Simulation of Airflow in the Engine Compartment of a Light Aircraft

This paper applies the software of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)-FLUENT to analyze the flow field in the engine compartment of a light aircraft. The simulation results of the prototype model indicates that the airflow rapidly flows to the back of the engine compartment along the inside cowling after entering the engine compartment, rather than to the engine cylinder which will result in a very high cylinder temperature. Hence, this paper designs the air inlet, air duct, guide vane, and air outlet to improve the airflow in the engine compartment according to the drawbacks of the prototype model. The results show that the air duct and the guide vane help lead the airflow to the cylinder, and the air outlet effectively reduces the pressure in the engine compartment so that the airflow accelerates through the engine compartment, which is considered a feasible and economic improvement method in terms of the production cost.