Diaphragm and labyrinth seal assembly for gas turbines

Claim 1

In a gas turbine machine having at least one stator vane assembly and one rotor blade assembly, including a rotor disc, disposed within a housing and an inner wall spaced inwardly from the housing to define with the latter an inlet passageway for conducting combustion gases to said stator vane assembly, an improved diaphragm and labyrinth seal assembly comprising: a. a diaphragm means disposed adjacent to the rotor disc of said rotor blade assembly to define with the rotor disc a cooling fluid chamber; b. each vane of stator vane assembly having a root portion; c. a first slipjoint connecting means for connecting said root portions of said stator vanes to the diaphragm means so that relative radial movement is permitted between the stator vanes and diaphragm means due to thermal differential expansion and contraction; d. a source of cooling fluid in communication with the fluid chamber to provide the latter with cooling fluid; e. a labyrinth seal disposed between the diaphragm means and the rotor blade assembly; f. one part of said labyrinth seal being carried by diaphragm means while another part is carried by the rotor blade assembly; and g. a second slipjoint connecting means for connecting the diaphragm means to the inner wall of the inlet passageway so that thermal differential expansion and contraction in a radial direction is permitted between the inner wall and said diaphragm means; h. said first and second slipjoint connecting means coacting to permit relative radial movement between the diaphragm means and said inner wall and stator vanes without affecting the cooperative relationship of said labyrinth seal parts.