Axisymmetric-Sector Inertial Particle Separator Efficiency

An inertial particle separator (IPS) reduces sand and particulate ingestion in gas turbine engines by splitting the inlet airflow: a core leg ideally free of particles and a scavenge leg that carries contaminants. This study evaluates a novel IPS design with reduced flow turning using an axisymmetric-sector wind tunnel. Separation efficiency ([Formula: see text]) was tested across three flow splits ([Formula: see text]) and three standard dust types—ISO 12103-1 A2 Fine, AFRL-03, and ISO 12103-1 A4 Coarse—with a maximum uncertainty of 4%. For the ISO A4 Coarse dust, [Formula: see text] trends matched those from prior large-scale systems. Efficiency increased with [Formula: see text] for all dusts, with ISO A2 Fine showing a steeper [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] gradient than the others. Particle-size analysis revealed that lower-Stokes-number particles are harder to separate, especially at low [Formula: see text]. The introduction of axisymmetry significantly affected performance, reducing [Formula: see text] at low-flow splits compared to planar configurations. These results offer benchmark data for modeling and insight into how particle size and flow symmetry affect IPS performance.