Flow Control Analysis of S-duct Diffuser Inlet

An numerical investigation of the flow characteristics inside a diffusing S-duct inlet with and without vortex generators(VGs) was conducted. The primary discussion herein focuses on development of secondary flow in the S-duct with and without VGs, pressure recovery and distortion at the exit are also discussed. Full three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations are solved using finite volume method and $k-\varepsilon$ turbulence model is employed. In order to validate the credibility of the numerical methods, predicted results of surface pressure are compared with flight test for the S-duct inlet without VGs, and it shows fairly good agreement. The result shows that VGs alter the flow characteristics in the S-duct and are effective in reducing distortion and ineffective in improving pressure recovery.