Particle and moisture separator for engine inlet

Claim 1

A particle separator having an axis, adapted to be mounted to the upstream end of a gas turbine engine, for removing moisture and forEign particles from the inlet air flow to the engine, the separator comprising: an inner wall, substantially circular in cross section, an outer wall, substantially circular in cross section, surrounding said inner wall and forming a passageway therebetween, said inner wall including an inlet portion diverging in a downstream direction away from the separator axis while converging toward said outer wall to form a throat to accelerate incoming air to a high velocity in a substantially axial direction, said inner wall at said throat including a flow turning ramp, said ramp contour minimizing boundary layer separation at said throat to optimize the Coanda effect, said inner wall also including a downstream portion downstream of said ramp concomitantly converging toward the separator axis and diverging from said outer wall, the downstream end of said ramp being tangent to said downstream portion, splitter means disposed between said inner and outer walls, splitting said passageway into inner and outer passages, said inner passage adapted to communicate with the inlet of the engine and said outer passage adapted to accumulate moisture and foreign particles removed from the air, the leading edge of said splitter means being located downstream of and radially inward of said throat, the axial distance between said throat and said leading edge being two to four times greater than the difference in radial location between said throat and said leading edge, and means connected to said outer passage for removing accumulated moisture and foreign particles from said outer passage.