Study of particle deposition on the complex components of environmental control systems

As most airplanes do not have HEPA filters for filtering outside air, particulate matter in the outdoor air can deposit on the environmental control systems (ECS) of the airplanes. The particles that accumulate on the various surfaces of the ECS components can affect their thermal performance and may lead to component failures. This study experimentally and numerically investigated the particle deposition on a heat exchanger and a turbocharger, which are key components of ECS with complex geometry. A test rig was built to obtain the monodisperse particle deposition fractions by measuring the particle concentration upstream and downstream of the components with the weighing method. The tested particles ranged from 1 to 8 μm in diameter. Different Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) models, together with a modified Lagrangian method, were used to predict the total particle deposition fractions in the tested components. The computed particle deposition was compared with the experimental data. The results showed that the RNG k-ε model with near-wall correction provided the most accurate prediction of the particle deposition fraction on the heat exchanger and turbocharger. The particle deposition fraction increased significantly with the particle size. CFD simulation provided detailed information about the particle deposition distribution inside the heat exchanger and turbocharger. The location and number of deposited particles depended mainly on the particle size and air velocity. This investigation identified a suitable tool for studying particle deposition in the ECS of commercial airplanes.