Development of Computational Fluid Dynamics Methodology for Management of Oil Tanks and the Separation of Air and Oil in an Aero-Engine

Oil is used in aircraft engine applications to lubricate and carry the associated parasitic heat generated away from the moving components. Inefficient lubrication can cause an increase of heat transferred to the metal components by friction while too much oil can cause an increase of the heat generation by churning. The churning of oil leads to the entrainment of air. Oil temperature rise leads to generation of foam. Therefore, it is very important to separate the air from the oil before the former is being released back into the environmental and the latter is fed back into the oil system to assure an efficient operation of the aero-engine. The principal aim of the present project consists in developing a CFD methodology to simulate the separation of air and oil in order to facilitate design exploration by the industrial partner of more efficient and ecofriendly aircraft engines.

Faculty Supervisor:

Sébastien Poncet

Student:

Ghofrane Sekrani

Partner:

Pratt & Whitney Canada

Discipline:

Engineering - mechanical

Sector:

Manufacturing

University:

Université de Sherbrooke