Patent ID: 7059827

Claim:
A stationary gas turbine engine for a power plant, comprising: (a) a multistage axial compressor, the compressor having a rotor, the rotor having a cylindrical land region downstream of a last-stage of the compressor, the land region having an outside diameter D; (b) a turbine shaft-coupled to the rotor of the compressor; (c) a combustor fluid coupled between the compressor and the turbine; (d) a stationary inner barrel member downstream of the compressor, air flowing from the compressor to the combustor passing outside of the inner barrel member, a chamber within the inner barrel member forming a passage for cooling air from the compressor, the cooling air flowing from the chamber and being mixed with combustion gases upstream of the turbine; (e) a brush seal for restricting air passage into the chamber from the compressor, the brush seal comprising: (i) a ring-shaped holder; (ii) a multiplicity of bristle members extending radially inwardly from the holder toward the land region of the rotor, outer extremities of the bristle members being rigidly retained relative to the holder; and (iii) means for fastening the holder to the inner barrel member, wherein, when the power plant is inactive, the bristles have an ambient temperature clearance of not less than 0.015 percent of the diameter D from the land region of the rotor.