Segmented non-contact seal assembly for rotational equipment

1. An assembly for rotational equipment, the assembly comprising:

a circumferentially segmented stator;

a rotor radially within the stator including a disk, an annular linkage extending axially from the disk; and

a seal assembly configured for substantially sealing a gap radially between the stator and the rotor, the seal assembly including a carrier and a non-contact seal seated with the carrier;

the carrier including a plurality of discrete carrier segments circumferentially arranged around the non-contact seal;

the non-contact seal comprising a base, a plurality of shoes and a plurality of spring elements;

the base seated with the carrier, and the base comprising a plurality of discrete base segments arranged circumferentially around a centerline;

the shoes circumferentially arranged around and radially adjacent the linkage;

each of the spring elements radially between and connecting a respective one of the shoes to the base, and each of the spring elements discrete and physically separated from circumferentially adjacent ones of the spring elements;

wherein a first of the discrete base segments supports a plurality of the shoes and a plurality of the spring elements.

2. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein a first of the carrier segments circumferentially extends approximately one-hundred and eighty degrees around a centerline.

3. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein each of the carrier segments is configured as an arcuate carrier segment.

4. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein a first of the carrier segments is positioned circumferentially adjacent to and removably attached to a second of the carrier segments.

5. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein a first of the carrier segments is circumferentially adjacent to a second of the carrier segments, and the first and the second carrier segments are mated together by a male-female connection.

6. The assembly of claim 5 , wherein the first of the carrier segments includes a connector which projects laterally into an aperture in the second of the carrier segments to provide the male-female connection.

7. The assembly of claim 6 , wherein the carrier further includes a fastener which secures the connector to the second of the carrier segments.

8. The assembly of claim 5 , wherein the carrier further includes a connector which extends in a first lateral direction into an aperture in the first of the carrier segments to provide the male-female connection, and the connector extends in a second lateral direction into an aperture in the second of the carrier segments to provide a second male-female connection.

9. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the stator comprises a fairing configured to form an axial portion of an inner peripheral boundary of a core gas path through the rotational equipment, and the rotational equipment is configured as a gas turbine engine.

10. The assembly of claim 9 , further comprising a variable vane including a shaft, wherein the shaft projects radially into an aperture in the fairing.

11. The assembly of claim 10 , wherein the shaft further projects radially into an aperture in the carrier.

12. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the non-contact seal is positioned directly radially above and is axially aligned with a seal portion of the rotor with a cylindrical surface.

13. The assembly of claim 12 , wherein the seal portion of the rotor is radially thicker than adjacent portions of the rotor.

14. The assembly of claim 12 , wherein the seal portion of the rotor has a hardface which forms the cylindrical surface.

15. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the non-contact seal is a hydrostatic non-contact seal.

16. An assembly for a gas turbine engine, the assembly comprising:

an annular fairing;

a plurality of vanes arranged circumferentially around and engaged with the fairing;

a rotor including a disk, a plurality of rotor blades arranged around the disk, and an annular linkage extending axially from the disk; and

a seal assembly configured in a gap formed between the fairing and the linkage, the seal assembly including a base, a plurality of shoes and a plurality of spring elements;

the base mounted to the fairing and including a plurality of discrete base segments arranged circumferentially around a centerline;

the shoes circumferentially arranged around and radially adjacent the linkage; and

each of the spring elements radially between and connecting a respective one of the shoes to the base, and each of the spring elements discrete and physically separated from circumferentially adjacent ones of the spring elements;

wherein a first of the discrete base segments supports a plurality of the shoes and a plurality of the spring elements.

17. The assembly of claim 16 , further comprising:

a carrier which mounts the base to the fairing, wherein the carrier includes a plurality of carrier segments circumferentially arranged around the centerline; and

a case circumscribing the vanes and the rotor, wherein the case includes plurality of case segments circumferentially arranged around the centerline, and wherein a seam between an adjacent pair of the case segments is circumferentially aligned with a seam between an adjacent pair of the carrier segments.

18. The assembly of claim 17 , wherein a seam between an adjacent pair of the discrete base segments is circumferentially aligned with the seam between the adjacent pair of the carrier segments.

19. The assembly of claim 16 , wherein a first of the discrete base segments is formed integral with the plurality of the shoes and the plurality of the spring elements as a monolithic body.