal to prevent leakage of air from one side of a rotor lobe to the other. It is found that Reynolds’ bearing theory, corrected for Reynolds number and surface tension effects, gives reasonable results for the film thickness needed to sustain typical operational pressure differences in the machine. The theoretical predictions have been verified experimentally in a series of tests performed in a specially designed apparatus.

The flow between a rotating disk and a stationary disk, with nonaxisymmetric boundary conditions is studied. A flow field of this type exists in the narrow gap between the rotor and side plates of a rotary vane compressor. Fluid is admitted into the gap in the center of the disk for the purpose of sealing against leakage due to the nonaxisymmetric pressure distribution externally imposed on the disk circumference. The flow is solved analytically by a perturbation technique. Flow maps and pressure maps are obtained for various operating conditions. The effectiveness of the fluid seal is evaluated for these conditions by calculating the flow rates that pass through the gap. The flow field is simulated on a test apparatus and experimental verification is given to the analytical results. The results obtained indicate the possibility of appreciably reducing the leakage through the gap by a proper selection of the fluid pressure and the disk geometry.

An analytical and experimental study of the screw seal in both laminar and turbulent operation is presented. The various scattered analyses of laminar screw seal operation are evaluated in comparison with one another and with a simplified flow model. The basic equations are extended to cover turbulent flow. Experiments are described in which the screw seal was tested in both laminar and turbulent flow regimes. Finally, the breakdown of sealing capability under certain conditions is examined and reasons postulated for its behavior.