Numerical Simulation of Novel Nozzle Intake Manifold

Abstract The design of automobile intake plays a vital role in the performance of the engine. Any abrupt change in the contour of the intake manifold affects the performance and emission characteristics of the engine. The objective for this research work is to study the flow through restrictor, plenum, and runner for a normally aspirated engine for motorsports application. Restrictor placed in the intake path to achieve the desired value of peak power and torque. In this study, a 20 mm restrictor is used before plenum and runner in compliance with FSAE competition rules conducted by SAE India. In the present study, two novel models of the intake manifold are considered with different plenum geometries. The geometries are modeled using SOLIDWORKS 2014. Meshing is done using ICEM CFD 15.0 and CFD simulations are done using ANSYS-Fluent 15.0. The K-epsilon (RNG) Model is used for simulation with scalable wall function. The two proposed novel intake manifolds were compared on the basis of static pressure, velocity magnitude, total pressure, and turbulence kinetic energy to decide the better model. The effect of the restricted path on the engine efficiency was also analyzed for the better intake manifold model.