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Abstract
A new analytical approach is presented for designing controllers to regulate the axial clearance of a coned-face flexibly mounted stator mechanical gas face seal. The seal axial clearance is controlled by regulating the back-pressure force acting on the stator. The controllers are systematically designed using a completely analytical seal system model in which the linearized gas film stiffness and damping properties are represented by a constitutive model. An algorithm based on this model is derived to calculate the critical axial clearance where the seal is marginally stable, and a stable reference axial clearance is chosen. Proportional and proportional-plus-integral controllers are designed and analytically studied in terms of closed-loop stability and speed of response using the system model. The controllers are verified using a full numerical simulation (including nonlinear effects) of the mechanical gas face seal system, and the results demonstrate the effectiveness of both controllers to maintain the reference axial clearance.
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Presented at the STLE 59th Annual Meeting in Toronto, Ontario, Canada