A splitter plate is a component in some jet aircraft, used to control the airflow into the engine. Where the engine air intake is mounted partway back along the fuselage or under the wing, the splitter plate diverts the boundary layer away from the engine intake. It is a form of boundary layer control.
Diverting the boundary layer When a body, such as a wing or a fuselage, passes through a fluid such as the air, a boundary layer of fluid attaches to the body and moves along with it. This boundary layer is turbulent and if it enters the air intake of a jet engine which requires clean and uniform airflow, it can cause distortion and affect performance.
In order to stop this boundary layer problem from happening, a splitter plate may be used to separate the boundary layer from the fast-moving free airflow and divert it away from the engine intake.
Many splitter plates have a series of holes drilled into the surface closer to the engine side of the intake. Suction is applied to these holes, further reducing the boundary layer.
Airplanes General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon HAL Tejas Saab JAS 39 Gripen Eurofighter Typhoon Dassault Rafale Chengdu J-10A McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II North American XB-70 Valkyrie Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow Avro Vulcan Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 Mikoyan Project 1.44 Sukhoi Su-15 Sukhoi Su-24 Shenyang J-8B Finback
See also Index of aviation articles Inlet cone Intake ramp Diverterless supersonic inlet Diffuser (automotive) for automotive splitter plates
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