Patent ID: 8109716

Claim:
A hydrostatic seal for a gas turbine engine comprising: a face seal having a seal face; a seal runner, wherein the seal face and the seal runner define a high-pressure side and a lower-pressure side of the hydrostatic seal; a carrier, the face seal being mounted to the carrier such that the carrier positions the seal face with respect to the seal runner, wherein the face seal has an air bearing supply channel extending from the high-pressure side to a side on which the seal face is located, and wherein the carrier has an orifice aligned with the air bearing supply channel; and a shield attached to the carrier adjacent the orifice, the carrier operative to form a physical barrier that discourages debris travelling on a radially inward trajectory from entering the air bearing supply channel and thereby reduces a potential for debris to foul the hydrostatic seal formed by the seal face and the seal runner.