阅读说明：本技术 包括具有可变单元密度的耐磨元件的迷宫式密封件 (Labyrinth seal comprising wear elements with variable cell density ) 是由 克莱门特·拉斐尔·拉罗什 于 2020-04-10 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及一种用于特别是飞行器的涡轮机的迷宫式密封件,该迷宫式密封件包括转子元件和围绕该转子元件延伸的定子元件,该转子元件适于围绕具有轴向方向(DA)的旋转轴线相对于定子元件旋转,该转子元件包括环形唇部,该环形唇部具有朝向由定子元件承载的耐磨元件(57)延伸的外径向端部,该环形唇部的外径向端部具有沿着轴向方向(DA)的波纹和与该波纹相关的非零轴向范围(E-(5)),耐磨元件(57)包括多个单元(50a,50b),多个单元被布置成沿着轴向方向(DA)和正交方向(O)彼此相邻,单元(50a,50b)包括沿着大致径向方向延伸的壁,单元根据第一单元密度分布在耐磨元件的第一致密环形区域(Z-(51))中,所述致密环形区域(Z-(51))被定位成与唇部的所述径向端部相对,所述致密环形区域的轴向范围小于或等于唇部的外径向端部的轴向范围,单元根据所述第一区域外的参考单元密度分布,第一密度大于参考密度。(The invention relates to a labyrinth seal for a turbomachine, in particular an aircraft, comprising a rotor element and a stator element extending around the rotor element, the rotor element being adapted to rotate relative to the stator element about an axis of rotation having an axial Direction (DA), the rotor element comprising an annular lip having an outer radial end extending towards a wear element (57) carried by the stator element, the outer radial end of the annular lip having a corrugation along the axial Direction (DA) and a non-zero axial extent (E) associated with the corrugation 5 ) The wear element (57) comprises a plurality of cells (50a, 50b) arranged adjacent to each other along an axial Direction (DA) and an orthogonal direction (O), the cells (50a, 50b) comprising walls extending along a substantially radial direction, the cells being distributed according to a first cell density in a first dense annular zone (Z) of the wear element 51 ) In the dense annular region (Z) 51 ) Positioned opposite said radial end of the lip, the axial extent of said dense annular region being less than or equal to the axial extent of the outer radial end of the lip, the cells being distributed according to a reference cell density outside said first region, the first density being greater than the reference density.)

1. Labyrinth seal (10) for a turbomachine, in particular an aircraft, comprising a rotor element (1) and a stator element (3) extending around the rotor element (1), the rotor element (1) being adapted to rotate relative to the stator element (3) about an axis of rotation (A) along an axial Direction (DA), the rotor element (1) comprising an annular wiper (35b) having an outer radial end extending towards a wear element (57) carried by the stator element (3), the outer radial end of the annular wiper (35b) having a corrugation along the axial Direction (DA) and a non-zero axial extent (E) related to the corrugation₅) -said wear-resistant element (57) comprises a plurality of cells (50a, 50b) arranged adjacent to each other along said axial Direction (DA) and orthogonal direction (O), -said cells (50a, 50b) comprise walls extending along a substantially radial direction, characterized in that said cells are distributed according to a first cell density over said cellsFirst dense annular zone (Z) of the wear element₅₁，Z₆₁) In the dense annular region (Z)₅₁，Z₆₁) Positioned facing the radial end of the wiper, the axial extent of the dense annular region being less than or equal to the axial extent of the outer radial end of the wiper, the cells being distributed according to a reference cell density outside the first region, the first density being greater than the reference density.

2. Labyrinth seal according to claim 1, wherein the cells are distributed in a second dense annular zone (Z) of the wear element (67) according to a second and a third cell density, respectively₆₂) And a third dense annular zone (Z)₆₃) Each of the first, second and third dense annular regions is adapted to be positioned facing the outer radial end of the wiper during different phases of flight of the aircraft, the second and third densities each being greater than the reference density.

3. The labyrinth seal as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the axial extent of at least one dense annular region is between 40% and 100% of the axial extent of the outer radial end of the wiper.

4. The labyrinth seal as recited in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of cells has a honeycomb shape.

5. The labyrinth seal of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of cells in the dense annular region have a disc, square, triangular, or diamond shape.

6. Method for manufacturing a labyrinth seal (10) for a turbomachine, in particular an aircraft, comprising a rotor element (1) and a skirtA stator element (3) extending around the rotor element (1), the rotor element (1) being adapted to rotate relative to the stator element (3) about an axis of rotation (A) along an axial Direction (DA), the rotor element (1) comprising an annular wiper (35b) having an outer radial end extending towards a wear element (57) carried by the stator element (3), the outer radial end of the annular wiper (35b) having a corrugation along the axial Direction (DA) and a non-zero axial extent (E) related to the corrugation₅) -the wear element (57) comprises a plurality of cells (50a, 50b) arranged adjacent to each other along the axial Direction (DA) and orthogonal direction (O), -the cells (50a, 50b) comprise walls extending along a substantially radial direction, the method comprising the steps of:

-manufacturing the wiper;

-manufacturing the wear element comprising a first dense annular zone (Z)₅₁，Z₆₁) Said first dense annular zone being positioned facing said outer radial end of said wiper, said dense annular zone (Z)₅₁，Z₆₁) Having a first cell density, the axial extent of the dense annular region being less than or equal to the axial extent of the outer radial end of the wiper, the cells being distributed according to a reference cell density outside the first dense annular region, the reference cell density being less than the first cell density.

7. Method for manufacturing a labyrinth seal according to claim 6, wherein the manufacture of the wear-resistant element further comprises the manufacture of a second dense annular zone (Z) of the wear-resistant element separately (Z)₆₂) And a third dense annular zone (Z)₆₃) Said cells being distributed according to a second and a third cell density, respectively, each of said first, second and third dense annular regions being positioned facing the outer radial end of the wiper during different phases of flight of the aircraft, said second and third densities each being greater than the reference density.

8. The method for manufacturing a labyrinth seal according to claim 6 or 7, which further comprises the steps of:

-measuring the axial extent of the outer radial end of the wiper;

-determining the axial extent of at least one dense annular zone between 40% and 100% of the measure of the axial extent of the outer radial end of the wiper.

9. The method for manufacturing a labyrinth seal according to claim 8, which further comprises the steps of:

-determining the cell density of at least one dense annular region by taking into account the measurement of the axial extent of the outer radial end of the wiper.

10. The method for manufacturing a labyrinth seal according to any of claims 6 to 9, wherein the manufacture of the wear-resistant element comprises the manufacture of cells having a honeycomb shape.

11. The method for manufacturing a labyrinth seal according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein the manufacture of the wear-resistant element comprises manufacture in a dense annular region with cells having the shape of a disc, a square, a triangle or a rhombus.

12. A turbomachine comprising a labyrinth seal according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

Technical Field

The invention relates to a labyrinth seal for a turbomachine, in particular an aircraft.

Background

Turbines are known to be equipped with labyrinth seals, which are dynamic seals, the tightness of which is provided by one or several rotating wipers. As shown in fig. 1, the wiper 5 is carried by the rotor element 1 of the turbine 10 rotating about the axial direction a within the stator element 3 and is surrounded by a wear element 7, for example a block or a coating of wear-resistant material carried by the stator element 3.

The purpose of the wear element 7 is to protect the wiper 5 from the risk of wear due to contact with the stator element 3 surrounding the wiper. For example, contact with the wear element 7 may be avoided or otherwise sought to optimize the radial clearance J around the wiper. The type of wear element 7 and wiper 5 can be adjusted accordingly.

This technique can be used to provide a seal at the top of the blades of the rotor wheel, which carry annular, possibly segmented, wipers surrounded by wear elements carried by the stator housing (see in particular FR-a 1-3001759). This technique may also be used to provide a seal between the shaft or journal portion of the turbine and the stator. The number and size of the wipers depends in particular on the radial space available between the elements to be sealed.

The wiper and the wear element, which are arranged facing each other, are annular parts in the same axial direction (indicated with a in fig. 1). The wiper extends radially toward the wear member. In operation, the radial end of the wiper facing the wear element has the function of disturbing the air flow which attempts to flow from upstream to downstream between the rotor element and the stator element. This creates turbulence in the air flow, which creates a pressure drop and thus improves the tightness of the seal.

As shown in fig. 2, the wear-resistant element 27 has a cylindrical shape around the axial direction a. The wear element 27 may comprise a plurality of cells 20 extending in a substantially radial direction. The cells 20 have walls 22 and are arranged adjacent to each other along the axial direction a and the orthogonal direction O. The presence of the cells 20 helps to create turbulence in the airflow.

In particular, the cells may have a honeycomb shape.

Fig. 4 shows an axial cross section of the wear element 47 and the wiper 41 positioned facing each other. In operation, as shown in fig. 4, the wear elements and wipers 41 have the function of disrupting the air flow 43 which attempts to flow between the wear elements 47 and wipers 41 from upstream to downstream (i.e., from left to right in the figure). The end 45 of the wiper 41 creates turbulence in the air flow, thereby creating a pressure drop and thus increasing the seal tightness. At each wiper 41 to be crossed, the air flow 43 is disturbed upstream of the wiper 41, passing inside the unit 40 of the wear element 47 along the wall 42 of the unit 40, then downstream of the wiper 41, following a sudden increase in the passage section after crossing the wiper. The area 44 located at the edge of the unit of wear elements and facing the end 45 of the wiper corresponds to an area where the air is disturbed and cannot be made to flow normally and completely until the downstream side of the wiper 41 enters the unit 40.

Fig. 3a shows the annular wear element 37a in a situation where the ring has been axially cut at a certain angle and then opened and laid flat. The wear-resistant element 37a comprises a unit 30a arranged along the direction D of the axis of rotation a_AAnd the orthogonal direction O are adjacent to each other. The wiper 35a is shown in perspective view rotating within the wear element 37 a. The dashed line 39a shows the wiper being positioned at 35aFacing the position of the point at the end where the wear element 37a is located. In this case, the broken line 39a is in the orthogonal direction, which means that the end of the wiper 37a has a regular circular shape as shown by the wiper 35a in the perspective view.

For certain types of turbojet engines, the temperatures reached in operation may require the wiper to be made of a material that provides particularly high thermal strength.

These materials also have a high mechanical flexibility, so that the wipers produced do not have satisfactory mechanical strength. In particular, the shape of the wiper intended to be arranged at the radial end facing the wear element may have irregularities and the radial end shape may deviate from the shape of a regular circle.

This is illustrated in fig. 3b, which shows the annular wear element 37b cut axially at a particular angle as previously shown, and then opened and laid flat. The wear element 37b comprises a unit 30b arranged along the direction D of the axis of rotation a_AAnd the orthogonal direction O are adjacent to each other. The wiper 35b rotates within the wear element 37 b. Dashed line 39b shows the location of a point positioned at the outer radial end of wiper 35b located facing wear element 37 b. In this case, the dotted line 39b does not completely follow the orthogonal direction and has a corrugation in the axial direction, the corrugation's protuberances 33 being shown in fig. 3 b. This is because the points forming the outer radial end of the wiper do not have the same position in the axial direction. These points are distributed in the axial direction along the corrugation of the broken line 39 b. In the rest of the text, this is dictated by the axial corrugation of the outer radial end of the wiper 37 b. This axially corrugated protrusion 31 of the outer radial end is shown in fig. 3 b.

In this case, the shape of the outer radial end deviates from the shape of a regular circle, and the tightness of the seal is lowered.

The undulations or deviations in the form of regular circles may pass through the axial extent E of the outer radial end of the wiper in relation to the undulations along the axial direction of the end of the wiper₃To characterize. The axial range E₃Can be calculated as the rotation of the corrugations along the turbineThe length of the axis, or equivalently the direction D of the line 39b in the direction of the axis of rotation A_AProjection of (2). A tolerance may be associated with the axial extent such that during manufacture of the wiper, the axial extent of the outer radial end of the wiper is less than the tolerance.

The invention proposes an increase in the tightness of the seal in the case of a wiper having an outer radial end shaped with axial corrugations and a non-zero axial extent associated with the corrugations.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to improve the tightness of the seal in the case of a wiper whose radial end is shaped with a corrugation and a non-zero axial extent associated with the corrugation.

Another object of the invention is to obtain an increase in the tightness of the seal, whatever the flight phase of the aircraft, in the case where the shape of the radial end of the wiper has a corrugation and a non-zero axial extent associated with this corrugation.

To this end, according to a first aspect of the invention, a labyrinth seal for a turbomachine, in particular an aircraft, is proposed, comprising a rotor element and a stator element extending around the rotor element, the rotor element being adapted to rotate in an axial direction about a rotation axis with respect to the stator element, the rotor element comprising an annular wiper having an outer radial end extending towards a wear element carried by the stator element, the outer radial end of the annular wiper having a corrugation in the axial direction and a non-zero axial extent associated with the corrugation, the wear element comprising a plurality of cells arranged adjacent to each other in the axial direction and in an orthogonal direction, the cells comprising walls extending in a substantially radial direction, the cells being distributed according to a first cell density in a first dense annular region of the wear element, said dense annular region being positioned so as to face the radial end of the wiper, the axial extent of said dense annular region is less than or equal to the axial extent of the outer radial end of the wiper, the cells are distributed according to a reference cell density outside said first region, the first density being greater than the reference density.

Advantageously but optionally, the labyrinth seal may have one of the following features or one of the possible combinations of these features:

-the cells are distributed in a second and a third densified annular region of the wear-resistant element, respectively, according to a second and a third cell density, respectively, each of the first, second and third densified annular regions being adapted to be positioned facing the outer radial end of the wiper during different phases of flight of the aircraft, the second and third densities each being greater than a reference density;

-the axial extent of the at least one dense annular zone is between 40% and 100% of the axial extent of the outer radial end of the wiper;

-at least a portion of the plurality of cells has a honeycomb shape;

-at least a portion of the plurality of cells in the dense annular region have a disc, square, triangular or diamond shape;

according to a second aspect of the invention, there is also proposed a method for manufacturing a labyrinth seal for a turbomachine, in particular an aircraft, the labyrinth seal comprising a rotor element and a stator element extending around the rotor element, the rotor element being adapted to rotate in an axial direction about an axis of rotation relative to the stator element, the rotor element comprising an annular wiper having an outer radial end extending towards a wear element carried by the stator element, the outer radial end of the annular wiper having a corrugation in the axial direction and a non-zero axial extent associated with the corrugation, the wear element comprising a plurality of cells arranged adjacent to one another in the axial direction and in an orthogonal direction, the cells comprising a wall extending in a substantially radial direction, the method comprising the steps of:

-manufacturing a wiper;

-manufacturing a wear element comprising a first dense annular region positioned facing the outer radial end of the wiper, said dense annular region having a first cell density, the axial extent of said dense annular region being less than or equal to the axial extent of the outer radial end of the wiper, the cells being distributed according to a reference cell density outside the first dense annular region, the reference cell density being less than the first cell density.

Advantageously but optionally, the manufacturing method may have one of the following features or one of the possible combinations of these features:

-manufacturing a second and a third densified annular region, respectively, of the wear-resistant element, the units being distributed according to a second and a third unit density, respectively, each of the first, second and third densified annular regions being positioned to face the outer radial end of the wiper during different phases of flight of the aircraft, the second and third densities each being greater than a reference density;

-measuring the axial extent of the outer radial end of the wiper and determining the axial extent of the at least one dense annular region between 40% and 100% of the measurement of the axial extent of the outer radial end of the wiper;

-determining the cell density of the at least one dense annular region by taking into account the measurement of the axial extent of the outer radial end of the wiper;

the manufacture of the wear-resistant element comprises the manufacture of cells having a honeycomb shape;

the manufacturing of the wear-resistant elements comprises manufacturing in a compact annular area with cells having the shape of a disc, a square, a triangle or a rhombus.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a turbomachine comprising a labyrinth seal as described above.

Drawings

Other features, objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, which is by way of example only and not by way of limitation, and which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1, already discussed, shows a labyrinth seal.

Fig. 2, which has already been discussed, shows a wear element.

Fig. 3a, already discussed, shows the wear element open and lying flat, and the outer radial end facing the wiper.

Fig. 3b, already discussed, shows the wear element open and lying flat, and the outer radial end facing the wiper.

Fig. 4, already discussed, shows an axial cross section of the wear element and the facing wiper.

Fig. 5 shows the position of the wear element open and lying flat, and the outer radial end of the wiper facing it.

Fig. 6 shows the wear element open and lying flat.

Fig. 7 shows the wear element open and lying flat.

Throughout the figures, similar elements have the same reference numerals.

Detailed Description

Fig. 5 shows the wear element 57 open and lying flat, and the position of the end of the facing wiper indicated by the dashed line 59. The dashed line 59 does not follow the orthogonal direction and has a ripple. The outer radial end of the wiper has a deviation from the shape of a regular circle. The deviation in the form of a regular circle can be passed through the axial extent E of the outer radial end of the wiper₅Characterized by the axial extent of line 59 along direction D_AIs projected.

Fig. 1, 2 and 5 propose a labyrinth seal 10 for a turbomachine, in particular an aircraft, comprising a rotor element 1 and a stator element 3 extending around the rotor element 1, the rotor element 1 being adapted to rotate about an axis of rotation a with respect to the stator element 3, the rotor element comprising an annular wiper 5 having an outer radial end extending towards a wear element 7, 57 carried by the stator element 3, the outer radial end of the annular wiper having a corrugation in the axial direction and a non-zero axial extent E associated with the corrugation₅The wear element comprises a plurality of cells 20, 50a, 50b arranged along the direction D of the rotation axis a_AAnd an orthogonal direction O adjacent to each other, the cells 20, 50a, 50b comprising a wall 22 extending along a substantially radial direction R, the cells 20, 50a, 50b being distributed in a first dense annular zone Z of the wear element according to a first cell density₅₁In the dense annular region Z₅₁Is positioned to face the radial end of the wiperThe axial extent of said dense annular region is less than or equal to the axial extent of the radial end of the wiper, the cells are distributed according to a reference cell density outside said first region, the first density being greater than the reference density.

The walls 22 of the cells of the wear element extend in a substantially radial direction, which means that the wall or walls 22 that play a role in the definition of a cell is a surface with an elongation direction close to the radial direction R. A direction close to the other direction means here that the angle separating the two directions is less than 2 degrees.

The first dense annular zone Z shown in FIG. 5₅₁A unit 50b corresponding to a wear-resistant element, the size of which is smaller than that of the first densified annular zone Z₅₁Out of zone Z_5RThe size of the cell 50 a. Thus, the first dense annular region Z can be formed₅₁A greater number of cells are arranged per unit surface, i.e. a first density greater than a reference density is obtained.

A dense annular zone Z positioned facing the radial end of the wiper₅₁Represented in fig. 5 by the fact that along the axial direction a, the first dense annular zone Z₅₁And dashed line 59 are centered at the same location.

For example, the first dense annular zone Z₅₁May be selected to be less than 0.5mm, or even lower, than the central axis of the broken line 59.

Dense annular zone Z₅₁This may be characterized by the axial extent of the dense annular region, i.e. the width of the region in the axial direction. This axial extent of the densified regions is selected to be less than or equal to the axial extent of the radial ends of the wipers.

A technical effect associated with a higher cell density of wear elements facing the wiper is to increase the tightness of the seal. The air flow which tries to flow between the wear element 57 and the wiper from upstream to downstream of the turbine encounters more disturbances due to the greater number of units 50b present.

The greater cell density of the wear elements further upstream or downstream of the wiper does not substantially change the tightness of the seal, so that the dense annular region does not necessarily exhibit an axial extent greater than the axial extent of the radial ends of the wiper.

Fig. 6 shows the wear element 67 lying flat. The position of the end of the facing wiper is not shown, but in this case the radial end of the wiper has axial corrugations or deviations in the form of regular circles.

As shown in fig. 5, the wear-resistant element 67 comprises a plurality of cells 60a, 60b arranged along the direction D of the rotation axis a_AAnd the orthogonal direction O are adjacent to each other, the cells 60a, 60b being distributed in a first dense annular zone Z of the wear element according to a first cell density₆₁In the dense annular region Z₆₁Positioned facing the radial end of the wiper, these units being according to said first zone Z₆₁The outer reference cell density distribution, the first density being greater than the reference cell density.

Fig. 6 presents a wear element of a labyrinth seal as shown above, wherein, in addition, the units 60a, 60b are distributed in a second dense annular zone Z of the wear element according to a second unit density and a third unit density, respectively₆₂And a third dense annular zone Z₆₃Middle, first dense annular zone Z₆₁A second dense annular zone Z₆₂And a third dense annular zone Z₆₃Each adapted to be positioned facing a radial end of the wiper during different phases of flight of the aircraft, the second density and the third density each being greater than the reference density.

During different flight phases, the turbine is subjected to more or less loads, so that the temperature and expansion of the components within the turbine vary. In particular, the temperature during the "cool down" phase (i.e. when the turbine is started) is lower than the temperature during the "cruise" phase (i.e. when the turbine is in a mode allowing flight). Also, the temperature during the "cruise" phase is lower than the temperature during the "climb" phase (i.e. when the turbine is in a mode enabling takeoff).

In a system formed by a wear element and a wiper, the wiper is oriented in the direction D of the axis of rotation A with respect to the wear element_AAccording to flight of the positionAnd varied in stages. For each of the flight phases "cool", "cruise" and "climb", three axial positions "cool", "cruise" and "climb" of the wiper relative to the wear element can be identified, the axial position "cruise" being between the other two axial positions "cool" and "climb".

In the case of a wear element having only one compact annular region, if, on switching from the first to the second flight phase, the wiper is no longer positioned facing the compact annular region, then the increase in the tightness of the seal obtained during the first flight phase is lost during the second flight phase.

A technical effect related to the presence of three dense annular zones positioned facing the three axial positions "cooling", "cruising" and "climbing" of the wiper is to maintain an increase in the tightness of the seal during each of the three flight phases "cooling", "cruising" and "climbing".

The labyrinth seal proposed in the present application has at least one dense annular region, the axial extent of which can be defined more precisely. In particular, it can be provided that the ratio between the axial extension of the compact annular region and the axial extension of the outer radial end is comprised between 40% and 100%.

The presence of a dense annular region positioned facing the outer radial end of the wiper makes it possible to increase the tightness of the seal. However, the greater number of walls present inside the wear element facing the wiper reduces the wear resistance or "wearability" of the wear element. Here, the wear resistance corresponds to the following fact: in the event of contact between the wear element and the wiper, it is the wear element that loses material and deteriorates on contact with the wiper, and not vice versa.

Furthermore, in order to provide a range of dense annular regions, there is a compromise between the wearability of the wear element and the tightness of the seal. In particular, the closer the axial extent of the dense annular region is to the axial extent of the outer radial end of the wiper, the more the tightness of the seal is improved and the less the wear resistance of the wear element.

The ratio between the axial extent of the dense annular region and the axial extent of the outer radial end being between 40% and 100% enables a beneficial compromise between the wearability of the wear-resistant element and the tightness of the seal.

In particular, a ratio between 40% and 80% enables a beneficial compromise to be made for systems where differential expansion is important and where wearability requirements are important.

A ratio between 80% and 100% makes it possible to make a beneficial compromise when it is determined that the wear-resistant element and the wiper do not or hardly come into contact with each other, and thus the quality of tightness can be improved.

Different shapes may be selected for the elements of the wear element.

A honeycomb shape, i.e. a regular hexagonal shape, may be chosen.

Other geometries may be chosen, such as discs, squares, triangles or diamonds.

It should be noted that a portion of the element may be of a certain shape and another portion of the element may be of another shape.

In this way, a labyrinth seal as described above is proposed, wherein at least a part of the cells has a honeycomb shape.

In this way, a seal as described above is proposed, wherein at least a part of the cells has a disc, square, triangular or diamond shape.

FIG. 7 shows a wear element of a labyrinth seal as shown above, having a zone Z_7RWherein the cells of the wear element are distributed according to a reference density. In these regions, the cells 70a have a honeycomb shape. The wear-resistant element also comprises three compact annular zones Z₇₁、Z₇₂、Z₇₃. Each dense annular region corresponds to a different shaped unit.

In the region Z₇₁The cell 70b has a disk shape.

In the region Z₇₂Cell 70c has a shape given by the intersection of a periodic array of wavy linesThe shape of (2).

In the region Z₇₃The cell 70d has a more complex and angular shape with many points, wherein the shape has an acute cut angle to its contour.

There is also proposed a method for manufacturing a labyrinth seal for a turbomachine, in particular an aircraft, the labyrinth seal comprising a rotor element and a stator element extending around the rotor element, the rotor element being adapted to rotate relative to the stator element about an axis of rotation, the rotor element comprising an annular wiper having an outer radial end extending towards a wear element carried by the stator element, the outer radial end of the annular wiper having a corrugation along an axial direction and a non-zero axial extent associated with the corrugation, the wear element comprising a plurality of cells arranged adjacent to one another along the direction of the axis of rotation and an orthogonal direction, the cells comprising a wall extending along a substantially radial direction, the method comprising the steps of:

-manufacturing a wiper;

-manufacturing a wear element comprising a first dense annular region positioned facing the outer radial end of the wiper, said dense annular region having a first unit density, the axial extent of said dense annular region being less than or equal to the axial extent of the outer radial end of the wiper, the units being distributed according to a reference density outside a first annular reference region, the reference density being less than the first unit density.

The manufacturing of the wear element may further comprise manufacturing a second dense annular region and a third dense annular region, respectively, of the wear element, the units being distributed according to a second unit density and a third unit density, respectively, each of the first dense annular region, the second dense annular region and the third dense annular region being positioned to face the outer radial end of the wiper during different phases of flight of the aircraft, the second density and the third density each being greater than the reference density.

The method for manufacturing a labyrinth seal as just described may further comprise the steps of:

-measuring the axial extent of the outer radial end of the wiper;

-determining the axial extent of the at least one dense annular zone between 40% and 100% of the measure of the axial extent of the outer radial end of the wiper.

The method for manufacturing a labyrinth seal as just described may also comprise determining the cell density of the at least one dense annular region by taking into account measurements of the axial extent of the outer radial end of the wiper.

The manufacturing method can be adapted to manufacture cells of different honeycomb, disc, square, triangular or diamond shapes.

As previously mentioned, there is a compromise between the wearability of the wear element and the tightness of the seal to set the axial extent of the dense annular region.

Similar to the axial extent of the dense annular region, the greater the cell density, the more the tightness of the seal is improved and the less the wear resistance of the wear element.

The density of the wear units can be set using a compromise between the wear properties of the wear elements and the tightness of the seal.