1. A seal assembly for a turbomachine, the turbomachine comprising a stationary housing and a rotor rotating about an axis, the seal assembly comprising:
at least one arcuate plate coupled to an interior surface of the stationary housing and positioned in a radial plane;
a packing ring disposed intermediate to the rotor and the plate, wherein the packing ring is positioned to move along the plate in a radial direction;
a plurality of arcuate teeth disposed intermediate to the packing ring and the rotor, the plurality of arcuate teeth comprising at least one subset of arcuate teeth, wherein the clearance of at least one of the arcuate teeth is different from the clearances of the rest of the arcuate teeth, wherein clearances of the arcuate teeth of the at least one subset do not progressively increase going from an upstream side of the turbomachinery to a downstream side of the turbomachinery, wherein the clearances of the arcuate teeth create a passive feedback in the hydrostatic forces generated by differential pressure across the seal assembly, such that as a tip clearance decreases, outward radial forces cause the packing ring to move away from the rotor and as the tip clearance increases, inward radial forces cause the packing ring to move toward the rotor; and
a biasing member disposed intermediate to the arcuate plate and the packing ring and coupled to both.
2. The seal assembly of claim 1, wherein there are two or more subsets of arcuate teeth and wherein a pattern of the clearances of the arcuate teeth is repeated in the two or more subsets of arcuate teeth.
3. The seal assembly of claim 1, wherein the biasing member acts as a bearing and restricts motion of the packing ring in the axial direction and allows motion of the packing ring in the radial direction.
4. The seal assembly of claim 1, wherein the passive feedback in hydrostatic forces maintains an equilibrium clearance between the arcuate teeth of the at least one subset and the rotor, such that the arcuate teeth of the at least one subset are prevented from contacting the rotor during rotor transients.
5. The seal assembly of claim 1, wherein the arcuate teeth of the at least one subset are coupled to the packing ring.
6. The seal assembly of claim 1, wherein the arcuate teeth of the at least one subset are coupled to the rotor.
7. The seal assembly of claim 1,
wherein a first group of the arcuate teeth of a subset is coupled to the packing ring;
wherein a second group of the arcuate teeth of the subset is coupled to the rotor; and
wherein the first group of the arcuate teeth of the subset and the second group of the arcuate teeth of the subset are arranged such that the arcuate teeth interlock with each other.
8. The seal assembly of claim 1,
wherein the biasing member comprises a plurality of flexures mechanically coupled to the arcuate plate and the packing ring; and
wherein the plurality of flexures are configured to allow the packing ring to move in the radial direction but restrict movement in an axial direction.
9. A seal assembly for a turbomachine, the turbomachine comprising a stationary housing and a rotor rotating about an axis, the seal assembly comprising:
at least one arcuate plate coupled to an interior surface of the stationary housing and positioned in a radial plane;
a packing ring disposed intermediate to the rotor and the plate, wherein the packing ring is positioned to move along the plate in a radial direction;
a plurality of arcuate teeth disposed intermediate to the packing ring and the rotor, wherein the clearance of at least one of the arcuate teeth is different from the clearances of the rest of the arcuate teeth, wherein clearances of the arcuate teeth do not progressively increase going from an upstream side of the turbomachinery to a downstream side of the turbomachinery, wherein the clearances of the arcuate teeth create a passive feedback in the hydrostatic forces generated by differential pressure across the seal assembly, such that as a tip clearance decreases, outward radial forces cause the packing ring to move away from the rotor and as the tip clearance increases, inward radial forces cause the packing ring to move toward the rotor; and
a biasing member disposed intermediate to the arcuate plate and the packing ring and coupled to both.
10. The seal assembly of claim 9, wherein the passive feedback in hydrostatic forces maintains an equilibrium clearance between the arcuate teeth and the rotor, such that the arcuate teeth are prevented from contacting the rotor during rotor transients.
11. The seal assembly of claim 9,
wherein the biasing member comprises a plurality of flexures mechanically coupled to the arcuate plate and the packing ring; and
wherein the plurality of flexures are configured to allow the packing ring to move in the radial direction but restrict movement in an axial direction.
12. The seal assembly of claim 9, further comprising:
disposing a first group of the arcuate teeth on the packing ring;
disposing a second group of the arcuate teeth on the rotating element; and
arranging the first group of the arcuate teeth and the second group of the arcuate teeth such that the arcuate teeth interlock with each other.
13. The seal assembly of claim 9, wherein an abradable coating is disposed on the surface of the packing ring facing the rotor.
14. A turbine or compressor comprising:
a rotor rotating about an axis;
a stationary housing surrounding the rotor; and
a seal assembly disposed intermediate to the rotor and the stationary housing, each segment of the seal assembly further comprising:
at least one arcuate plate coupled to an interior surface of the stationary housing and positioned in a radial plane;
an arcuate segment of a packing ring disposed intermediate to the rotor and the plate, wherein the packing ring is positioned to move along the plate in a radial direction, wherein the arcuate segment does not include a steam-seal joint;
a plurality of arcuate teeth disposed intermediate to the packing ring and the rotor, the plurality of arcuate teeth comprising at least one subset of arcuate teeth, wherein the clearance of at least one of the arcuate teeth is different from the clearances of the rest of the arcuate teeth, wherein clearances of the arcuate teeth of the at least one subset do not progressively increase going from an upstream side of the turbine or compressor to a downstream side of the turbine or compressor, wherein the clearances of the arcuate teeth create a passive feedback in the hydrostatic forces generated by differential pressure across the seal assembly, such that as a tip clearance decreases, outward radial forces cause the packing ring to move away from the rotor and as the tip clearance increases, inward radial forces cause the packing ring to move toward the rotor; and
a biasing member disposed intermediate to the arcuate plate and the arcuate segment of the packing ring, wherein the biasing member is coupled to the arcuate plate and the packing ring.
15. The turbine or compressor of claim 14, wherein there are two or more subsets of arcuate teeth and wherein a pattern of the clearances of the arcuate teeth is repeated in the two or more subsets of arcuate teeth.
16. The turbine or compressor of claim 14,
wherein the biasing member comprises a plurality of flexures mechanically coupled to the arcuate plate and the packing ring; and
wherein the plurality of flexures are configured to allow the packing ring to move in the radial direction but restrict movement in an axial direction.
17. The turbine or compressor of claim 14, wherein the arcuate teeth of the at least one subset are coupled to the packing ring.
18. The turbine or compressor of claim 14, wherein the arcuate teeth of the at least one subset are coupled to the rotor.
19. The turbine or compressor of claim 14,
wherein a first group of the arcuate teeth of a subset is coupled to the packing ring;
wherein a second group of the arcuate teeth of the subset is coupled to the rotor, and
wherein the first group of the arcuate teeth of the subset and the second group of the arcuate teeth of the subset are arranged such that the arcuate teeth interlock with each other.
20. The turbine or compressor of claim 14, wherein an abradable coating is disposed on the surface of the packing ring facing the rotor.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. Use of TRAP per se as an active ingredient in the manufacture of a medicament for the treatment of Staphylococcus aureus infections.
2. The use according to claim 1, wherein said TRAP is selected from the group consisting of native TRAP, recombinant TRAP, intact TRAP, fusion proteins comprising TRAP, chemical modifiers of TRAP, or biologically active fragments thereof.
3. The use according to claim 1, wherein said TRAP is from Staphylococci.
4. The use according to claim 3, wherein said TRAP is from Staphylococcus aureus.
5. The use according to claim 1, wherein said TRAP has a sequence identity of at least 70% to the sequence as shown in SEQ ID NO: 2 or 4.
6. The use according to claim 1, wherein said medicament is a pharmaceutical composition comprising TRPA and optionally, a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
7. The use according to claim 1, wherein said medicament is present in a dosage form comprising: sterile aqueous or non-aqueous injectable solutions; dispersions; suspensions or emulsions; sterile powders and freeze-dried powders for parenteral administration; hard or soft capsules; tablets; troches; sugar-coated pills; pills; lozenges; powders and granules for oral administration; emulsions; aqueous or oily suspensions; syrups and elixirs; suppositories; aerosols; ointments; creams; gelatins; inhalants; or bandages for skin and implants for external use.
8. A method for treating Staphylococcus aureus infections, comprising administrating a therapeutically effective amount of TRAP to a subject suffering from Staphylococcus aureus infections.
9. The method according to claim 8, wherein said TRAP is selected from the group consisting of native TRAP, recombinant TRAP, intact TRAP, fusion proteins comprising TRAP, chemical modifiers of TRAP, or biologically active fragments thereof.
10. The method according to claim 8, wherein said TRAP protein has a sequence identity of at least 70% to the sequence as shown in SEQ ID NO: 2 or 4.