Influence of a Honeycomb Facing

V. Schramm
on the Flow Through a Stepped
K. Willenborg
S. Kim
Labyrinth Seal
S. Wittig This paper reports numerical predictions and measurements of the flow field in a stepped
labyrinth seal. The theoretical work and the experimental investigations were successfully
Lehrstuhl und Institut für Thermische combined to gain a comprehensive understanding of the flow patterns existing in such
Strömungsmaschinen, elements. In order to identify the influence of the honeycomb structure, a smooth stator as
Universität Karlsruhe, well as a seal configuration with a honeycomb facing mounted on the stator wall were
Kaiserstr. 12, investigated. The seal geometry is representative of typical three-step labyrinth seals of
D-76128 Karlsruhe, Germany modern aero engines. The flow field was predicted using a commercial finite volume code
with the standard k-⑀ turbulence model. The computational grid includes the basic seal
geometry as well as the three-dimensional honeycomb structures.
关DOI: 10.1115/1.1403460兴

Introduction
Labyrinth seals represent an elementary component of the in-
ternal air system of gas turbines. The flow characteristics of these
elements have been investigated using manifold experimental and
numerical techniques 共e.g., 关1– 8兴兲. Nevertheless, no detailed in-
formation is available for the flow case where honeycomb facings
are present. In addition, only few publications deal with the influ-
ence of honeycomb facings on the leakage losses.
Stocker 关9兴 studied the influence of abradable and honeycomb
lands on the leakage through a four-knife straight-through laby-
rinth seal. For his investigations, he employed a planar two-
dimensional and a rotating three-dimensional test rig. Stocker var-
ied the seal clearance and the honeycomb diameter. He observed a
significant influence on the honeycomb lands on the leakage,
strongly dependent on the geometrical configuration. At large seal
clearances in the planar test rig the honeycombs caused a leakage
reduction up to 21 percent compared to the smooth configuration.
However, with decreasing clearance the sealing performance de-
teriorated. At the smallest seal clearance and the largest honey-
comb diameter investigated, the leakage was 96 percent higher
than the leakage of the configuration with a smooth stator wall.
Brownell and Parker 关10兴 investigated the leakage and the flow
field of several straight-through and stepped-labyrinth seals. In
their experiments, they used a holographic technique to visualize
the isodensity contours of the flow field. In one configuration,
honeycomb lands were attached to a five-stage straight-through
labyrinth seal. Compared to the other cases, the holographic visu-
alization showed a significant change in the isodensity contours.
This change was explained to a direct consequence of a much
lower carryover velocity, i.e., a better sealing performance.
To obtain a more detailed insight into the flow mechanisms that
are responsible for the discharge behavior, the present study ap-
plies both experimental and computational techniques. In order to
demonstrate the influence of the honeycomb land, the investiga-
tions have been conducted for a nonrotating labyrinth with a
smooth stator, as well as for a labyrinth with honeycombs. The
objective of this work is to point out the flow phenomena associ-
ated with such three-dimensional elements. The better understand-
Contributed by the International Gas Turbine Institute 共IGTI兲 of THE AMERICAN
SOCIETY OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS for publication in the JOURNAL OF ENGI-
NEERING FOR GAS TURBINES AND POWER. Paper presented at the International Gas
Turbine and Aeroengine Congress and Exhibition, Munich, Germany, May 8 –11,
2000; Paper 00-GT-291. Manuscript received by IGTI Nov. 1999; final revision
received by ASME Headquarters Feb. 2000. Associate Editor: D. R. Ballal.
ing of the physics of the flow will allow a more efficient employ-
ment of honeycomb facings in future applications.
Figure 1 shows a cross-sectional view of the investigated seal
geometry. A 4:1 scaled-up planar model of typical engine seal was
chosen to obtain better spatial resolution of the LDV measure-
ments. The scaled-up model was employed to obtain detailed in-
formation on the flow field. The investigations have been carried
out for three gap widths s1/t⫽0.043, s2/t⫽0.071, and s3/t
⫽0.114. For the smooth configuration, these gap widths have
been covered in the experiments as well as in the numerical cal-
culations. For the seal with honeycombs, the numerical investiga-
tions have been focused on the largest gap width. To match typical
engine operating conditions, the overall pressure ratio has been
varied from ␲⫽1.03 to 1.6. The honeycombs were aligned with
the first labyrinth tip.
Experimental Setup
The present experiments were carried out in the test facility
which has been used in previous studies of leakage loss and heat
transfer in labyrinth seals 共关3,11,13兴兲. A schematic diagram of a
test facility is shown in Fig. 2. Air can be supplied to the test
section at variable temperatures and pressures. A maximum air
flow rate of 0.5 kg/s can be achieved at a pressure ratio of 2 across
the test section. A bypass valve serves to keep the pressure at the
three parallel orifice meters at a constant value of 3 bar. Depend-
ing on the desired flow rate, one of the three orifice meters is
chosen for the accurate measurement of the mass flow of air. A
high precision differential pressure transducer is used to determine
the pressure drop at the respective orifice meter. An error analysis
yielded an uncertainty in the discharge coefficients of three per-
cent. The intercooler and the heater serve to adjust the temperature
of the air flow. Temperatures up to 400°C can be achieved. Hot air
was used only in the parallel experimental heat transfer investiga-
tions 共关14兴兲. For the present adiabatic flow experiments, the inlet
air temperature was typically 300 K. In order to generate a uni-
form velocity and temperature distribution, a calming section
equipped with several screens and meshes is positioned upstream
of the labyrinth test section.
The labyrinth model contains two main parts. The lower com-
ponent carries the fins and represents the rotor of the labyrinth
seal. The upper part represents the stator and is equipped with or
without a honeycomb structure. Different gap widths are adjusted
by means of spacers. The seal model is mounted directly to the
settling chamber. In order to minimize side effects, the ratio of
channel width to gap width was chosen to be greater than 90.

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 Fig. 1 Geometry of labyrinth seal: h Õ t Ä0.46, H Õ t Ä0.14, b Õ t Ä0.047, HC Õ t Ä0.86, L Õ t
Ä0.23, s Õ t Ä0.043, . . . ,0.114, t Ä28 mm
Fig. 2 Labyrinth seal test facility
For the velocity measurements, a two-dimensional LDV system
was utilized. Optical access to the labyrinth flow was accom-
plished from one side of the test section by means of a glass
window. The set up allowed the acquisition of velocity compo-
nents in the x-y plane. The LDV traverses were conducted in
several planes at sufficiently large distances from the window.
Hence, a potential three-dimensional character of the flow field
could be detected. A more detailed description of the experimental
setup is given in Willenborg et al. 关14兴.
Numerical Approach
For the numerical simulation of the labyrinth seal flow, the
commercial finite volume code, TASCflow3D is used. This soft-
ware solves the compressible time-averaged Navier-Stokes equa-
tions on a nonorthogonal, body-fitted structured grid. A second-
order discretization scheme, the so-called linear profile scheme,
combined with physical advection correction terms is used 共关15兴兲.
The turbulence characteristics of the flow are modeled by the
standard k-⑀ equations. The logarithmic wall function is used
to describe the near-wall velocity. The y ⫹ criterion is met over
almost the entire wall region. Critical locations for applying
the logarithmic law are the regions of stagnation points and
the regions inside the honeycomb cells, where minimum y ⫹
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has relatively low values. However, as shown in earlier publica-
tions 共关4,12,16兴兲, this turbulence model is capable of simulating
the labyrinth flow.
Due to the different geometrical topologies of the actual
labyrinth and the honeycombs, the spatial discretization with a
structured grid is critical. A grid adapting the labyrinth-grid
topology to the honeycomb-grid topology results in massively
distorted control volumes in the transition region between the
labyrinth tip and the facing. Consequently, the convergence be-
havior deteriorates and the accuracy of discretization is reduced.
In some cases, it is even impossible to obtain a converged solu-
tion. To avoid this difficulty, a ‘‘general grid interface’’ imple-
mented in TASCFlow3D is used 共关15兴兲. This feature allows the
connection of two grids with nonfitting nodal points. In the
present study, it serves to connect the labyrinth with the honey-
comb geometry.
A computational grid following this approach is shown in Fig.
3. Since only axial flow is admitted, the grid takes advantage of
the symmetric properties of the seal geometry respective to the
x-y plane. Hence, only half honeycombs are modeled. The grid
consists of 34 blocks with a total number of 92,000 grid nodes. In
case of the smooth configuration, only the lower part of the pre-
sented grid is used in the computations and the ‘‘general grid
interface’’ is replaced by a wall boundary condition. For the
JANUARY 2002, Vol. 124 Õ 141
 Fig. 3 Computational grid, configuration with honeycombs

smooth configuration, studies on refined computational grids

showed the grid independence of the computational results. Veloc-
ity, temperature, and turbulence quantities are defined at the inlet
s eff⫽ 冑冉 冊 L⫺b
2
2
⫹s nom
2
. (1)

of the seal. In addition, the walls are defined to be adiabatic and
the outlet pressure is chosen to be ambient, in agreement with the
experimental conditions.
Geometrical Considerations
Besides preventing mechanical failure, another purpose of the
honeycomb facing is to reduce leakage through the seal. Pursuing
this task, it has to be kept in mind that the honeycomb facing
changes the boundary conditions near the tip of the fin. This is a
region where the discharge behavior is extremely sensitive to
small geometrical variations. A first step in estimating the influ-
ence of a honeycomb facing on the leakage is to describe the
change of the gap width. In this context, Zimmermann 关17兴 men-
tions an enlarged effective gap width, especially at small clear-
ances. In Fig. 4, it is shown that the effective gap width, s eff , can
be substantially larger than the nominal clearance, s nom , in the
presence of honeycombs. If the tip thickness, b, is smaller than the
honeycomb diameter, L, the effective gap width, s eff , for a tip
centered below the honeycomb opening becomes
For b larger than L, the effective gap width, s eff , is equal to s nom .
Equation 共1兲 is valid for the case, where the tip is centered below
the opening of the honeycomb. For positions with the tip aligned
to a web of the honeycombs, the nominal gap width, s nom , takes
effect. A simple geometrical consideration finally leads to an av-
eraged gap width, s mean .
1 1
s eff⫹ s nom
s mean 2 2
␨ geom⫽ ⫽ (2)
s nom s nom
The parameter ␨ geom describes the averaged change of the
cross-sectional area available for the through flow and gives an
estimate for the increase of leakage. However, additional effects
like a changed flow field or an increased roughness caused by the
honeycomb facing are not considered by Eq. 共2兲. In Fig. 5, ␨ geom is
plotted for different ratios of b/L and s nom /L. For increasing val-
ues of s nom /L, the parameter ␨ geom shows an asymptotic trend
towards a value of 1. In turn, ␨ geom diverges for decreasing ratios
of s nom /L. This behavior agrees well with the observations made

Fig. 4 Geometric situation near the gap, configuration with honeycombs

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Fig. 5 Estimated influence of honeycomb facing on seal
leakage
by Stocker 关9兴 for straight-through labyrinth seals with smooth
and honeycomb stator. Stocker recommended that honeycomb
lands should be selected carefully for applications with small seal
clearances. While the smooth configuration performed better in
this situation, the roughness of the honeycomb lands became pre-
dominant at large clearances. Here Stocker observed a leakage
reduction. To minimize the leakage through labyrinth seals with
honeycomb facing, preferably values of b/L⬇1 or b/L⬎1 should
be chosen. For such ratios, the values of ␨ geom are approximately 1
for a wide range of nominal gap clearances. For the geometry
employed in the present investigation, b/L is fixed at 0.19 and
s nom /L is varied between 0.19 and 0.52. Hence, using Eqs. 共1兲 and
共2兲, the maximum relative increase of leakage is estimated to be
66 percent. In the results section, ␨ geom will be used for compari-
son with the leakage change due to the honeycombs.
Results: Smooth Configuration
Flow Field. Figure 6 shows the flow field obtained for the
smooth configuration for two gap widths, s1 and s3. For clarity,
every second velocity vector in each direction is omitted for the
Fig. 6 Flow field, smooth configuration, ␲Ä1.1
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CFD data. The overall pressure ratio was set to ␲⫽1.1. All veloc-
ity data have been normalized by an ideal velocity, c s , which can
be derived assuming isentropic expansion:
c s⫽ 冑 2RT 0
␬
␬ ⫺1
共 1⫺ ␲ 共 1⫺ ␬ 兲 / ␬ 兲 . (3)
The flow patterns show a distinct dependence on the gap width.
In the first case 共gap width s1, Fig. 6共a兲兲, the fluid passes the
labyrinth gap and impinges on the step. The jet is then deflected
by almost 90 deg and directed towards the bottom of the labyrinth
chamber beneath the step. Inside the cavity the jet separates two
counter-rotating equally sized recirculation zones. The results for
gap width s2 共not displayed in Fig. 6兲 show a flow field similar to
the one obtained for gap width s1. Note that the stagnation point
below the step has shifted slightly downstream 共positive
x-direction兲 compared to gap width s1. In case of gap width s3
共Fig. 6共b兲兲, the shape of the flow field has changed distinctly. Due
to the lower ratio of H/s, the flow deflection at the step is re-
duced. The position of the jet impingement zone on the rotor has
moved from the position below the step to the flank of the down-
stream labyrinth fin. For the adjusted overall pressure ratios, suf-
ficiently away from choking conditions, the influence of the pres-
sure ratio on the shape of the flow field was observed to be very
small.
Discharge Coefficients. A dimensionless discharge coeffi-
cient is defined to quantify the leakage behavior:
ṁ
C D⫽ . (4)
ṁ ideal
In Eq. 共4兲, the leakage mass flow rate ṁ is taken from experi-
ments or the CFD analysis. ṁ ideal stands for a theoretical mass
flow for isentropic conditions:
ṁ ideal⫽
p 0A
冑T 0
冑 2␬
R 共 ␬ ⫺1 兲
冋冉 冊 冉 冊 册
1
␲
2/␬
⫺
1
␲
共 ␬ ⫹1 兲 / ␬
. (5)
In this formula, ␲ represents the ratio of the inlet and outlet pres-
sure ( ␲ ⫽p 0 /p ⬁ ). The cross-sectional area of the gap is calcu-
lated as A⫽B•s nom .
Figure 7 shows experimental and numerical results for the
smooth configuration. Like the shape of the flow field, the leakage
behavior depends strongly on the gap width, s. The discharge
JANUARY 2002, Vol. 124 Õ 143
 Fig. 7 Discharge coefficients, smooth configuration

coefficients decrease with increasing gap width. The linear rise of

C D with increasing pressure ratio can be reproduced by a simple
Fanno-line analysis, which assumes an isentropic expansion
across the fins and an isobaric dissipation within the labyrinth
cavities. For a given overall pressure ratio and a given number
of fins, the cavity pressure and the leakage flow rate of this
ideal labyrinth can be calculated. The same linear and progres-
sive behavior of the discharge coefficients with pressure ratio
is shown for the present experimental and numerical results.
For pressure ratios up to ␲⫽1.3, the measured discharge coeffi-
cients and the numerically obtained values agree very well. With
increasing ␲, the CFD results deviate slightly from those ob-
tained experimentally. The averaged relative deviation ((C D,CFD Fig. 8 Computed flow field, ␲Ä1.1, s 3
⫺C D,EX P )/C D,EX P ) approximates to 1.4 percent, the maximum
relative deviation is 3.6 percent.
cal variation of geometry provokes a shift of the flow path into the
honeycombs, as it has been already shown for the gap width s3
Results: Configuration With Honeycomb Facing 共Fig. 9兲.
For the smallest gap width, s1, the angle of the velocity vectors
Flow Field. Figure 8 shows the computed flow field for the
towards and away from the honeycomb land 共Fig. 11兲 is greater
configuration with honeycombs at two lateral positions z1 and z2.
than for gap width s3 共Fig. 10兲. This results in a more distinct
The gap width is fixed for s3. For clarity, every second velocity
deflection of the flow towards the bottom of the labyrinth chamber
vector in each direction is omitted. The shape of the flow field is
directly downstream of the fin tip. Hence, for the present configu-
similar to the smooth configuration at s3. Inside the honeycombs,
ration, the honeycombs do not act as an additional roughness el-
recirculation zones occur that are driven by the viscous shear layer
ement but change the global structure of the flow field by a mac-
at the opening of the honeycombs. The intensity and the shape of
roscopic variation of the geometry.
these recirculation zones change with the position of the honey-
combs relative to the labyrinth tips and the step on the stator. The Discharge Coefficients. The influence of the honeycombs on
flow pattern inside the honeycombs is further influenced by the the discharge behavior is described by the ratio of the discharge
height of these elements. A more detailed illustration of the flow coefficient for the configuration with honeycombs to the value for
field in the vicinity of the first tip is given in Fig. 9. At the lateral the smooth configuration.
position z1 where the tip is centered beneath the opening of a
honeycomb cell, part of the air uses the additional area provided
by the honeycomb cell to overflow the fin. The main flow is
slightly deflected towards the bottom of the labyrinth cavity. At
the lateral position z2, the flow direction is distinctly less affected
by the honeycombs. The air passes the gap similar to the flow case
with a smooth stator.
The flow field from the LDV-measurements is shown in Fig. 10
共gap width s3兲 and Fig. 11 共gap width s1兲 for the two lateral
positions, z1 and z2, respectively. Although the planes z1 and z2 of
the experimental investigations do not exactly match the planes
displayed in Figs. 8 and 9 due to a not perfectly manufactured
honeycomb facing, the experimental results agree well with the
numerical predictions 共compare Fig. 10 with Fig. 8兲. Compared to
the smooth configuration, the flow field changes substantially at
the gap width s1 共see Fig. 6 and Fig. 11兲. Near the tip, the influ-
ence of the honeycomb land becomes most predominant. The lo- Fig. 9 Flow field detail „CFD…

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Fig. 10 Flow field with honeycombs „LDV…, s 3, ␲Ä1.1
C D,HC
␨⫽ (6)
C D,SMOOTH
Both C D,HC and C D,SMOOTH are calculated using the nominal gap
width to describe the cross-sectional area at the tip (A⫽B
•s nom). The parameter ␨, determined in the present study, and the
data presented by Stocker 关9兴 are compared in Fig. 12. The geo-
metrical parameter ␨ geom is also plotted in this diagram. The ex-
perimental data acquired in the present study show a behavior
similar to the results reported by Stocker for a straight-through
labyrinth seal. The comparison made between ␨ and ␨ geom shows
that ␨ geom is an appropriate parameter to qualitatively describe the
effect of a local variation of the seal geometry. The geometrical
change near the gap caused by the attachment of a honeycomb
land dominates the discharge behavior for the present seal con-
figuration as well as for the smaller clearances investigated by
Stocker. The numerical flow simulation for the gap width s3 had a
maximum relative deviation from the measured discharge coeffi-
cients of 6.8 percent. Considering the geometrical complexity of
the investigated flow problem, the agreement between the experi-
mental discharge data and numerical simulation results is excel-
lent. As shown in Fig. 12, the predicted leakage increase param-
eter ␨ is in good agreement with the measured data. The
differences of the values for ␨ for the straight-through labyrinth
Fig. 11 Flow field with honeycombs „LDV…, s 1, ␲1.1
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Fig. 12 Influence of honeycomb-lands on discharge
characteristics
and the stepped labyrinth in Fig. 12 can be attributed to the dif-
ferent flow fields. In case of the straight-through labyrinth, the
main flow is in direct contact with the honeycomb structure at the
stator over the whole length of the seal. This direct contact and
hence the interaction of the main flow with the honeycomb struc-
ture is significantly reduced for the stepped labyrinth seal because
of the strong deflection of the main flow at the steps of the stator.
Therefore, roughness effects are expected to have a stronger leak-
age reducing impact on the flow for straight-through labyrinth
seals.
To completely describe the influence of honeycombs on the
discharge behavior, the combination of geometrical effects and
roughness effects have to be considered. Geometrical effects can
occur from the honeycomb structure as well as from the stepped
or straight-through labyrinth seal geometry. Whereas the former
includes changes in the effective seal clearance, the latter de-
scribes the dependence of the flow pattern on the basic seal design
共e.g., stepped straight-through兲. In the present study, a strategy to
describe the effective gap width depending on seal and honey-
comb geometry has been developed. A possible approach to con-
sider roughness effects may be based on friction factors as pro-
vided by Ha and Childs 关18,19兴. For a complete understanding of
the influence of honeycombs on the flow through labyrinth seals,
further investigations including more geometrical variations are
needed.
Conclusions
Results of a combined experimental and numerical investiga-
tion have been presented. The numerical results give insight into
the flow patterns inside the labyrinth seal and agree well with the
velocity data that have been obtained using LDV. For the smooth
wall configuration, the flow pattern showed a distinct dependence
on the gap width. This dependence is well reflected by the dis-
charge coefficients, which continuously increase with decreasing
seal clearance. The influence of the overall pressure ratio on the
qualitative structure of the flow field is negligible while the dis-
charge coefficients show a linear increase with increasing pressure
ratio. A significant influence of the honeycomb structure on the
flow field and the discharge characteristics has been observed. The
honeycomb facing provides an enlarged effective gap width and
results in an increased leakage mass-flow rate. Compared to the
smooth configuration, the dependence of the flow field on the gap
width is significantly reduced. The numerical results show details
of the flow above the seal fin into the honeycomb structure. Both
the numerical simulation results and the LDV data show the de-
velopment of a three-dimensional velocity field due to the three-
dimensional geometry of the honeycomb structure. The character-
JANUARY 2002, Vol. 124 Õ 145
 istic influence of honeycomb facings on the discharge behavior References
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s mean ⫽ mean seal clearance or gap width 共m兲 Seal Flow,’’ Computational Fluid Dynamics 94, John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.,
SM ⫽ smooth configuration London.
t ⫽ pitch 共m兲 关17兴 Zimmermann, H., and Wolff, K. H., 1998, ‘‘Air System Correlations, Part 1:
T0 ⫽ inlet temperature 共T兲 Labyrinth Seals,’’ ASME Paper 98-GT-206.
␨ ⫽ leakage increase parameter 关18兴 Ha, T. W., and Childs, D. W., 1992, ‘‘Friction-Factor Data for Flat Plate Tests
of Smooth and Honeycomb Surfaces,’’ ASME J. Tribol., 114, pp. 722–730.
␨ geom ⫽ geometrical leakage increase parameter 关19兴 Ha, T. W., and Childs, D. W., 1994, ‘‘Annular Honeycomb-Stator Turbulent
␲ ⫽ pressure ratio (p 0 /p ⬁ ) Gas Seal Analysis Using a New Friction-Factor Model Based on Flat Plate
␬ ⫽ ratio of specific heats Tests,’’ ASME J. Tribol., 116, pp. 352–360.

146 Õ Vol. 124, JANUARY 2002 Transactions of the ASME

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