The working principle of the steam seal spring leaf
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The function of the spring leaf is to allow the steam seal element to move outward elastically once friction occurs between it and the rotor. However, I have never understood this principle: when the steam seal element comes into contact with the rotor, doesn’t the spring leaf deform even more? So why can it still move outward?
What you mentioned – me planting steam seal blocks on generators – is something common. My understanding is that the steam seal element is pushed toward the center of the rotor by a spring plate, with a travel distance of about 1 mm; once friction occurs, there is room for the steam seal element to move back outward.
Do you mean that under normal conditions the center of the spring plate bulges toward the steam seal block, and when the rotor collides with the steam seal block, the spring plate is forced to bend in the opposite direction, causing the steam seal block to move back into the cavity?