Particle Dynamics of a 2-D Inertial Particle Separator

Abstract

The effects of sand and dust ingestion often limit the useful life of turbine engines operating in austere environments and efforts are needed to reduce the quantity of particulate entering the engine. Several Engine Air Particle Separation (EAPS) systems exist to accomplish this task. Inertial Particle Separators (IPS) are of particular interest because they offer significant weight savings and are more compact. This study focuses on the how small particles are affected by the dynamic fluid forces present in the IPS. Using Multi-Phase Particle Image Velocimetry (MP-PIV), 10um and 35um glass spheres were tracked through the IPS. Further, the data was also used to analyze the particles Coefficient of Restitution, (CORn̂), where they impact the Outer Surface Geometry (OSG) of the IPS.