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A stack of substantially parallel ceramic plates (22) separated and interconnected by ceramic spacers (26, 27) forming a seal structure (20) with a length (L), a width (W), and a thickness (T). The spacers are narrower in width than the plates, and may be laterally offset from spacers in adjacent ro

A stack of substantially parallel ceramic plates (22) separated and interconnected by ceramic spacers (26, 27) forming a seal structure (20) with a length (L), a width (W), and a thickness (T). The spacers are narrower in width than the plates, and may be laterally offset from spacers in adjacent rows to form a space (28) in a row that aligns with a spacer in another adjacent row. An adjacent plate bends into the space when the seal structure is compressed in thickness. The spacers may have gaps (60, 62) forming a stepped or labyrinthine cooling flow path (66) within the seal structure. The spacers of each row may vary in lateral separation, thus providing a range of compressibility that varies along the width of the seal structure.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A compressible seal, comprising: a stack of substantially parallel ceramic plates separated and interconnected by ceramic spacers, thus forming a seal structure with a length, a width, and a thickness normal to the plates;at least some adjacent ones of the plates being separated by a respective r

1. A compressible seal, comprising: a stack of substantially parallel ceramic plates separated and interconnected by ceramic spacers, thus forming a seal structure with a length, a width, and a thickness normal to the plates;at least some adjacent ones of the plates being separated by a respective row of one or more of the spacers;wherein the spacers are narrower in width than the plates to define spaces in each row of spacers;wherein at least some of the spacers are aligned in the thickness direction with an adjacent space in an adjacent row of the spacers, and each spacer bends an adjacent plate into the adjacent space when the seal structure is compressed in thickness. 2. The compressible seal of claim 1, wherein the ceramic plates are made of a ceramic matrix composite material comprising ceramic fibers in a ceramic matrix. 3. The compressible seal of claim 2, wherein the ceramic fibers of the plates are oriented generally widthwise. 4. The compressible seal of claim 3, wherein the ceramic spacers are made of a ceramic matrix composite material comprising ceramic fibers in a ceramic matrix, and the ceramic fibers of the spacers are oriented substantially lengthwise. 5. The compressible seal of claim 2, wherein the ceramic fibers of the plates are oriented diagonally or crossed-diagonally. 6. The compressible seal of claim 1, wherein the seal structure is mounted between two components in a gas turbine, separating a cooling gas on a first side of the components from a hot gas on a second side of the components, and wherein at least some of the spacers define one or more transverse gaps along the length of the seal structure, such that a portion of the cooling gas can flow into at least some of the spaces between the plates. 7. The compressible seal of claim 6, wherein at least some of the rows of spacers provide a stepwise gas flow path between the first and second sides of the components through the gaps, wherein a portion of the cooling gas flows from the first to the second side of the components through the stepwise gas flow path, thus cooling the seal structure. 8. The compressible seal of claim 1, wherein a lateral separation between adjacent spacers within at least one row varies along the width of the seal structure, such that the seal structure has a range of compressibility that varies along the width of the seal structure. 9. The compressible seal of claim 1, wherein lateral separation between adjacent spacers of at least one row increases from a first to a second side of the seal structure, such that the seal structure has a range of compressibility from relatively low compressibility at the first side to higher at the second side of the seal structure. 10. The compressible seal of claim 1, wherein a first spacer in each row is aligned with a first spacer in each of the other rows for at least part of its width along a first side of the seal structure, thus forming a substantially incompressible part of the seal structure along the first side of the seal structure, while the remainder of the seal structure is compressible. 11. The compressible seal of claim 10, wherein a lateral separation between adjacent spacers within each row varies along the width of the remainder of the seal structure, such that the seal structure has a range of compressibility that varies along the width of the seal structure. 12. The compressible seal of claim 11, wherein the lateral separation between the spacers of each row increases from the first side to a second side of the seal structure, such that the seal structure has a range of compressibility from substantially no compressibility at the first side to compressible at the second side of the seal structure. 13. The compressible seal of claim 10, wherein the substantially incompressible part of the seal structure is tapered to slide radially outward under compression between the components. 14. A method of fabricating the compressible seal of claim 1, comprising: forming a stack of layers from 1 to N of a wet ceramic material, wherein some of the layers of the wet ceramic material comprise inclusions of a fugitive material with a vaporizing temperature that is lower than a sintering temperature of the wet ceramic material;heat-curing the stack of layers above the vaporizing temperature of the fugitive inclusions to cure and sinter the ceramic material, thus forming and integrating the seal structure. 15. A compressible seal, comprising: a stack of substantially parallel ceramic plates separated and interconnected by ceramic spacers, thus forming a seal structure with a length, a width, and a thickness normal to the plates;each pair of adjacent ones of the plates separated by a row of one or more of the spacers;wherein the spacers are narrower in width than the plates, and the spacers are laterally non-overlapping with each other in adjacent rows of spacers, forming a space in each row of spacers that is wider than, and aligns with, a spacer in an adjacent row, such that an adjacent plate bends into the space when the seal structure is compressed in thickness; andwherein at least some of the spacers have one or more transverse gaps along the length of the seal structure, such that a cooling gas can flow from a first side of the seal structure into at least some of the spaces between the plates. 16. The compressible seal of claim 15, wherein at least some of the gaps form a stepwise gas flow path through the width of the seal structure by virtue of the gaps being offset from each other lengthwise in adjacent spacers of a given row. 17. The compressible seal of claim 16, wherein a lateral separation between adjacent spacers within each row varies along the width of the seal structure, such that the seal structure has a range of compressibility that varies along the width of the seal structure. 18. A compressible seal for fluids, comprising: a stack of odd-numbered ceramic layers from 1 to N, separated by even numbered layers from 2 to N−1, wherein each even-numbered layer comprises one or more spacers separating and connecting two adjacent odd numbered layers, thus forming a seal structure, wherein each even-numbered layer further comprises one or more spaces between said two adjacent odd-numbered layers;wherein at least some of the spacers push against and bend an adjacent odd-numbered layer into one of the air spaces when the seal structure is compressed in a direction normal to the layers.