Sealing disk-baffle integrated structure has been widely applied in modern advanced aero-engines. In this paper, the features of typical sealing disk-baffle integrated structure were analyzed in order to explore the feasible direction of the structure design and optimization. The finite element models were analyzed for the CFM56 series aero-engines [1], and the stress was computed under the different temperature fields, operating speeds and non-linear contacting. The design technologies were summarized for the sealing disk-baffle integrated structure. The results provided bases and references for structure design and engineering applications of the sealing disk-baffle integrated structure

Guihuo Luo

Qingping Wang

Ting Jin

Zhaojun Feng

English

Vibroengineering PROCEDIA

  © JVE INTERNATIONAL LTD. VIBROENGINEERING PROCEDIA. SEP 2015, VOLUME 5. ISSN 2345-0533 101 
Research on the technology of sealing disk-baffle 
integrated structure design 
Ting Jin1, Guihuo Luo2, Qingping Wang3, Zhaojun Feng4 
Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, College of Energy and Power Engineering,  
Nanjing 210016, China 
1Corresponding author 
E-mail: 1ting_jin@126.com, 2ghluo@nuaa.edu.cn, 3390243326@qq.com, 41356456378@qq.com 
(Accepted 14 September 2015) 
Abstract. Sealing disk-baffle integrated structure has been widely applied in modern advanced 
aero-engines. In this paper, the features of typical sealing disk-baffle integrated structure were 
analyzed in order to explore the feasible direction of the structure design and optimization. The 
finite element models were analyzed for the CFM56 series aero-engines [1], and the stress was 
computed under the different temperature fields, operating speeds and non-linear contacting. The 
design technologies were summarized for the sealing disk-baffle integrated structure. The results 
provided bases and references for structure design and engineering applications of the sealing 
disk-baffle integrated structure. 
Keywords: sealing disk-baffle, design technology, finite element, integration, aero-engine. 
1. Introduction 
The baffle structure confined the turbine blade axial location in the aero-engine turbine, and 
adjusted the balance of rotor unbalance at the same time [2]. Traditional baffle structures were 
connected with turbine disks by bolts. With the development of engine design technology, the 
boltless baffle structure was used in turbine rotor. The sealing disk and baffle were connected to 
form the cooling air flow in the advanced aero-engine [3].  
In 1970s, the GE company had mastered the technology [4] and applied it to CFM56 series 
engines, it showed that sealing disk-baffle integrated structure represented the development 
direction of advanced aero-engine in the future [5, 6]. 
 
Fig. 1. CFM56-3 HPT structure 
 
Fig. 2. CFM56-5A HPT structure
 
Fig. 3. CFM56-7B HPT structure 
The research was still relatively scarce about the design technology and optimization for the 
sealing disk-baffle integrated structure in China. Boltless baffle baffle structures have been used 
on the turbine components in advanced aero-engines, such as the GE90, F100, Trent 500 and 
V2500 [7-10]. In China, the parametric design and optimization technology of the boltless baffle 
structure have been studied by Guihuo Luo and Yongxian Luan in NUAA. The installation 
techniques of the boltless baffle structure have been researched by Dali Chen and Ming Li [11]. 
2. Finite element model 
The original structure of sealing disk-baffle was made up of two small parts (shown as Fig. 4), 
finite element model was shown as Fig. 6 and nine contact pairs were defined to simulate the 
contact between the drum shaft, the sealing disk, the baffle and the turbine disk (red circles in the 
RESEARCH ON THE TECHNOLOGY OF SEALING DISK-BAFFLE INTEGRATED STRUCTURE DESIGN.  
TING JIN, GUIHUO LUO, QINGPING WANG, ZHAOJUN FENG 
102 © JVE INTERNATIONAL LTD. VIBROENGINEERING PROCEDIA. SEP 2015, VOLUME 5. ISSN 2345-0533  
Fig. 5). The sealing disk was combined with the baffle integrated to form the structure of integrate 
sealing disk-baffle (shown as Fig. 7), finite element model was established (shown as Fig. 9) and 
six contact pairs were defined to simulate the contact between the drum shaft, the sealing disk, the 
baffle and the turbine disk (the red circles in the Fig. 8). The axial and circumferential 
displacement constraints were applied on the nodes of the inner diameter in the drum shaft 
according to the boundary conditions, and the radial displacement was allowed on the nodes. 
The material was GH4169. The performance parameters of the material could be got by 
checking out the aeronautical materials handbook. The contact boundary conditions were 
simulated, and the stress was analyzed by defining contact pairs [12] for the nonlinear contact. 
TARGE169 and CONTA172 were adopted as contact elements. The thermal stress was calculated 
with indirect coupling method. 
Fig. 4. Original structure Fig. 5. Nine contact pairs on the O.S. 
 
Fig. 6. Finite element model 
of O.S. 
   
 
Fig. 7. Integrated structure 
 
Fig. 8. Six contact pairs on the I.S. 
 
Fig. 9. Finite element model 
of I.S. 
3. Comparison and analysis for the two structural stress 
For the original structure, the finite element model was shown as Fig. 6, the rotor speed was 
14731 rpm (1542.6 rad/s) under maximum load. The stress distributions without temperature field 
were shown as Figs. 10-14 and Table 1. 
Table 1. The maximum stress of the original structure assembled  
Component Drum shaft Sealing disk-baffle Turbine disk Structure assembled 
Maximum stress ߪ (MPa) 923 1040 843 1040 
Margin 10.4 % –1.0 % 18.2 % –1.0 % 
The value of maximum stress was 923 MPa at the drum shaft of the original structure, which 
was less than the elastic limit value of material GH4169 at ordinary temperature  
(ߪ଴.ଶ =	1030 MPa), it was shown as the Figs. 10-14 and Table 1, and there was still a margin of 
10.4%. The stress value was larger at the right end of the drum shaft than other regions relatively, 
it showed that much more load was distributed on this part and the strength was weakened 
relatively. Thus, this region must be designed carefully. The value of maximum stress was 
1040 MPa at the sealing disk-baffle of the original structure, which was beyond the elastic limit 
of the material at ordinary temperature. The position of the maximum stress has occurred at the 
upper positioning surface place of the baffle. The value of maximum stress was 843 MPa on the 
turbine disk, which didn’t exceed the elastic limit of material GH4169, and there was still a margin 
of 18.2 %. The maximum stress was located at the inner diameter of the wheel center on the turbine 
RESEARCH ON THE TECHNOLOGY OF SEALING DISK-BAFFLE INTEGRATED STRUCTURE DESIGN.  
TING JIN, GUIHUO LUO, QINGPING WANG, ZHAOJUN FENG 
 © JVE INTERNATIONAL LTD. VIBROENGINEERING PROCEDIA. SEP 2015, VOLUME 5. ISSN 2345-0533 103 
disk. The value of maximum stress of the assembly was larger than the elastic limit of the material 
and the structure might fail. The maximum stress appeared at the positioning surface of the baffle 
and the area was very small. Because of the stress concentration and the cyclic loading, the fatigue 
failure might occur. Detailed design should be researched on the sealing disk-baffle structure to 
reduce its stress value and improve the reliability of the aero-engine. 
The finite element model was shown as Fig. 9 for the integrated structure, and the rotor speed 
was 14731 rpm (1542.6 rad/s) under maximum load state. The stress distributions without 
temperature field were shown as Figs. 15-19 and Tables 2 and 3. 
 
Fig. 10. Stress of original structure 
 
Fig. 11. Maximum stress of sealing disk-baffle 
  
 
Fig. 12. Stress of drum shaft 
 
Fig. 13. Stress of sealing disk-baffle 
 
Fig. 14. Stress of turbine disk 
Table 2.The maximum stress of the integrated structure assembled 
Component Drum shaft Sealing disk-baffle Turbine disk Structure assembled 
Maximum stress ߪ (MPa) 620 910 1000 1000 
Margin 39.8 % 11.7 % 2.9 % 2.9 % 
 
 
Fig. 15. Stress of integrated structure 
 
Fig. 16. Maximum stress of sealing disk-baffle 
  
 
Fig. 17. Stress of drum shaft 
 
Fig. 18. Stress of sealing disk-baffle
 
Fig. 19. Stress of turbine disk 
RESEARCH ON THE TECHNOLOGY OF SEALING DISK-BAFFLE INTEGRATED STRUCTURE DESIGN.  
TING JIN, GUIHUO LUO, QINGPING WANG, ZHAOJUN FENG 
104 © JVE INTERNATIONAL LTD. VIBROENGINEERING PROCEDIA. SEP 2015, VOLUME 5. ISSN 2345-0533  
Table 3. The comparison of original and integrated structure assembled 
Component Drum shaft 
Sealing 
disk-baffle 
Turbine 
disk 
Structure 
assembled 
Maximum 
stress ߪ (MPa) 
Original 923 1040 843 1040 
Integrated 620 910 1000 1000 
Decreased 32.8 % 12.5 % –18.6 % 3.8 % 
The maximum stress of the overall configuration was reduced significantly, reference to 
Table 3. The maximum stress value decreased about 32.8 % from 923 MPa to 620 MPa in the O.S 
to the I.S, which was far below the elastic limit value of material at ordinary temperature, and the 
value of the stress was largest at the same place of the drum shaft. The maximum stress reduced 
about 12.5 % from 1040 MPa to 910 MPa in the O.S. to the I.S. on the sealing disc-baffle, which 
was less than the elastic limit of material at ordinary temperature, and the stress value was largest 
at the fillet of the upper labyrinth seal. The maximum stress on the turbine disk increased from 
843 MPa to 1000 MPa, which had increased slightly, and the maximum stress occurred at the 
same place.  
The maximum stress decreased about 3.8 % from 1040 MPa to 1000 MPa for the integrated 
structure. It was less than the elastic limit value at ordinary temperature and there was still a margin 
of 2.9 %. The structural strength could be guaranteed basically, but the stress was larger than other 
regions relatively at transition zone on the sealing disk-baffle. The maximum stress occupied a 
little area (saw as Fig. 16). There was a phenomenon of stress concentration and the fatigue failure 
might occur. It is important to carefully design for the region. 
4. Optimization of integrated structure 
Optimal design was necessary at the transition zone on the sealing disk-baffle based on the 
stress analysis above. The model was simplified as the 2D axisymmetric finite element model 
(saw as Fig. 20). The model adopted the PLANE42 axisymmetric element, it was meshed with 
7000 elements and 7781 nodes. The stress distributions were shown as Figs. 21-22. The process 
of optimization was shown as Fig. 23 referencing to foreign advanced aero-engines, and the results 
were shown as Figs. 24-26 [13, 14]. 
 
Fig. 20. 2D finite element model 
 
Fig. 21. Stress of 2D model 
 
Fig. 22. Maximum stress of S.D.B 
The maximum stress decreased from 978 MPa to 743 MPa at the transition zone on the I.S 
after optimal design. It decreased about 24.0 % significantly, and the stress was larger than other 
regions at the inner diameter of the wheel center. Besides, the stress distribution was uniform and 
reasonable in the transition zone. There was no stress concentration. The analysis above showed 
that optimal design of sealing disk-baffle integrated structure was correct and reasonable. 
A 3D finite element model was established and calculated to simulate the true structure. The 
comparative results were shown as Table 4. 
The maximum stress value was reduced from 890 MPa to 781 MPa at the sealing disk-baffle 
integrated structure after optimization design (saw as Table 4), which was less than the elastic 
limit of the material GH4169 at 500°C (ߪ଴.ଶ =	930 MPa) and there was still a margin about 16.0 %. 
The optimal design could significantly reduce the stress level for the sealing disk-baffle integrated 
RESEARCH ON THE TECHNOLOGY OF SEALING DISK-BAFFLE INTEGRATED STRUCTURE DESIGN.  
TING JIN, GUIHUO LUO, QINGPING WANG, ZHAOJUN FENG 
 © JVE INTERNATIONAL LTD. VIBROENGINEERING PROCEDIA. SEP 2015, VOLUME 5. ISSN 2345-0533 105 
structure, and the optimal ideas and method were correct and reasonable. 
 
Fig. 23. Comparison sealing disk-baffle of before and after optimization 
 
Fig. 24. Stress of optimal structure
 
Fig. 25. Stress of S.D.B 
 
Fig. 26. Maximum stress of S.D.B 
Table 4. The comparison stress of before and after optimization 
Component Drum shaft 
Sealing 
disk-baffle 
Turbine 
disk 
Structure 
assembled 
Maximum 
stress ߪ 
(MPa) 
3D Before 633 890 1070 1070 
3D After 638 781 1120 1120 
2D After 628 747 1140 1140 
5. Conclusions 
A series of research and analysis have been conducted on the design and optimal technology 
of the sealing disk-baffle structure. Main conclusions were listed as follows:  
1) The typical sealing disk-baffle integrated structures have been collected and collated; the 
basic design principles of the typical structures have been researched, which provided a solid 
foundation for the design and optimization of the sealing disk-baffle integrated structure. 
2) The strength analysis has been conducted for the sealing disk-baffle original and integrated 
structures, and the results of stress have been compared for the three structures. The superiorities 
have been confirmed and design principles have been researched for the sealing disk-baffle 
integrated structure. 
3) Low stress optimal design were carried out for the sealing disk-baffle integrated structure. 
The model was selected for parametric and optimal design according to the structural design 
principles and the influences of operating speed, temperature field and assembly loads. The 
maximum stress value was decreased about 12.2 %. Stress concentration and the distribution of 
stress were significantly improved. 
The results provide useful references for structure design and engineering applications of the 
sealing disk-baffle integrated structure. However, the axial and radial coordinate-deformation of 
the sealing disk-baffle integrated structure should be analyzed and researched. The principles of 
sealing tolerances will be proposed for the sealing disk-baffle integrated structure in the future. 
RESEARCH ON THE TECHNOLOGY OF SEALING DISK-BAFFLE INTEGRATED STRUCTURE DESIGN.  
TING JIN, GUIHUO LUO, QINGPING WANG, ZHAOJUN FENG 
106 © JVE INTERNATIONAL LTD. VIBROENGINEERING PROCEDIA. SEP 2015, VOLUME 5. ISSN 2345-0533  
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