A dedicated test bench is employed to record acoustic emission signals from dry gas seals under various operating conditions. Time-domain and frequency-domain analysis methods are utilized to process and analyze the acoustic emission signals during start/stop, stable operation, and two common fault states (end-face defects and compensation spring failure). Furthermore, feature recognition research is conducted. A method for identifying the operational states of seals (low-speed friction, gradual detachment, stable operation) based on the root mean square (RMS) was established, with transition points at speeds of 100 and 1000 RPM, respectively. Additionally, spectral analysis is conducted using Fourier transform to determine the frequency band of acoustic emission signals (240–320 kHz) generated during contact wear of dry gas seals. Investigation into two typical faults of dry gas seals reveals that the RMS value of the acoustic emission signal gradually increases with the rotational speed during the operation of dry gas seal end-face defects. This is attributed to the insufficient dynamic pressure effect on the end face, resulting in long-term wear and tear. When the dry gas seal compensates for spring failure, the RMS value of the acoustic emission signal initially increases, then decreases, and finally increases again as the speed increases. It reaches the stable operating inflection point when the end-face speed is 800 r/min.

High-performance aeroengine design is an important component of modern industry, and advanced sealing technology is a key technology to meet the engine fuel consumption rate, thrust-to-weight ratio, pollutant emission, durability, and lifetime. Reducing the internal airflow leakage of the engine through a sealing technology can improve the performance and efficiency of the engine. In this paper, the typical sealing technology for an aeroengine is introduced in more detail, including the structural characteristics and use limitations of the labyrinth seal, brush seal, honeycomb seal, gas film face seal, and cylindrical gas film seal. It focuses on the development history, typical structure type, working principle, basic technology research method, steady-state performance, dynamic characteristics, multi-physical field coupling, structural deformation, experimental testing, processing technology. Finally, it summarizes the problems and future development trends of the current application of the cylindrical gas film seal in aeroengines, and points out that the seal performance test and evaluation based on advanced composite sensor technology and the innovative design of the seal based on new material, a new principle, and a new structure will be the new research direction.

In various fields, micro-textures have been successfully applied to the surface of friction pairs to effectively improve flow field and friction performance. This paper aims to investigate how different textures affect the sealing performance of compliant foil gas film seals. In theoretical simulations, a facile method for characterizing the shape of micro-textures is proposed, and the equilibrium relationship between the gas film pressure, gas film thickness, and foil deformation is established. The transient Reynolds equation considering the eccentric convergence problem and abrupt Rayleigh step changes is solved to analyze the static and dynamic characteristics. The results show that (i) compared with the directionality of the texture, the gas volume accommodated by the texture has a greater impact on the sealing performance, and a convergent texture can effectively control the leakage rate; (ii) when the texture depth exceeds 9 μm, the sealing system may be unstable; (iii) the compliant foil seal is well suited to higher-speed service conditions, and the inverted triangular texture shows the best comprehensive sealing performance.

Aiming at the compliant end face gas film seal structure, based on the linearized Boltzmann equation, the Poiseuille flow coefficient is introduced, and the generalized Reynolds equation and the sealing performance parameter solution formula considering the boundary slip flow effect are established. Through Newton–Raphson iterative calculation, the degree of influence of the slip flow effect under different working conditions is analyzed, and the internal relationship between structural parameters and sealing performance is compared. The results show that the slip flow effect can have a large impact on the pressure distribution in the fluid field close to the low-pressure side. Due to the existence of the step phenomenon of boundary velocity, it is not conducive to increasing the gas film opening force and controlling the mass leakage rate, but it can play a positive role in reducing the viscous friction power consumption. In the case of a smaller sealing gas film thickness and lower medium pressure, the slip flow effect is significant, which will have a greater impact on the sealing performance, and at this time, the slip flow effect can not be ignored. In addition, the change in seal structure parameters will also have a large impact on the sealing performance. With an increase in the wave foil thickness, the compliant end face evolves towards the rigid end face, the fluid wedge effect is weakened, and the gas film opening force and mass leakage rate are reduced. The stiffness-to-leakage ratio shows a strong nonlinear decreasing trend with an increase in the wave foil chord length and pitch, which eventually tends to a stable value. The results of this paper provide a theoretical basis for the matching design of the structural parameters of compliant end-face gas film seals under different service conditions.

The emergence of dry gas seals has revolutionized the form of fluid sealing. The traditional research and analysis of dry gas seals is carried out by considering the lubricating medium gas as an ideal gas, but at this stage, the sealing application environment is complicated, so it is necessary to consider the real gas effect of the lubricating medium gas to expand and break through the design system of dry gas seals. We choose seven common lubricating media in dry gas seal applications and screen the optimal density expression of the real gas using different real gas equations of state. Then, we study the extent to which the compression factors of different lubricating gases deviate from the ideal gas and analyze the errors of different real gas equations of state. These results can provide an optimal expression to clarify the mechanism by which the real gas effect affects the dry gas seal performance, which helps to grasp the nature of dry gas seals, predict the dry gas seal behavior, and guide the dry gas seal application.