COMPONENTS OF GTE

AIR INLET DUCTS

• The air inlet duct on a turbojet engine is normally considered

to be a part of the airframe rather than the engine.
• However, understanding the function of an air inlet duct and
its importance to engine performance make it a necessary
part of any discussion on gas turbine engine design and
construction.
 AIR INLET DUCTS

• The air inlet to a turbine engine has several functions, one of

which is to recover as much of the total pressure of the free
airstream as possible and deliver this pressure to the
compressor.
• This is known as ram recovery or pressure recovery.
 AIR INLET DUCTS

• In addition to recovering and maintaining the pressure of the free

airstream, many inlets are shaped to raise the air pressure above
atmospheric pressure.
• This ram effect results from forward movement which causes air to "pile
up" in the inlet.
• The faster the aircraft flies, the more air piles up, and the higher the inlet
air pressure rises above ambient.
 AIR INLET DUCTS
• Another function of the air inlet is to provide a uniform supply of air to the
compressor so the compressor can operate efficiently.
• Furthermore, the inlet duct must cause as little drag as possible. It takes only a
small obstruction to the airflow inside a duct to cause a severe loss of efficiency.
• If an inlet duct is to deliver its full volume of air with a minimum of turbulence, it
must be maintained as close to its original condition as possible.
• Therefore, any repairs to an inlet duct must retain the duct's smooth aerodynamic
shape.
• To help prevent damage or corrosion to an inlet duct, an inlet cover should be
installed any time the engine is not operating.
AIR INLET DUCTS
 AIR INLET DUCTS

• Many air inlet ducts have been designed to accommodation new

airframe-engine combinations and variations in engine mounting
locations.
• In addition, air inlets are designed to meet certain criteria for operation
at different airspeeds.
• Some of the most common locations where engine inlets are mounted
are on the engine, in the wing, and on the fuselage.
 AIR INLET DUCTS
ENGINE-MOUNTED INLETS
• Several large commercial aircraft and large military aircraft use wing mounted
engines.
• In a few cases, such as the DC-10 and L-1011, a combination of wing mounted and
vertical stabilizer mounted engines are used.
• In both cases, the air inlet duct is located directly in front of the compressor and is
mounted to the engine.
• Integral mounting of the inlet with an engine reduces air inlet length which helps to
increase inlet efficiency.
AIR INLET DUCTS
ENGINE-MOUNTED INLETS
 AIR INLET DUCTS
ENGINE-MOUNTED INLETS

• In addition to the wing and vertical stabilizer mounted engines,

some commercial aircraft and the majority of small business jets
are fitted with aft fuselage mounted engines.
• The air inlet ducts on engines mounted in this fashion are
identical to air inlet ducts on wing mounted engines in that the
duct is relatively short and is mounted directly to the engine.
AIR INLET DUCTS
ENGINE-MOUNTED INLETS
 AIR INLET DUCTS
WING-MOUNTED INLETS

• Some aircraft with engines mounted inside the wings feature air
inlet ducts in the wing's leading edge.
• Aircraft such as the Aerospatiale Caravelle, de Havilland Comet,
and de Havilland Vampire all utilize wing-mounted inlets.
• Typically, wing-mounted inlets are positioned near the wing root
area.
AIR INLET DUCTS
WING-MOUNTED INLETS
AIR INLET DUCTS
FUSELAGE-MOUNTED INLETS
• Engines mounted inside a fuselage typically use air inlet ducts located near the
front of the fuselage.
• For example, many early military aircraft were designed with an air inlet duct in
the nose of the fuselage.
• In addition, some modern supersonic military aircraft have inlet ducts located just
under the aircraft nose.
• Although using an air inlet of this type allows the aircraft manufacturer to build a
more aerodynamic aircraft, the increased length of the inlet does introduce some
inefficiencies.
AIR INLET DUCTS
FUSELAGE-MOUNTED INLETS
 AIR INLET DUCTS
FUSELAGE-MOUNTED INLETS
• Some military aircraft use air inlet ducts mounted on the sides of the fuselage.
• This arrangement works well for both single and twin engine aircraft.
• By mounting an intake on each side of an aircraft, the duct length can be shortened
without adding a significant amount of drag to the aircraft
• However a disadvantage to this arrangement is that some sudden flight maneuvers
can cause an imbalance in ram air pressure between the two intakes.
• The air pressure imbalance felt on the compressor face results in a slight loss of
power.
 AIR INLET DUCTS
SUBSONIC INLET
• A typical subsonic air inlet consists of a fixed geometry duct whose
diameter progressively increases from front to back.
• This divergent shape works like a venturi in that as the intake air
spreads out, the velocity of the air decreases and the pressure
increases.
• This added pressure contributes significantly to engine efficiency
once the aircraft reaches its design cruising speed.
 AIR INLET DUCTS
SUBSONIC INLET

• At this speed, the compressor reaches its optimum aerodynamic efficiency

and produces the most compression for the best fuel economy.
• It is at this design cruise speed that the inlet, compressor, combustor,
turbine, and exhaust duct are designed to match each other as a unit.
• If any section mismatches any other because of damage, contamination, or
ambient conditions, engine performance suffers.
 AIR INLET DUCTS
SUPERSONIC INLET
• On supersonic aircraft a typical air inlet duct has either a fixed or variable geometry whose
diameter progressively decreases, then increases from front to back.
• This convergent-divergent shape is used to slow the incoming airflow to subsonic speed
before it reaches the compressor.
• In addition to the convergent-divergent shape, many supersonic inlets employ a movable plug
or throat that changes the duct's geometry.
• The variable geometry is necessary so the duct can be adjusted as needed to accomodate a
wide range of flight speeds.
AIR INLET DUCTS
BELMOUTH INLET
• Bellmouth inlets have a convergent profile that is designed specifically for obtaining very
high aerodynamic efficiency when stationary or in slow flight.
• Therefore, bellmouth inlets are typically used on helicopters, some slow moving aircraft,
and on engines being run in ground test stands.
• A typical bellmouth inlet is short in length and has rounded shoulders offering very little
air resistance.
• However, because their shape produces a great deal of drag in forward flight, bellmouth
inlets are typically not used on high speed aircraft.
• Since a bellmouth duct is so efficient when stationary, engine manufacturers typically
collect engine performance data from engines fitted with a bellmouth inlet
 AIR INLET DUCT
FOREIGN OBJECT DAMAGE
• Prevention of foreign object damage (FOD) is a top priority among turbine engine
operators and manufacturers.
• One of the easiest ways to help prevent foreign object damage is to install an inlet screen
over an engine's inlet duct.
• The use of inlet screens is common on many rotorcraft and turboprop engines as well as
on engines installed in test stands.
• However, inlet screens are seldom used on high mass airflow engines because icing and
screen failures can cause serious engine damage.
 AIR INLET DUCT
FOREIGN OBJECT DAMAGE
• Additional devices that help prevent foreign object damage include sand or ice
separators.
• The basic design of a sand or ice separator consists of an air intake with at least one
venturi and a series of sharp bends.
• The venturi is used to accelerate the flow of incoming air and debris so the debris
has enough inertia that it cannot follow the bends in the intake.
• This allows sand particles and other small debris to be channeled away from the
compressor and into a sediment trap.
AIR INLET DUCT
FOREIGN OBJECT DAMAGE