Two-phase flow numerical simulation strategy in oil/air separators of P&WC engines

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Aircraft engine design and built is a major component of the aerospace realm in Canada. This market is highlycompetitive. Manufacturers have to rely on advanced research to propose high quality products in terms ofdurability, ease of use and efficiency. In particular Pratt & Whitney Canada engines are designed for tens ofthousands of hours. The company uses two-phase flow mixtures to lubricate some rotating parts of the engines.These mixtures need to be separated at some point in the lubricating loop. Presently, this flow separationprocess is installed on actual engines but requires more research to better separate air from oil.To fulfill the needs of Pratt & Whitney Canada, identified above, we propose to determine which numericalstrategy is best fitted to model the air/oil separation in P&WC engine devices. An important aspect of thisprocess is linked to the validity of the models and their predictions. To this aim, in-house experimental testshave been performed and monitored by the company. They will serve as reference for the numerical validationtogether with more canonical semi-theoretical solutions. In addition, the numerical commercial tool used by thecompany needs further closing relations on which the applicant has worked on through its fundamental andapplied research projects throughout is career.Ultimately, the knowledge stemming from the research will allow P&WC to unify lubrication, mixing and flowseparation in a single numerical analysis procedure.