Patent ID: 9399926
Filing Date: 2016-07-26
CPC Classification: F01D,F02C

Claim Text:
1. A sealing band for use in a turbomachine having a plurality of stages, each stage comprising a rotatable disk and blades carried thereby, at least one pair of adjacent rotatable disks defining an annular gap therebetween and having respective opposing sealing band receiving slots aligned with the annular gap, a circumferentially extending sealing band located within the slots, the sealing band comprising: a plurality of circumferentially extending seal strips located in series adjacent to one another, and adjacent seal strips including ends located adjacent to one another, each of the plurality of seal strips having a thickness defined by opposing radially facing inner and outer surfaces, the inner and outer surfaces defining the thickness along substantially the entire circumferential extent of each seal strip; overlap joints defined by overlapping end portions between adjacent seal strips, the overlapping end portions each formed by a tongue portion of a reduced seal strip thickness extending from a seal face of one seal strip past a seal face defined at a circumferentially distalmost end of the adjacent seal strip, along a radially inward facing side of the adjacent seal strip, wherein the radially inward facing side of the adjacent seal strip engages an outward facing side of the tongue portion; a joint gap defined within at least one overlap joint between the seal face of the one seal strip and the seal face of the adjacent strip, the seal faces facing one another at opposing circumferential sides of the gap, wherein the seal face of the one seal strip extends radially inward from the radially outer surface of the one seal strip to the outward facing side of the tongue portion; and a spacer affixed to the one seal strip, positioned on and extending outward from the radially outward facing side of the tongue portion, the spacer extending circumferentially from a junction of the spacer and the seal face of the one seal strip, and located at a position within the joint gap between the seal faces face of the one seal strip and the seal face of the adjacent seal strip to limit circumferential movement of the seal faces toward each other.