Simulation of Air / Oil Flows in Bearing Cavities

Aircraft engines require considerable amount of oil to regulate the heat of their dynamic components. In order to fulfill the performance needs of the aircraft industry, temperatures reached in the combustion chamber have to be increased and engines need to be more compact. Therefore, heat generated from combustion reaches with more intensity the bearings of an engine’s transmission. Thus, drastic cooling methods need to be implemented in order to avoid accelerated bearing degradation. Current methods involve high mass flow of oil to specific areas around the bearings for lubricating and cooling. However, such high amount of oil requires heavy pumping and a proportional oil tank. This project will develop a methodology in order to optimize the required amount of oil needed to cool an aircraft bearing cavity following flight operations. It will help regulate oil flow, reduce power consumption from the pump and reduce the actual size of the engine if the pump size can be reduced. Moreover, by using this methodology instead of running engine tests with different oil flows, the partner company will save a high amount of money in hardware and testing.

Faculty Supervisor:

Dominique Pelletier

Student:

Partner:

Pratt & Whitney

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Aerospace; Oil and Gas; Technology

University:

École Polytechnique de Montréal

Program: