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Performance evaluation of a twin air-intake: effects of geometry, Reynolds number and jet momentum coefficient

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Abstract

Flow separation and non-uniformity are the major challenges in the twin air-intakes. Twin air-intake of the single-engine aircraft provides atmospheric air to its aero-engine. The present article demonstrates the effects of single-offset and dual-offset twin air-intake and jet momentum coefficient at various inlet Reynolds numbers using synthetic jets. A finite volume method-based CFD solver was used to carrying out flow simulation in the twin air-intake. The results indicate marginal effects of the Reynolds number on the twin air-intakes having single- and dual-offsets. The additional vertical curvature provided in double-offset of the twin air-intake due to the stealth feature of the aircraft is responsible for the less static pressure recovery as compared to its single-offset counterpart. However, when the slotted synthetic jets are employed, static pressure recovery is enhanced significantly by reducing the massive flow separation. The reduction in total pressure loss is more in the single-offset twin air-intake as compared to the dual-offset one for all Reynolds numbers. It is also noted that as the centerline curvature increases, the ability of synthetic jets to control the distortion coefficient is decreased at the same jet momentum coefficient.

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Data availability statement

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

AR:

Area ratio = outlet area/inlet area

AIP:

Aerodynamic inlet plane

C PR :

Static pressure recovery coefficient

C TL :

Coefficient of total pressure loss

C L :

Centerline length of air-intake (mm)

C μ :

Jet momentum coefficient

D h :

Hydraulic diameter of duct inlet (mm)

DC 60 :

Distortion coefficient

FVM:

Finite volume method

Re i :

Inlet Reynolds number

S io :

Secondary flow non-uniformity

VR :

Velocity ratio

u :

Local streamwise velocity (m/s)

U avi :

Average inlet velocity (m/s)

U j :

Average jet velocity (m/s)

U amp :

Velocity amplitude (m/s)

F :

Frequency of oscillation (Hz)

t :

Time period (s)

\(\theta\) :

Turning angle (60°/60°)

s :

Length along centerline curvature of air-intake (mm

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the financial support received from the SERB Start-up Grant for Young Scientists vide sanction order no. SB/FTP/ETA-24/2013 dated 16/08/2013 as accorded by the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Department of Science and Technology ((DST), Govt. of India.

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  1. Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology Allahabad, Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, 211004, India

    KrishnaKumar Rajnath Yadav, Akshoy Ranjan Paul & Anuj Jain

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Correspondence to Akshoy Ranjan Paul.

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Yadav, K.R., Paul, A.R. & Jain, A. Performance evaluation of a twin air-intake: effects of geometry, Reynolds number and jet momentum coefficient. Eur. Phys. J. Plus 136, 988 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-021-01959-y

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