New Opportunities for High Efficiency, Low Penalty Sand and Dust Protection in Rotorcraft

Recent technology investments made by the U.S. Army and Rolls-Royce have led to advances in particle separation technology allowing a new type of low loss, compact, and efficient engine protection to be designed for use on rotorcraft of all sizes. The technology allows high separation efficiency and high ram pressure recovery at the airframe engine system inlet in a compact unit with low aerodynamic drag characteristics. This can allow range capabilities of the aircraft to be significantly improved, particularly those rotorcraft operating at high speed. Significant gains in both coarse and fine particle separation efficiency levels together with reduced unit volume and pressure loss create opportunities for application of this technology to both new and existing aircraft and also promise to improve operational readiness and address safety issues.