Carbon fibre brush seals provide optimum efficiency and light weight

The HelicoCarb brush seal has been developed with the aim of providing lifetime operational efficiency for aero-engine applications.

Hard wearing and lightweight carbon bristles are housed, either internally or externally around an aluminium annulus providing an efficient alternative to conventional labyrinth seal designs. The flexibility of the brush design allows the seal to adapt to surface and positioning imperfections and accommodate vibrations without loss of sealing efficiency.

The dual functionality of the seal – to seal fluids in the chamber while allowing air to flow through – is maintained efficiently between a wide range of typical aero engine temperatures, depending on location, typically at 200°C - 250°C with pressure differential  between 0.2 and 1.0bar. Development is currently being done in order to widen the application range in terms of temperature and pressure.

Although the seals are available in a wide range of sizes, Technetics Group focuses on providing custom products based on existing sealing methods. A baseline carbon fibre used for the bristles can, for example, be re-specified in any grade as required to meet specific application needs.