Heat Transfer and Temperature Analysis of an Anti-icing System for an Aero-engine Strut under Icing Condition

Ice accretion on the inlet of an aero-engine could adversely affect the characteristics of the flow field into the engine and degrade the engine’s performance. When the accrued ice sheds, the portion sucked into the engine could induce serious damages. One method to reduce hazards caused by in-flight icing is an anti-icing system that utilizes hot lubricating oil from the engine rather than utilizes the hot gas. This method not only decreases the amount of anti-icing hot air required but also cools the lubrication oil. This paper presents a computational study of the temperature distribution of an aero-engine strut under icing condition. The flow field around the strut is simulated using ANSYS FLUENT CFD code. The trajectories of the super-cooled water droplets and the local collection coefficient are calculated through the Lagrangian approach after the computation of the air flow field. The coupling effects of heat transfer and mass transfer are considered in the temperature calculation of the strut studied. The thermal model takes both the mass balance of water and the energy balance on the surface of the strut into account. The convection heat transfer coefficients on the surface of the strut are obtained through two methods: correlation equations and CFD calculations. Finally, comparisons between the computational results and the experimental data are presented.