Patent ID: 9410556
Filing Date: 2016-08-09
CPC Classification: F01D,F04D,F16J

Claim Text:
1. A seal assembly for a rotary machine which includes a rotor assembly having a rotatable rotor shaft, the seal assembly being disposed to restrict a leakage of a lubricating fluid from a bearing compartment of the rotary machine and an entry of a hot working medium gas into the bearing compartment, the seal assembly comprising: a spacer which is rotatable with the rotor shaft and which extends circumferentially about and radially outward from the rotor shaft; a seal plate which is rotatable with the rotor shaft and which extends circumferentially about and radially outward from the rotor shaft, the seal plate including a longitudinally extending leg and a radially outwardly extending leg extending from the longitudinally extending leg; a ring seal which is free and which is longitudinally located between the spacer and the seal plate and radially spaced between a stationary housing liner and the rotor shaft, a seal plate-facing surface of the ring seal abutting the seal plate at a radially extending seal plate region of the seal plate and slidably engaging the seal plate, a housing liner-facing surface of the ring seal abutting the stationary housing liner at a circumferentially extending housing liner region of the stationary housing liner and in slidable or static engagement with the stationary housing liner; and a ring seal midplate which is rotatable with the rotor shaft and which extends circumferentially about and radially outward from the rotor shaft, wherein the ring seal midplate is not attached to the spacer or the seal plate during a hardface process which is applied to any component of the seal assembly, and wherein the ring seal midplate is longitudinally located between the spacer and the longitudinally extending leg of the seal plate and radially spaced between the ring seal and the rotor shaft.