Problems with in Take Air Filtration in Piston and Turbine Combustion Engines Used in Conditions of High Air Dust Content

The operating conditions of engines in motor vehicles used in conditions of high air dustiness resulting from sandy ground and in helicopters using temporary landing sites were analyzed. The impact of mineral dust on accelerated abrasive and erosive wear of components and assemblies of piston and turbine engines was presented. Attention was drawn to the formation of dust deposits on turbine engine components. The possibilities of minimizing abrasive wear by using two-stage intake air filtration systems in motor vehicle engines were presented. The filtration properties of cyclones used as the first stage of air filtration were discussed. Three forms of protection for helicopter engines against the intake of contaminated air and to extend their service life were presented: intake barrier filters (IBF), tube separators (VTS), and particulate separators (IPS) called Engine Air Particle Separation (EAPS). It has been shown that pleating the filter bed significantly increases the filtration area without increasing the frontal area, whereby optimization of the filter bed geometry is of great importance here. An important advantage of the VTS air filtration system was demonstrated in the form of no maintenance due to the use of a system for the continuous removal of separated dust, whereby increasing the suction flow increases separation efficiency and pressure drop and energy losses. IPS is an air filtration system integrated with a turbine engine, characterized by a compact design, low external resistance, and no periodic maintenance, but with lower separation efficiency than VTS and IBF systems. The primary goal of such systems is to separate as many solid particles as possible at the lowest possible energy cost. The results of experimental research conducted by the author are presented, the aim of which was to demonstrate the advantages of a filtration unit consisting of cyclones and a porous partition in terms of increased filtration efficiency and filter operating time. During the research, an innovative method was used to determine the characteristics of a barrier filter operating in a two-stage filtration system, which reduces testing time and energy losses. It was a single VTS axial flow cyclone with a test barrier filter arranged in series behind it, whose filter bed was pleated paper with a suitably selected surface area. The results confirmed the advisability of using two-stage filtration systems to purify the intake air for internal combustion engines of motor vehicles and helicopter turbine engines. Since a porous partition increases pressure drop during operation, it is advisable to use permissible resistance sensors to limit their use due to increasing engine energy losses.