Numerical and Experimental Investigation of a Serpentine Inlet Duct Conference Paper uri icon

abstract

  • This paper presents a numerical and experimental investigation of the flow inside an ultra-compact, serpentine inlet duct. The numerical analysis used two flow solvers: Fluent, a commercial code, and UNS3D, an in-house code. The flow was modeled using the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations. The turbulence effects were modeled by using the two-equation eddy-viscosity turbulence model of Menter. The numerical investigation was compared against experimental data obtained in an open-circuit, low-speed wind tunnel in the Fluid Dynamics Laboratory at Texas A&M University. The numerical simulations and experimental testing were performed to reveal the separation points and the strong secondary flow phenomena within the inlet. Results showed that UNS3D performed better than Fluent in predicting the flow field, but neither accurately captured the secondary flow structures from a quantitative standpoint.

name of conference

  • 45th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit

published proceedings

  • 45th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit

author list (cited authors)

  • Kirk, A., Kumar, A., Gargoloff, J., Rediniotis, O., & Cizmas, P.

citation count

  • 9

complete list of authors

  • Kirk, Aaron||Kumar, Abhinav||Gargoloff, Joaquin||Rediniotis, Othon||Cizmas, Paul

publication date

  • January 2007