An internal, 3-D, viscous numerical flow simulation was performed on the rectangular-to-circular
transition, bifurcated, 2D high speed civil transport engine inlet at takeoff. The
objective of the study was to obtain the causes of flow distortion at the inlet fan face. The
inlet was modeled with the centerbody in the fully collapsed takeoff position. A single
block, 14Ox40x40 Polar grid topology of a 1/4 symmetry volume of the inlet was used in
the simulation. The calculation employed the well established, robust PARC3D CFD
code, which uses the full three-dimensional, Reynolds averaged, Navier-Stokes equations
in strong conservation form. The flow was considered to be turbulent over the entire flow
region. The turbulence model incorporated into PARC3D is the algebraic Baldwin Lomax
model. Limitations existed in the local region where the flow interacts with the nose cone
due to the inherent limitations of the turbulence model. The results showed that the flow
throughout the inlet was well behaved. The turbulent boundary layers were thin and
stayed attached to the surfaces of the inlet throughout the entire flowfield. A high
pressure recovery was observed at the fan face. Radial distortion at the fan face was
caused by thin boundary layers on the nose cone and cowl surfaces. Circumferential
distortion was caused by pressure gradients produced by the wake of the splitter plate,
located just upstream of the fan.
next to an author's name indicates that all files or directories associated with their ETD are accessible from the Virginia Tech campus network only.
![[VT]](http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/images/ETD-db/restricted.gif)
