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INDUCTION SYSTEMS
INTRODUCTION
The induction system is designed to supply air to the engine so that, when fuel is added, combustion can take
place. On reciprocating engines, outside air passes through an air intake and is then routed to a carburetor or other
fuel metering device. Once fuel is added, the fuel/air mixture is delivered into an intake manifold where it is
ducted to the cylinders for combustion. In a turbine engine induction system, large quantities of air are ducted
through an inlet into a compressor. Once through the compressor, the resulting high pressure airmass is diffused,
mixed with fuel, and ignited in a combustion chamber to produce thrust. Due to the large quantities of air
consumed by a turbine engine, the induction system plays a very large role in the level of efficiency that the
engine is able to attain.
RECIPROCATING ENGINES
The primary purpose because of the extra aircraft engine. Dust saturated, suspend
of an induction velocity the consists of small the filter and allow
system in a propeller imparts to particles of hard, to excess oil to
reciprocating engine the airstream. By abrasive material drain.
is to provide air in taking advantage of that can be carried
sufficient quantity ram air pressure, the into the engine Newer types of air
to support normal pressure within the cylinders by the filters include paper
combustion. intake is typically induction air. Dust filters similar to the
Reciprocating higher than any particles can cause ones used in
engine induction other point in a accelerated wear on automobiles. As air
systems can be normally aspirated cylinder walls and passes through the
broadly classified as induction system. piston rings, silicon porous paper filter
normally aspirated, Because of this fouling of spark element, dust and
supercharged, and pressure rise, a well plugs, and con- sand particles
turbocharged. designed intake taminate the oil. become trapped on
scoop can have a Once in the oil, the the filter surface.
substantial effect on particles are carried Some manufacturers
NORMALLY an engine's power throughout the approve a method of
ASPIRATED output. engine, causing cleaning paper filters
SYSTEMS further wear on by blowing the dust
A typical induction bearings and gears. out in the opposite
AIR FILTERING
system on a In extreme cases, direction to the
normally aspirated For an engine to dust accumulation normal airflow.
engine consists of provide reliable can clog an oil Some paper filters
four major operation and a long passage and cause may be washed in a
components, or sec- service life, the oil starvation. Dust mild soap and water
tions: an air intake, induction air must be may also collect in a solution and allowed
an induction air free of foreign fuel metering device to dry. However,
filter, a fuel delivery material. To and upset its ability when servicing this
system, and an accomplish this, to provide the proper type of filter be sure
induction manifold. filters are typically mixture ratio at all to follow the
Additional installed in air power settings. manufacturer's
subsystems such as intake ducts to recommendations or
an alternate air prevent dust, sand, restrictions.
abrasive materials, Filter Maintenance
source, an ice
removal or or other The efficiency of The most effective
prevention system, contaminants from any filtration filter available
and a temperature entering the engine. system depends today is a
indicating system upon proper polyurethane foam
are typically While dust may maintenance and filter impregnated
included to support only be a minor service. Periodic with a glycol
the operation of the irritant to the removal, cleaning, or solution. The glycol
four primary human body, it is a replacement of filter solution makes the
components. serious source of elements is essential filter sticky so dust
trouble for an to ensure proper and dirt stick to the
engine performance. element. To service
AIR INTAKES
Many early air filters this type of filter, the
An air intake, were constructed foam element is
sometimes referred to from screen wire removed and dis-
as an air scoop, is that was filled with a
designed to direct reusable fiber
outside air into a material known as
carburetor or other flock. To maintain
fuel metering device. such a filter, clean
The intake is and service it by
generally located to washing it in safety
take advantage of solvent. Once clean,
ram air pressure as soak the filter
much as possible. element in a mixture
Therefore, the intake of engine oil and
opening is usually preservative oil.
found in the After all the fibers
propeller slipstream are thoroughly
Induction 5-3
Systems
carded and a new one is installed. It is not recom- engine. When this happens, an engine may run
mended that these filters be cleaned. rough, lose power, or even quit in flight. Complaints
of poor engine performance in flight that cannot be
verified on a post-flight ground check could indi-
FUEL DELIVERY SYSTEM cate that induction system icing occurred while in
The fuel delivery system on a normally aspirated flight. When ice accumulation causes poor engine
engine can be either a carburetor or a fuel injection sys- performance, the problem and the cause disappear
tem. The purpose of a fuel delivery system is to meter once the ice melts. That is why it is very important
the amount of fuel and air that is delivered to the cylin- to understand how induction icing forms, what the
ders. A complete discussion as to how the fuel and air indications of it are, and the ways in which it can be
are metered is covered in Section B of Chapter 7. prevented or removed.
SUPERCHARGED INDUCTION
SYSTEMS
As you know, the higher an airplane climbs, the less
oxygen is available to the engine for combustion.
Therefore, as a reciprocating engine powered air-
craft climbs, the power output of the engine
decreases. To help prevent this loss of engine
power, more oxygen must be forced into an engine.
One method of getting more air into an engine is
with a supercharger. A supercharger is basically an
engine driven air pump that increases manifold
pressure and forces the fuel/air mixture into the
cylinders. The higher the manifold pressure, the
more dense the fuel/air mixture and the more power
an engine can produce. A typical supercharger is
capable of boosting manifold pressure above 30
inches while producing a volumetric efficiency in Figure 5-4. The lower curve illustrates how the power out-
excess of 100 percent. put of a normally aspirated engine declines as altitude
increases. The upper curve illustrates how a ground-
The components in a supercharged induction sys- boosted engine has a higher power output at all altitudes
tem are similar to those in a normally aspirated sys- but still decreases as altitude increases.
Induction System 5-7
may be operated at two speeds. At the low speed,
the impeller gear ratio is approximately 8:1; how-
ever, at the high speed, the impeller gear ratio is
stepped up to 11:1. The low impeller speed is often
referred to as the low blower setting while the high
impeller speed is called the high blower setting. On
engines equipped with a low speed supercharger,
the activation of a lever or switch in the cockpit acti-
vates an oil operated clutch that switches from one
speed to the other.
When the engine is not running, no oil pressure A variation of the absolute pressure controller is the
exists and the spring pressure inside the waste gate variable absolute pressure controller, or VAPC. A
actuator holds the waste gate in the fully open, or VAPC functions similarly to an APC with a bellows
bypass position. In addition, the upper deck pres- controlling the position of a restrictor valve.
sure is low so the bellows holds the variable restric- However, with a VAPC, the position of the restrictor
tor valve closed. Once the engine is started, engine valve seat is controlled by a cam that is actuated by
oil flows into the waste gate actuator cylinder and the throttle control.
the APC. Since the restrictor valve in the APC is
closed, oil pressure will build in the system until it PRESSURE-RATIO CONTROLLER
can partially overcome the spring pressure in the
waste gate actuator. As oil pressure builds, the Some engines are restricted to a maximum altitude
waste gate begins to close and direct some of the at which they are allowed to maintain their maxi-
exhaust to the turbocharger. This process continues mum rated manifold pressure. On engines that are
until the upper deck pressure builds enough to com- limited in this way, a secondary control device
press the APC bellows and open the restrictor valve. known as a pressure-ratio controller is installed in
Once the restrictor valve opens, oil is allowed to parallel with the absolute pressure controller. The
5-72 Induction
Systems
purpose of a pressure-ratio controller is to monitor A typical pressure-ratio controller consists of a bel-
both the ambient and upper deck pressures and pre- lows that positions a variable restrictor valve. One
vent the turbocharger from boosting the upper deck side of the bellows senses upper deck pressure
pressure higher than 2.2 times the ambient pressure. while the opposite side is exposed to the ambient
[Figure 5-13] pressure within the cowl. When the upper deck
pressure exceeds 2.2 times the ambient pressure,
To explain how a pressure-ratio controller works, the bellows expands enough to open the restrictor
assume an aircraft is equipped with a turbocharging valve and bleeds off some of the waste gate actua-
system that has a manifold pressure limit of 36 tor oil.
inches of mercury at 16,000 feet. As the airplane
takes off and begins climbing, the absolute pressure As a backup to the pressure-ratio controller, most
controller slowly closes the waste gate so the mani- turbocharger systems incorporate a pressure relief
fold pressure remains at 36 inches. As the aircraft valve. A typical pressure relief valve consists of a
approaches 16,000 feet, the waste gate will be fully spring loaded pop-up valve that is mounted to the
or nearly fully closed to maintain the 36 inches of upper deck near the compressor output. In most
manifold pressure. The atmospheric pressure at cases, the relief valve remains seated until the upper
16,000 feet is approximately 16.22 inches of mer- deck pressure exceeds its maximum rated pressure
cury; therefore, at 16,000 feet, the pressure-ratio by 1 to 1.5 inches.
controller begins to unseat because the upper deck
pressure (37 inches) will exceed 2.2 times the ambi-
ent pressure (16.22 x 2.2 = 35.68 inches). If the air- RATE-OF-CHANGE CONTROLLER
craft continues to climb to 18,000 feet where the In addition to an absolute pressure controller, a
ambient pressure is approximately 14.95 in. Hg., the pressure ratio controller, and a pressure relief valve,
pressure-ratio controller will unseat as necessary to many automatic turbocharger control systems uti
maintain an upper deck pressure of 32.89 inches lize a rate-of-change controller. A rate-of-change
(14.95 X 2.2 = 32.89). controller is installed in parallel with the absolute
pressure controller and pressure-ratio controller,
and prevents the upper deck pressure from increas
ing too rapidly. Under normal conditions, the rate-
of-change controller remains seated; however, if the
throttle is advanced too abruptly and the upper
deck pressure rises too rapidly, the rate-of-change
controller unseats and allows waste gate actuator oil
to flow back to the engine. In most cases, a rate-of-
change controller is set between 2.0 and 6.5 inches
per second. .■
ADDITIONAL TURBOCHARGER
USES
In addition to compressing intake air to improve
engine performance, turbocharger systems are also
used to perform several other tasks. For example,
upper deck pressure is used as a reference to regu-
late the operation of fuel discharge nozzles, fuel
pumps, and fuel flow gauges. Furthermore, tur-
bocharger discharge air can be used for cabin pres-
surization. However, in this case, the amount of air Figure 5-16. On engines equipped with a power recovery
entering the cabin must be limited. To do this, the turbine, the engine's exhaust gases are directed by a series
turbocharger air that is going to be used for pressur- of turbine wheels that transmit rotational energy back to
ization must pass through a sonic venturi. As tur- the crankshaft.
Induction 5-15
Systems
Figure 5-15. The turbocharger system utilized in many general aviation aircraft supplies not only induction air, but also serves as a
reference pressure. The fuel discharge nozzles, fuel pump, and fuel flow gauge all use upper deck pressure as a reference pressure
to perform fuel metering functions properly. In addition, on many aircraft, the turbocharger provides air for cabin pressurization.
TURBINE ENGINES
Beyond the basic U this pressure to the flies, the more air
function of supplying R compressor. This is piles up, and the
air for combustion, known as ram higher the inlet air
turbine engine
B recovery or pressure pressure rises above
induction systems O recovery. In addition ambient.
are very different F to recovering and
from the induction A maintaining the Another function of
systems used on N pressure of the free the air inlet is to
reciprocating airstream, many provide a uniform
engines. One reason inlets are shaped to supply of air to the
for this is that I raise the air pressure compressor so the
turbine engines N above atmospheric compressor can
consume much more L pressure. This ram operate efficiently.
air than E effect results from To do this, the inlet
reciprocating T forward movement duct must cause as
engines and which causes air to little drag as
generally operate at
S "pile up" in the possible. It takes
faster airspeeds. In A gas turbine engine inlet. The faster the only a small
addition, intake air consumes between aircraft obstruction to the
enters a turbine six and ten times as airflow inside a duct
engine much sooner much air per hour as to cause a severe loss
than on a a reciprocating of efficiency. If an
reciprocating engine engine of the inlet duct is to
eliminating the need equivalent size. deliver its full
for intricate ducting. Therefore, the air volume of air with a
inlet of a turbine minimum of
Typically, the air engine must be turbulence, it must
inlet duct on a correspondingly be maintained as
turbine engine is larger. In addition, to close to its original
considered to be an help ensure condition as
airframe component optimum possible. Therefore,
rather than part of performance, the air any repairs to an
the engine. inlet duct on a inlet duct must
However, since the turbojet or turbofan retain the duct's
supply of air is engine must furnish smooth aerodynamic
essential to the a relatively shape. Poor
operation of a distortion free, high workmanship
turbine engine, it is energy supply of air resulting in
important that you, to the compressor. If protruding rivet
as an aviation this is not done, heads or inferior
maintenance improper sheet metal repairs
technician, be combustion, can destroy the
familiar with some excessive turbine efficiency of an
basic inlet duct temperatures, or a otherwise
principles. compressor stall can acceptable duct
occur. In fact, given installation. To help
the speeds at which prevent damage or
T turbine aircraft corrosion to an inlet
U travel, even a small duct, an inlet cover
R inefficiency in an should be installed
B air inlet duct will any time the engine
O result in a large is not operating.
decrease in engine
J performance. Many air inlet ducts
E have been designed
T The air inlet to a to accommodate
turbine engine has new airframe/engine
A several functions, combinations and
N one of which is to variations in engine
recover as much of mounting locations.
D the total pressure of In addition, air inlets
the free airstream as are designed to meet
T possible and deliver certain criteria for
operation at I
different airspeeds. n
However, in order to
maintain an even
airflow and
minimize pressure
losses caused by
friction, all inlet
ducts must be
designed with a
sufficiently straight
section. Some of the
most common
locations where
engine inlets are
mounted are on the
engine, in the wing,
and on the fuselage.
de Havilland Comet, and de Havilland Vampire all utilize wing-mounted inlets. Typically, wing-mounted inlets
are positioned near the wing root area. [Figure 5-18]
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. [Figure 5-19]
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
Figure 5-19. The single-entrance inlet duct takes full advantage of ram effect much like engine-mounted air inlets. Although the
aircraft is aerodynamically clean, the length of the duct makes it slightly less efficient than engine-mounted types.
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.
SUBSONIC INLETS
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 diffuser in that as the intake air passes through the duct it spreads out. As
the air spreads out, its velocity decreases and its pressure increases. In most cases, subsonic inlets are designed
to diffuse the air in the front portion of the duct. This allows the air to progress at a fairly constant pressure
before it enters the engine. [Figure 5-20]
Figure 5-18. The Hawker-Siddeley 801 "Nimrod" was devel- Figure ,5-20. Subsonic turbine engine inlets use a divergent
oped from the de Havilland Comet airframe and utilizes profile that diffuses incoming air. At cruise airspeeds, the
wing mounted air inlets that are aerodynamically shaped to divergent shape causes air velocity to decrease and static
reduce drag. air pressure to increase.
5-18 Induction
Systems
A turbofan inlet is similar in design to a turbojet
inlet except that the inlet discharges only a portion
of its air into the engine. The remainder of inlet air
passing through the fan flows around, or bypasses,
the engine core to create thrust much in the same
way a propeller does. In addition, the bypass air
helps cool the engine and reduce noise.
INLET DESIGN
To slow the inlet air
to a subsonic
velocity, all
supersonic aircraft
utilize convergent- Figure 5-23. With a
divergent, or CD convergent-divergent
inlet duct, the
inlet ducts. With a convergent section
CD duct, the slows the incoming air
diameter of the duct velocity to Mach 1.0 at
progressively its narrowest point
decreases, then and forms a shock
wave. The divergent
increases from front section then reduces
to back. When the air velocity further
supersonic air enters while increasing air
the convergent pressure.
portion of the duct,
5-20 Induction
Systems
Figure 5-24. Some supersonic aircraft utilize a variable geometry inlet that maintains efficient airflow at subsonic, transonic, and
supersonic speeds. At subsonic speeds, the wedge is retracted to take full advantage of ram effect. Once the aircraft reaches
supersonic speeds, the wedge is extended to produce a convergent-divergent shape.
In addition to the movable wedge, this type of inlet duct incorporates a dump valve and spill valve. During subsonic
flight, the dump valve is opened into the airstream to allow more air into the diverging portion of the inlet. At the same
time, the spill valve is open to help prevent turbulence. During supersonic flight, both the dump and spill valve are
opened to allow excess airflow to vent to the atmosphere.
Another method used to vary the geometry of an inlet duct utilizes a movable spike, or plug, which is positioned as
necessary to alter the shape of the inlet as aircraft speed changes. The shape of the spike and surrounding inlet duct
combine to form a movable CD inlet. During transonic flight (Mach .75 to 1.2), the movable spike is extended forward
to produce a normal shock wave, or bow wave, at the inlet. As airspeed increases, the spike is repositioned to shift the
CD duct for optimum inlet shape at the new airspeed. As airspeed increases to supersonic, the bow wave changes to
multiple oblique shock waves extending from the tip of the spike and a normal shock wave develops at the lip of the
inlet. [Figure 5-25]
dynamic 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. [Figure 5-26]
TURBOPROP INLETS
Turboprop engines develop the majority of their thrust with propeller rather than jet propulsion. Therefore, the
air inlet duct on a turboprop engine is typically smaller than those used on turbojet or turbofan engines. For
example, on a reverse-flow turboprop engine, such as a PT-6, the air entrance to the compressor is located toward
the rear of the engine. Depending on the aircraft installation, an air scoop located at the front of the nacelle below
the propeller is generally used to duct air back to the engine inlet. In such installations, ducting similar to that used
on reciprocating engines is utilized to route intake air to the engine.
On turboprop engines that have an intake at the front of the engine, a ducted spinner is generally considered to
be the best inlet design to use.
Induction 5-21
Systems
Figure 5-27. (A) 50 A ducted spinner inlet is the most
efficient design for turboprop engines. (B) 50 Although less
efficient, conical spinner inlets present fewer design
problems than ducted spinners.
TURBOSHAFT FILTER/SEPARATOR
INLET ANTI-ICE SYSTEMS
One of the most critical aspects of air inlet system
design for a turboshaft engine is the prevention of When a turbine powered aircraft flies through icing
foreign object damage to the compressor. This is conditions, ice can build up in the engine's inlet
especially difficult in helicopter operations where duct and on its inlet guide vanes. This disrupts the
landings are often conducted in unimproved areas. airflow into the compressor and reduces the
Therefore, many helicopters are fitted with a engine's efficiency. Furthermore, large pieces of ice
particle separator on the engine inlet. could break off and enter the engine causing serious
Figure 5-30. A swirl chamber particle separator is used on the Bell 206 helicopter. The swirling motion forces foreign particles to the
outside of each filter element and then deposits the particles at the bottom of the filter for removal.
Induction 5-23
Systems
damage to compressor blades. To prevent ice forma- anti-icing system is on. A disadvantage of this type
tion and ingestion, turbine engine inlet ducts are of system is that, whenever bleed air is taken from a
typically equipped with some form of anti-ice sys- turbine engine, engine power output decreases. The
tem to prevent ice formation. power decrease is generally indicated by a slight
rise in EGT and a shift in both EPR and fuel flow.
A typical turbine engine inlet anti-ice system ducts
high temperature bleed air from the compressor to One way manufacturers avoid the power loss
the air inlet. When the anti-icing system is switched associated with a bleed air anti-ice system is to
on, a bleed valve directs hot air to the inlet duct install an electric system. With an electric anti-ice
leading edge, nose dome, and inlet guide vanes to system, electric heating elements are embedded in a
prevent ice from building. In addition, an indicator rubber boot or placed behind a metal leading edge
light illuminates in the cockpit to indicate that the surrounding the intake.