Sealing arrangement for a gas turbine engine

Abstract

The present invention relates to a sealing arrangement between a stator assembly and a rotor 12 of a gas turbine engine, the rotor 12 being rotatable about an engine axis, the stator assembly comprising vanes 22 provided at their radially inner ends with a vane support structure 28 which comprises an annular platform 30 supporting the vanes and a radial flange 32 which extends radially inwardly from the platform, the sealing arrangement comprising an array of leaves 36 which extend inwardly from the radially inner periphery of the flange 32, towards a circumferential sealing surface 13 of the rotor 12.

1 . A sealing arrangement between a stator assembly and a rotor of a gas turbine engine, the rotor being rotatable about an engine axis, the stator assembly comprising vanes provided at their radially inner ends with a vane support structure which comprises an annular platform supporting the vanes and a radial flange which extends radially inwardly from the platform, the sealing arrangement comprising an array of leaves which extend inwardly from the radially inner periphery of the flange, towards a circumferential sealing surface of the rotor. 
     
     
         2 . A sealing arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the leaves are directly attached to the radial flange. 
     
     
         3 . A sealing arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the leaves are attached to a backing ring which is directly attached to the radial flange. 
     
     
         4 . A sealing arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the leaves are formed on the radial flange by a material removal operation. 
     
     
         5 . A sealing arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the annular platform comprises a plurality of circumferentially arranged openings, each opening having the end of a stator vane located within it. 
     
     
         6 . A sealing arrangement according to  claim 5 , wherein the end of each stator vane is attached to the annular platform by upset forging. 
     
     
         7 . A sealing arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the annular vane support structure comprises a plurality of circumferentially extending segments. 
     
     
         8 . A sealing arrangement according to  claim 7 , each segment comprises a projection that cooperates with an adjacent segment to restrict relative axial movement between adjacent segments. 
     
     
         9 . A sealing arrangement according to  claim 8 , wherein the projection is provided on the radial flange. 
     
     
         10 . A sealing arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the sealing surface is constituted by a hard coating on the rotor. 
     
     
         11 . A sealing arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the rotor is a compressor drum or disc and the vanes are compressor vanes. 
     
     
         12 . A gas turbine engine comprising a sealing arrangement in accordance with  claim 1 .