Effects of flow control in the presence of asymmetric inflows in twin air-intake

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of air-intake duct used in combat aircrafts is to decelerate the inlet flow and concurrently raise the static pressure recovery at the compressor inlet. Because of side-slip movement during sharp maneuvers of the aircrafts, the airflows ingested into twin air-intake ducts are not same and symmetric at its two inlets but are asymmetric in nature. The asymmetric inlet flow conditions at the twin air-intakes thus caused instabilities and deteriorated aerodynamic performance of aircraft components such as compressors and other downstream components. This study aims to investigate the flow control in a twin air-intake with asymmetric inflows. Design/methodology/approach The continuity and momentum equations are solved with second-order upwind scheme for computing finite-volume method-based unsteady computational fluid dynamics simulation. Findings Performance parameters are deteriorated with the increase of inflow asymmetry in the twin air-intake duct. Slotted synthetic jets are used to manage flow separation, thereby increasing aerodynamic performance of the air-intake. A variety of vortical structures are generated from the rectangular slots, convected downstream of the twin air-intake. The use of slotted synthetic jets increases static pressure recovery by 64 per cent whereas reducing total pressure loss coefficient by 63 per cent, distortion coefficient by 58 per cent and swirl coefficient by 55 per cent which is an indicative of better aerodynamic performance of twin air-intake. Originality/value The study stresses the need of robust flow control technique to improve the performance of combat air-intake system under extreme maneuvering conditions. The results can be useful in designing air-intake satisfying the stealth features for modern combat aircrafts.