Fluid Flow Analysis at Single and Dual Plenum Intake Manifolds to Reduce Pressure Drops Using Computational Approach

Abstract

The intake manifold is one of the most important components of an internal combustion engine as it distributes air to each combustion chamber. In certain situations, a restrictor is added at the inlet of the intake manifold. However, this has been found to decrease engine performance as it decreases the pressure and limits the amount of air entering each cylinder. Therefore, it is imperative to optimise the geometric design of intake manifolds that utilise restrictors. Prototyping is an optimisation method that investigates various intake manifold geometries to determine which configuration provides the best performance. However, this method is expensive and time consuming. Furthermore, it is difficult to identify design areas that require improvements as air flow phenomena in the intake manifold cannot be accurately analysed. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is an alternative optimisation method that is both cheaper and less time-consuming. It also yields optimal results and a high level of accuracy that enables designers to easily identify problems in the geometric design.