누설 저감을 위한 75톤급 터보펌프 개량형 미케니컬페이스실 개발

Abstract

In this paper, we present an experimental investigation of the leakage and endurance performances of mechanical face seals in a 75-tonf turbopump for the Korea Space Launch Vehicle II first-stage engine. A mechanical face seal is used between the fuel pump and turbine to prevent mixing of the fuel and turbine gas. However, excessive leakage occurs through the carbon attached to the mechanical face seal bellows. To reduce this leakage, we redesign the mechanical face seal such that the contact area between the fuel and carbon is reduced, height of the carbon nose is reduced, and stiffness of the bellows is increased. Then, we conduct static and dynamic leakage tests and endurance tests to compare the performances of the original and modified mechanical face seals. The investigation of the leakage of the old and new mechanical face seals confirms that the leakage performance is significantly improved, by 80%, in the new design in comparison with the old design. The endurance tests demonstrate that the average wear rate of carbon in the new mechanical face seal is 0.1094 μm/s. The service lifetime is predicted to be 4,200 s, which is 28 times greater than the requirement. Finally, we present a new mechanical face seal in a 75-tonf turbopump, and perform a validation test in the real-propellant test facility at the NARO Space Center. Based on the test results, we can confirm that the modified mechanical face seal works well under real operating conditions.