Numerical Investigation on Separation Efficiency of a Novel Hybrid Engine Air-Particle Separator

Abstract

This paper proposes a novel design for a hybrid engine air-particle separator filter (HEAPS) that combines the vortex tube separator (VTS) with the inertial particle separator (IPS) to enhance separation efficiency. Helicopters often operate in harsh environments, such as deserts, and landing on unprepared runways poses a severe risk to turboshaft engines due to the ingestion of dust and sand. This can result in significant damage to the engine's rotating components, impacting its life, reliability, and performance. To protect the engine from erosion and damage, an engine air particle separator system (EAPS) is installed in the engine inlet. In this study, a comparative numerical simulation was conducted between the hybrid filter and the VTS using the commercial software ANSYS Fluent. The Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations (RANS) were used to simulate incompressible turbulent flow, and the trajectory of particles was tracked using the Discrete Phase Model (DPM). Particle trajectories and separation efficiency were analyzed for different particle sizes, inlet velocities, and bypass mass flow ratios between the scavenge channel and the core engine channel. The results show that the hybrid design provides excellent separation efficiency, with a recovery efficiency of over 97%.