Virtual Element Method for Multi-physics Coupling Analysis of High-temperature Dynamic Seals

  • Zheng, Yong-Tong (Nanchang University)

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High-temperature dynamic seals are the structures used to seal movable clearances in high-temperature environments. The essential components of these seals are the fiber-braided seal strips. When it is working, the strip is subjected to a transverse preload, decreasing its porosity and restricting gas flow to achieve sealing. To implement seal design, a multi-physics coupling analysis is essential, which are supposed to involve the deformation, heat transfer, seepage and the interactions among these physical processes. In this report, thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) coupled model is used to describe these seals. Due to the flexibility in mesh generation, virtual element method (VEM) is employed to solve the equations in THM model. In order to avoid the stabilization term in VEM, a stabilization-free technique is employed. The gradients of physical variables are projected onto the second-order polynomial space, thereby avoiding rank deficiency in the element stiffness matrix. Therefore, the stabilization term is needed no more. The results show that even though non-convex polygonal elements are used, the VE-analysis is still able to offer the displacement distribution that were highly consistent with those provided by the finite element method.