History of the Development of Inlet Diffusers Research Paper (Research Paper Sample)

Inlet Diffuser
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Table of Contents
TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u Introduction PAGEREF _Toc450133954 \h 3
History of the Development of Inlet Diffusers PAGEREF _Toc450133955 \h 4
Improvements to the Latest Models PAGEREF _Toc450133956 \h 6
Performance Information PAGEREF _Toc450133957 \h 6
Overall Advantages PAGEREF _Toc450133958 \h 7
Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc450133959 \h 7
Introduction
An inlet diffuser is a device that is normally applied in several engineering fields that make use of thermodynamics principles. Inlet diffusers are used in aerodynamic fields to regulate the entrance of fluids into the engine systems of planes. The diffuser modifies the characteristics of fluids as they enter into the thermodynamic system. its main purpose is to slow down the speed of the fluid as it enters into the thermodynamic system. The fluid in the case of aerospace thermodynamics is air, whose speed needs to be slowed down as it enters into the propulsion system of an airplane. It should be noted that an airplane system is composed of the inlet, engine, and the nozzle as shown in the diagram below.
The inlet is made up of the inlet diffuser that serves to slow down the velocity of the gasses that get into the engine. The nozzle plays the opposite role as that of the inlet since it increases the speed of the fluid leaving the engine. The velocity of air at the nozzle is accelerated to enhance the thrust that will propel the plane forward.
Inlet diffusers can also be applied in other fields other than aerospace. They are used in various industries and fields whose operations make use of thermodynamic systems. For example, they can be used in places that require reactors such as the hydro processing reactors.
History of the Development of Inlet Diffusers
The technology of inlet diffusers dates back to the late 19th century when Raschig Rings were invented. The Raschig rings were invented by a scientist and engineer known as Fritz Raschig. While the rings are more of distillers than diffusers, they paved a way for the invention of the inlet diffusers in airplanes and other reactors for machines. The Raschig rings were designed to carry out fractional distillation of air just before it entered the engine reactors (Cumpsty & Heyes, 2015). The Raschig Rings are shown in the diagram below.
Later, it was observed that for effective performance of the engine, the velocity of the air at the inlet had to be regulated to ensure that it provided the best thrust at the outlet. This led to the development of the current day diffusers that have been quite efficient in advancing the aerodynamics technologies. The current technology that is often adopted for the design of inlet diffusers is derived from the designs of Flour. Flour’s inlet diffuser is patented and has several improvements from its predecessors. It is able to handle the variations in the velocity and pressure of the fluids that enter the reactors of airplanes (Cumpsty & Heyes, 2015). The Flour inlet diffuser is illustrated in the diagram below.
The Flour inlet diffuser works through three different stages as shown in the diagram above. Each stage has vanes that regulate the flow of the fluid in the diffuser. The upper vanes guide the air into the engine while the lower vanes consist of deflector plates that redistribute the air in the duct by swirling it hence aiding in the creation of some thrust. Over the years, however, designers decided to combine the two technologies to have the best outcomes. This involved incorporating the Raschig Rings into the Flour inlet compressors so as to improve the distribution of fluids as shown in the diagram below.
Apart from the Flour inlet diffusers, the other type of diffuser commonly used is the supersonic inlet diffuser. Supersonic inlet diffusers are used in airplanes such as the SR-71 as fluid mixers. It should be noted that supersonic air inlets are limited to specific types of jets that fly at very high speeds. In fact, it is installed in jets like SR-71 that fly at supersonic speeds- speeds faster than that of sound.
Improvements to the Latest Models
There are several improvements that have been made to the Flour and Supersonic inlet diffusers that make them more efficient and reliable for use in the compulsion and propulsion of the jet engines. The supersonic inlet diffuser, which was designed by David Campbell, is applicable for jet engines and aircrafts of Mach 3.2. The inlet diffusers are axisymmetrical and consist of spike inlets. The inlets are also inclined downwards to around 5.6 degrees (Lijo, Kim, Matsuo & Setoguchi, 2012). The notable improvements made to the current inlet diffuser is the presence of a translating spike that helps to guide and control the speed of air that enters into the diffuser. The translating spike consists of the spike bleed and the cowl bleed that acts as the shock trap. These improvements are aimed at ensuring that maximum thrust is attained to allow for good propulsion of the airplane when flying. It is due to this design that the supersonic air diffuser is able to thrust the SR-71 to a velocity of over 2130 miles per hour at pram pambient of 49.4. Most jets and aircrafts combine the properties of supersonic and subsonic inlet diffusers to attain the optimum thrust. Another major improvement to note is the reduction in the flow area so as to rectify the previous instances where the duct expanded so rapidly resulting in low-pressure recovery and some roughness that affected the flight of the planes in the air. The forward bypass openings have been modified to allow a required amount of fluid into the diffuser (Lancaster, 2015).
Performance Information
The performance mechanism of the supersonic inlet is based on fluid mechanics where fluid physics is applied. The supersonic inlet tries to bring about a balance between the pressure and velocity of the fluid as it enters into the engine. The following is an analysis of the supersonic inlet diffuser working principle.
i) Supersonic compression: this is the primary mechanism of the supersonic diffuser. It involves change in the velocity of the air through compression or expansion of the air. The air is compressed supersonically by causing an abrupt change in the direction of the air, which subsequently leads to an oblique shock that releases the ram pressure responsible for thrusting the plane (Yang, Wen, Wang & Feng, 2014).
ii) Supersonic contraction: the supersonic contraction is required so as to reduce the increased pressure and reduce the Mach number that is responsible for the forward thrust of the plane.
iii) Inlet flow balance: the inlet diffuser is responsible for controll...