Simulation of the Air-Oil Mixture Flow in the Scavenge Pipe of an Aero Engine

摘要

Understanding the flow in aero-engine lubrication systems forms an essential part of future designs for aero-engines. This especially applies to scavenge pipes which contain a complex two-phase flow formed by the interaction of sealing airflow and lubrication oil. In the last decade, two phase flows in pipes are increasingly modelled and simulated with 3D Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) codes. One of the major challenges is to approximate the different flow morphologies developed (bubbly, stratified, annular, slug, e.t.c.) using a unified CFD model without increasing prohibitively the computational cost. This paper presents a methodology for modelling and simulation of the two phase flow of air and oil in the scavenge pipe of an aeroengine. Simulation results are presented and discussed for an experimental study performed at MTU Aero Engines facilities. This work is part of the European Union funded research programme ELUBSYS (Engine LUBrication System Technologies) within the 7th EU Frame Programme for Aeronautics and Transport.