Optimization of the Aircraft Air/Oil Separator by the Response Surface Determined from Modeling of Three-Dimensional Two-Phase Flow

Abstract

This paper presents optimisation of the geometry of the aircraft air–oil separator (AAOS) performed to improve the device performance. For this separator type, the most important operating parameters are the oil quality, efficiency and pressure drop. In order to understand the relationships between geometric parameters and their impact on the parameters of the separator operation, an analysis was conducted using the Response Surface Method (RSM). The analysis was made based on the results of numerical simulations and using the volume-of-fluid (VOF) method. Pareto analysis was also carried out, which determined the impact of the inlet width and height and the separator diameter on the device performance. By solving the optimisation task using a genetic algorithm, it was possible to propose a new geometry for the AAOS. The favourable geometric relations for the AAOS are indicated and they are compared with those preferred for other geometries of cyclone separators.