Professional Documents
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ABB Turbocharging
Operating turbochargers – Collection of articles
by Johan Schieman published in Turbo Magazine 1992 – 1996
Contents
What to do?
To counteract the drop in efficiency a certain amount of water In time, the air flowing through the cooler also causes a layer
is injected periodically (once a week to once daily, as neces- of dirt to form on the fins and tubes, with the result that the
sary) during full-load operation (Fig. 2). This measure consid- pressure loss across the cooler increases and the air supplied
erably lengthens the intervals between turbo charger cleanings to the engine becomes hotter. This affects how the compres-
requiring dismantling (Figs. 3 and 4). sor behaves, in that the operating curve in the compressor
characteristics moves closer to the point where surging would
s [-] clean occur.
dirty
0.9 Depending on the quality of the fuel (MDO, HFO or mix) burnt
in the engine and on the constituents of the lubricating oil,
0.8 residues may be formed which pass together with the exhaust
gases into the turbine.
0.7
The composition of these residues decides whether or not a
0.6 layer of dirt is deposited on the nozzle rings and tur bine
blades. Dirt layers can be moved by periodical cleaning (once
0.5 a week to once daily, as required), allowing longer intervals
0.3 0.4 0.5 [m 3/s] between cleanings requiring dismantling of the turbocharger.
Air flow
Fig. 1: Reduction of compressor efficiency due to fouling.
100 100
Charging pressure
Charging pressure
99
90
Compressor Heavy Normal Light 98
not washed fouling fouling fouling
80 97
Operating conditions
96
2 4 6 8 10 12 Days
70
4000 8000 12000 16000 50 100 150 200 250 300
Running hours Running hours
Fig. 3: Example: Reduction in charging pressure with time. Fig. 4: Compressor cleaning in service. Example: cleaning
every second day.
Proven methods of cleaning are waterwashing of the turbine The usual complaint by ship’s engineers concerns high exhaust
during part-load operation and cleaning by blasting with gas temperatures, although these are really a result of lower
ground nutshells, etc. The combustion residues can contain pressure and smaller air mass flow. As has been said, turbo -
hard and chemically corrosive components which can initiate charger efficiency decreases only very slowly with time. Despite
erosion and corrosion of the turbine as well as the nozzle this, turbocharger suppliers often hear complaints of high
and cover rings. By selecting special materials or applying exhaust gas temperatures, wrongly reported as being caused
coatings to relevant parts, the service life of these compo- by the turbocharger.
nents can be lengthened substantially.
Often, high exhaust gas temperatures are caused by changes
The importance of cleanness in the properties of the engine’s fuel injection system over
The processes described above underscore the need to keep its lifetime. With fuel injection, pressure build-up is not so fast
the turbine clean to ensure trouble-free operation. Pollution and combustion is slower due to wear and leaks in the fuel
reduces the through-flow area and turbine efficiency. Conse- pumps.
quently, compressor surging can also occur in the case of
two-stroke engines. ABB Turbo Systems has investigated these factors in some
detail. It was seen that the engine itself can cause higher
Erosion and corrosion also enlarge the clearance between the exhaust gas temperatures even when turbo charger efficiency
moving blades and the cover ring, causing a drop in turbine is good. At part load, this influence is far less pronounced.
efficiency as well as turbocharger speed. Providing the plant The first reaction is to run the machine with reduced output.
is properly looked after, i. e. the compressor and turbine are
cleaned periodically during operation and the silencer filter is An often-heard request in connection with complaints of
kept clean, the efficiency will diminish only very slowly. A nor- high exhaust gas temperatures is for the turbocharger specifi-
mal figure today for the interval between two cleanings requir- cations to be adapted to allow more air to flow. Before any
ing dismantling is 8,000 to 16,000 hours, depending on the decision is taken to modify the turbocharger, it pays to first
operating conditions and unit size. analyze why the temperature is so high. Under certain circum-
stances this can save a considerable amount of money.
A turbocharger which has been dismantled, cleaned and had
its worn parts replaced, will have an efficiency “as good as The described causes of higher exhaust gas temperatures
new”. Some 80 service stations are available worldwide to usually appear in combinations of one or the other. In
help owners maintain high efficiencies for their turbochargers. time, the turbocharger supplies less pressure and air, and
the engine combustion starts later and lasts longer.
Turbochargers pollution and engine operation
The consequences of a drop in turbo charger efficiency for the For older plants, it is often better to limit the output to the
engine are: maximum that is required and adapt the turbocharger
– Higher exhaust gas temperatures specifications to the new situation or replace the old unit
– Lower charging pressure with a new, modern one with higher efficiency.
– Smaller air mass flow
This will allow a considerable improvement in the “perfor-
mance” of an installation which otherwise would not be
capable of “new” operating values.
In an earlier article in Turbo Magazine II / 1992 we explained The conditions that count
how the diesel engine and turbocharger interact, that the Barometric pressure
compressor supplies air to the engine through an air cooler, The barometric pressure depends on the height above sea
and that the engine feeds the turbine with exhaust gases to level, and decreases as this height increases. However, even
drive the compressor. Providing the turbocharger is kept at sea level considerable variation is possible. (The lowest
adequately clean during operation, its performance will stay at pressure known – 0.915 bar – was measured in January 1993
a high level for a long period of time. However, another factor in the North Sea; the highest values lie at about 1.04 bar). At
– the ambient conditions – also plays a role and could cause any given engine load the pressure ratio across the turbine
an unexpected change in performance. increases as the barometric pressure goes down. The result is
a higher turbocharger speed (Fig. 1).
How do ambient conditions affect performance?
The properties of the air taken in by the compressor are: Many turbochargers are in operation on ship’s propulsion
– barometric pressure engines. For a given engine output the turbocharger speed
– air intake temperature may differ slightly because it depends on the barometric
– humidity pressure. The pressure ratio of the compressor increases
with the turbocharger speed. The resultant charging pressure,
While the first and second of these have an immediate effect having built up at the lower barometric pressure, remains
on turbocharger performance, there are also some secondary slightly lower than the charging pressure at a higher baro-
influences of an external nature which could cause the turbo- metric pressure. Above sea level the barometric pressure is
charger performance to change. These can be, for example: lower and for a given engine load the charger speed will
– the temperature of the cooling water used in the air cooler, increase accordingly (Fig. 2).
or
– increased torque requirements at lower engine speeds, e. g.
due to fouling of the ship’s hull.
“Hurricane”
2000
110
ISO
1000
105
“Normal”
[%] 0
100 120 Relative turbocharger speed
nTL
5.0
n300
1.5 s-1
470
4.5 460
450
440
ISO 4.0 430
Relative pressure ratio
82
380
3.0
0,
t 1 = 45 °C 370
360
350
65
2.5 340 0,
330 *sV
0.5 320
300
2.0
280
260
240
1.5 220
210
0.0 1.0
– 50 0 50 [°C] 2.0 3.0 4.0 V 300 [m 3/s]
Intake temperature t 1
Fig. 3 Fig. 4
Turbochargers on diesel locomotives in mountainous regions If we now sail to Arctic waters, where the intake temperature
have to take account of these conditions. When the maximum may be –10 °C, the absolute charging pressure increases by
permissible operational speed has been reached, the engine 10 %. We now have to be careful that the maximum firing
output has to be reduced to prevent the charger from over- pressure in the engine is not exceeded.
speeding. It may also be necessary to use other measures
(e. g. an exhaust gas waste gate) to prevent overspeed. The stability of the compressor may be impaired as these
Usually, a turbocharger will be specified for International conditions move the working point on the compressor map
Standards Organization conditions, i. e. 1 bar ambient pres- nearer to the surge line (Fig. 4).
sure. If deviations are considerable, the engine may have to
be derated. Fishing vessels operating in Arctic waters are confronted with
this problem now and again. A good remedy is to prevent out-
Air intake temperature side air from entering the engine room near the charger air
The energy needed to compress the air is directly proportional intake.
to the intake temperature. Therefore, at a given turbocharger
speed, the pressure ratio of the compressor decreases with Other applications in tropical climates may be taken care of
increasing intake temperature, and vice versa. by carefully specify ing the turbocharger. In most cases the
specification is based on ISO air intake conditions of 1 bar
Fig. 3 shows that the influence is considerable. If we sail with and 25 °C. Depending on the location and application, ISO-
a ship from a moderate to a tropical region (from 25 to 45 °C recommended derating may be applied to prevent thermal
intake temperature) the absolute charging pressure decreases and / or mechanical overload of the engine and turbocharger.
by 6 % (from 1.0 to 0.94 in Fig. 3).
Air humidity
The consequences of this for a given engine load are: The performance of the turbocharger is not affected by the
– less air throughput humidity. However, compressed humid air carries a consider-
– lower air-fuel ratio able amount of water as it passes through the air cooler and
– higher exhaust gas temperatures this may condense into the air receiver. This may be overcome
by either frequent or continuous venting, though with a subse-
quent loss of some air pressure.
5.0 5.0
n300
s-1
555 n300
4.5 4.5 s-1 555
540 540
520
4.0 4.0 520
Charge air
500
temperature 60 °C 500
3.5 480 3.5
480
3% 460 460
3.0 3.0
440 440
Lower engine speed
420 Higher
65
420 Higher torque
0,
2.5 2.5 speed
400
*sV 400
Lower
65
380 380
0,
*sV torque
8
360 360
0,
2.0 340
2.0 340
320 Charge air 320
300 300
280 temperature 50 °C 280
1.5 260 1.5 260
240 240
1.0 1.0
1.0 2.0 3.0 V300 [m3/s] 1.0 2.0 3.0 V 300 [m3/s]
Fig. 5 Fig. 6
The impact of secondary influences It goes without saying that these possibilities are all consid-
Temperatures of cooling water used by air cooler ered in the turbocharger specification. However, the influence
In the case of turbocharged 4-stroke engines the temperature of high compressor efficiency near the surge line and the con-
of the charge air has a significant influence on the air throug- flicting need to have a wide safety margin separating the
put. If, for example under ISO conditions, the charge air working point from the surge line call for a compromise.
temperature is 50 °C and, due to a high cooling water inlet
temperature, this temperature increases by 10 °C to 60 °C, Modern compressors with backswept vanes, e. g. those used
the air throughput will decrease by 3 % (corresponding to in BBC ® VTR . . 4 turbochargers, feature excellent stability in
absolute temperatures of 323 K and 333 K, respectively). This terms of surging. As a result, the compressor’s high efficiency
moves the working point on the compressor map nearer is available over the whole load range of the engine.
to the surge line (Fig. 5). Occasionally, this phenomenon is
found to be the reason for surging.
Torque requirements
For 4-stroke engines for marine propulsion the condition may
occur whereby a high torque is required at relatively low
engine speed. As the air throughput is mainly determined by
the engine speed, the operating line on the compressor map
moves to the surge line (Fig. 6). Such behavior could be
caused by fouling of the ship’s hull. In severe cases, this may
even lead to surging.
To understand these relationships better, we have to distinguish A pressure ratio p 21 / p 1 is generated by the compressor. The
between the turbocharger efficiency and the turbocharging engine senses only p R / po. The reduction in the pressure ratio
system efficiency, and establish in what way they affect the from p21 / p 1 to p R / p o is due to the air section of the turbo -
performance of the turbocharged diesel engines. charging system.
The turbocharged diesel engine Similar conditions exist on the exhaust side. The connection
Fig. 1 depicts the various components of a diesel engine between the exhaust valve and the turbine inlet must be
installation. The air flowing to the engine first passes through shaped to prevent pressure losses. The backpressure after
the silencer filter, which causes a small pressure drop. The air the turbine, p 4, has to be kept as low as possible in order to
is then compressed from pressure p 1 to p 21. keep the pressure ratio over the turbine, p 3 / p4, high.
The velocity of the air leaving the compressor is reduced in a This situation shows us that:
so-called diffuser before it enters the air cooler. This process – The turbocharged engine senses the turbocharging accord-
causes some loss of pressure. Afterwards, the air passes ing to the pressure ratio pR / po, pR / p3 and p3 / p o.
through the air cooler. The air sustains another pressure drop. – The turbocharger has to cope with the pressure ratios
p21 / p1 and p3 / p4.
p0
po Barometric pressure
L
p1 Pressure, compressor inlet
T1 Temperature, compressor inlet
K
p21 Pressure, compressor outlet
p 4T 4 p 1T 1 p22 Pressure, cooler inlet
I p0 pR Pressure, air receiver
TR Temperature, air receiver
H p3 Exhaust gas pressure
A T3 Exhaust gas temperature
p4 Exhaust gas pressure after turbine
B p21 T4 Exhaust gas temperature after turbine
p22 A Air intake, silencer filter
p 3T 3 C
F V Compressor of turbocharger
D B-C Compressor outlet duct
G E C-D Air cooler
p RT R
D-E Air receiver, connection to inlet valve
F Fuel injection nozzle
G-H Exhaust gas duct to turbine
T Turbocharger turbine
I Exhaust gas manifold after turbine
K* Exhaust gas boiler
L Exhaust silencer, spark arrester
Bearing
TC =
T1 · R ·
A
(
A -1
-1
· πc A - 1 · mc
A ) (1)
g 1
T3 · R ·
g-1(· 1-
πT g-1
g
· mT
)
Bearing
and the system efficiency as
system =
T1 · R ·
A
A-1
·
((
p R A -1
)
po A
- 1 · mc
) (2)
Sealing air
g 1
T3 · R ·
g-1 (
· 1-
p 3 g-1
( )
po g
· mT
) Fig. 2
5
0.6
3.5 340 18000
8
0.8
=
0.7
2.5
320 17000
3.0
16000
300
2.5 2.0 15000
280
14000
260 sV
2.0 240 12000
220 1.5
200
1.5
170
VTR 354 VTR 321
1.0 1.0
1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 V300 [m 3/s] 2.0 3.0 4.0 V288 [m 3/s]
Fig. 3
Fig. 3 compares a compressor map of the VTR 321 with one Comparison of engine test results obtained with the VTR 321 and VTR 354
for the VTR 354, given approximately the same air flow
and pressure ratio. Fig. 4 compares the turbine maps. Fig. 5
shows the difference in performance of a 4-stroke engine [kg/PSh] VTR 321
Specific air flow (le )
when a better charger is used. 6 VTR 354
5
The indicator diagram of a 4-stroke engine is shown in Fig. 6.
From formula (1) we can see that if TC has a higher value and
all other values remain more or less constant, the turbine [-]
Compressor pressure ratio ( v )
pressure ratio will have a lower value. This means that the
pressure ratio over the engine, p R / p3, increases. It allows a 3
larger turbine area.
2
0.70 [gr/PSh]
Fuel consumption (be )
160
0.65 150
1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 T 12 14 16 18 [bar]
pme
Fig. 4 Fig. 5
Turbine
inlet Cooler
Exh. opens
MPC
Fig. 6 Fig. 7
More positive work can be achieved during the gas exchange system efficiencies as the pressure losses increase on the
period. This has, as its reward, a reduction in fuel consump- air-side.
tion. It does of course assume, though, that the timing of the
inlet and exhaust valves has been correctly adjusted. Obviously, the ducts for the air flow must be of very good
aerodynamic design. And it is essential to keep the air inlet
Turbocharging system efficiency filter and the air cooler of an installation clean so as to keep
A typical example is shown in Fig. 7. By comparing the two the flow resistance low. High pressure losses can cause the
arrangements in terms of the flow conditions for air and gas, we compressor to surge.
quickly see that the configuration with the fewer bends in the
ducts provides most benefits. A diffuser between the compres- An increasing backpressure after the turbine, for instance due
sor outlet and the cooler inlet considerably reduces the pres- to fouling of the exhaust boiler, will cause the charging pres-
sure loss that would be caused by two 90 ° bends in the duct. sure to drop, Fig. 9. This can cause the compressor to surge.
TC c [-]
sys
“Normal” valves
3.1
0.65
0.64 TC 3.0
0.63 “Normal” valves Charging pressure
c [-] PR = 3.0 bar
0.62 2.9
3.2 compressor needed
0.61
3.1 to maintain 3 bar
0.60 2.8
3.0 system
0.59
2.7
0.05 0.10 0.15 bar 0.05 0.10 bar
⌬p losses Backpressure
Fig. 8 Fig. 9
[%] [%]
80 80
Turbocharger speed
Engine load
60 60
40 40
20 20
0 0
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 [%] 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 [%]
Operating time Operating time
Fig. 2: Fishing vessel operation. Measured engine load and related turbocharger speed.
[%] [%]
100 100
Turbocharger speed
80 80
Engine load
60 60
40 40
20 20
0 0
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 [%] 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 [%]
Load cycles Load cycles
Fig. 3: Fishing vessel operation. Measured load cycles. 100 % corresponds to 53,000 load cycles in 10,000 hours.
Turbocharging systems 1 2 3 4
ABB turbochargers are in use on diesel engines rated at
500 kW and more. In the following, we shall consider only 2-Pulse
those engines on which ABB’s turbochargers can be used. 1 2 3 4 5 6
Fig. 1 shows a turbocharged diesel engine. The exhaust
gases drive the turbocharger’s turbine, which in turn drives 3-Pulse
the air compressor, both of which are mounted on the
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
same shaft. The compressed air is passed through an air
cooler to the engine’s air receiver.
Pulse converter
The name given to the turbocharging system comes from the 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
arrangement of the exhaust ducts between the engine cylin-
ders and the turbocharger gas inlets. Fig. 2 shows the different Multi-pulse
arrangements. These are in use on 4-stroke diesel engines.
Pulse and constant pressure systems are also possible for 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
65 100
60
50
55
50 0
1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 TDC BDC TDC BDC TDC
0 180 360 540 ° CA
Fig. 3: Development of the turbocharger efficiencies over the years. Fig. 4: Valve timing of inlet and exhaust.
From Fig. 5 it is seen that if the turbo charger efficiency is low The constant pressure system has the same large exhaust
the pulse system offers advantages by allowing an optimal gas receiver irrespective of how many cylinders the engine
clean cylinder charge of fresh air. Due to the large pressure has. The same applies to single pipe exhaust systems, where
variations in the exhaust pipe after the cylinder during the the exhaust receiver volume is reduced in comparison with
exhaust period, the difference between the charge air pres- constant pressure systems.
sure and the exhaust pipe pressure is also quite large during
the inlet-exhaust overlap (Fig. 4). This allows ample scaveng- The efficiency with which the turbocharger turbine can oper-
ing. The constant pressure system permits hardly any pres- ate depends on how it is supplied with the exhaust gas. A
sure difference over the cylinder, and scavenging of the top continuous gas mass flow (full flow) to the turbine supports
dead center cylinder space is very limited. As turbocharger optimal utilization of the energy in the exhaust gas. 3-pulse
efficiencies have become higher, this disadvantage has cylinder combinations, constant pressure and single pipe sys-
become less important. tems assure this mode of gas supply, whereas 2-pulse cylin-
der combinations provide an intermittent supply of gas to the
The engine firing order is chosen so as to ensure that stresses turbine.
in the crankshaft as a result of torsional vibration are as low
as possible. Using a pulse system and the given firing order, In Fig. 6 the exhaust gas pressure, charging pressure and
combinations of cylinder exhausts on one pipe to one turbo - cylinder pressure are plotted over °CA for the 3-cylinder com-
charger gas inlet must be chosen in such a way that the bination. Fig. 7 shows the same quantities for the constant
exhaust pulse of one cylinder cannot disturb the scavenging pressure system. Fig. 8 illustrates, for the 2-cylinder combina-
period for another cylinder on the same pipe. tion, the periods when there is no pressure in the exhaust
gas duct, i.e. no gas supply to the respective gas inlet of the
Three-cylinder combinations with a firing interval of 240 ° turbine. The turbine, driven by gas from the other gas inlets,
crank angle (CA) are in use on 6-, 9-, 12- and 18-cylinder drags the blades through stagnant gas, which obviously
engines, while for 8- and 16-cylinder engines the firing inter- reduces the efficiency of the system.
vals used are 360 °CA or 270 / 450 ° CA. Pulse systems have
also been built for 5- and 7-cylinder engines.
p exh.
pexh.
pR
pR
Scavenging period
Scavenging period pR
pR
p exh.
p exh.
BDC TDC BDC BDC TDC BDC BDC TDC BDC BDC TDC BDC
Fig. 5: Influence of turbocharger efficiency on the scavenging process for pulse and constant pressure systems.
pexh.
pR pR
pexh.
Fig. 7: Pressures of constant pressure system plotted over °CA. Fig. 8: Pressures of 2-pulse system plotted over °CA.
Exh. 7 Exh. 2 1 2 7 8
TDC 2F TDC 2S
TDC 7S TDC 7F
Exh. 5 Exh. 4
TDC 4F TDC 4S
TDC 5S TDC 5F
I
90 180 270 360 450 540 630 ° CA
III II
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1, 8
3, 6 4, 5
Pulse converter
Firing order: 1-3-2-4-8-6-7-5-1
Pipe area II < area I, pipe area III = 2 x area II
2, 7 TDC.F: firing
TDC.S: scavenging
Fig. 9: Exhaust gas pressure sequence of an 8-cylinder engine Fig. 10: Pulse converter arrangement for two 2-pulse exhaust ducts.
with 2-pulse system. 4 exhaust ducts, 4 turbine gas inlets.
Advantages:
Simplicity pR [%] Pulse system
Suitability for any number of cylinders 100 Pulse converter
Easy standardization of many identical parts Multi pulse converter
Constant engine speed application, few problems Constant pressure
One turbine gas inlet, possibly next smallest charger size 50 Engine speed
Disadvantages:
Large expansion compensators 0
Slow load take-up response nM %
100
Low part-load charging pressure for propeller law / traction
The low part-load charging pressure leads to a low air / fuel 50 100 %
ratio for the combustion and high thermal loading of the parts Load
of the combustion chamber. Fig. 12: Relative difference in achievable part load charging pressure p R.
T L [°C] TL [°C]
65 I e [kg/kWh] 65 Ie [kg/kWh]
TL TL
55 8.0 55 8.0
45 45
7.0 7.0
v v
2.0 6.0 2.0 6.0
1.8 1.8 Ie
v v
1.6 1.6
1.4 1.4
20 40 60 80 [%] 20 40 60 80 [%]
Power Power
Fig. 13: Comparison of the performance of 3-pulse and constant pressure systems. Note the part load difference v.
Occasionally, there are also applications where full torque is Single pipe or constant pressure turbo charging is frequently
required at variable speed. used on big engines for power generation, especially when
these are used for base-load operation. This type of turbo-
More recently, we have seen an increase in applications with charging may also be found on locomotives, e. g. with
pulse systems. There are even signs of 2-cylinder combina- 16-cylinder engines and possibly equipped with ancillary
tions staging a comeback – a trend also applying to the highly apparatus such as a waste-gate or bypass.
turbocharged engines. This is due to the fact that although
the turbocharging system itself is not very efficient, the effi- So, from the point of view of the turbocharger, we can con-
ciency of the turbochargers now available compensates in clude that:
part for the low system value. The negative influence on fuel – The three-pulse turbocharging system is the best in terms
consumption is partly compensated for by modern fuel injec- of system efficiency and achievable specific fuel consump-
tion apparatus, assuring the best possible specific fuel con- tion, and does not require ancillary apparatus.
sumption. Two-pulse systems are found on modern 4-cylinder – The high efficiencies offered by ABB turbochargers make
auxiliary engines for ships. the use of two-pulse systems possible up to the
higher engine outputs. The turbo charger efficiency largely
As regards ships’ propulsion systems and traction applica- compensates for the low system efficiency.
tions, three-pulse arrangements are frequently used on 6-, 9- – Single pipe and constant pressure systems are generally
and 12-cylinder engines. This is also the case for generator used on big engines (“V” engines). Ancillary apparatus is
drives with fast load take-up requirements. fitted for certain applications.
18 Turbo Magazine 2 /1994 | Operating turbochargers
Turbocharger compressors – the phenomenon of surging
The many different applications of turbocharged engines
make turbocharger performance and reliability key issues,
which turns the spotlight on the compressor’s performance.
Johan Schieman explains how a radial compressor works
and why surging occurs, and looks at some problems he has
experienced.
Fig. 1: Partly disassembled VTR 354-11 turbocharger. 1 = Diffusor, 2 = Air inlet casing, 3 = Silencer filter, 4 = Compressor wheel (inducer,
impeller), 5 = Air outlet casing.
5
3
We start the compressor wheel rotating (Fig. 3) with a circum- For a given design operation range the blades of the diffusor
ferential speed U. At radius r, the speed is V. The small air must be arranged with the correct angle of incidence and a
mass volume is subjected to a radial acceleration, V 2⁄r, which profile that reduces to a minimum the losses caused by colli-
causes it to move radially outwards. All the air experiences sion. This will give the highest compressor efficiency. The gen-
this influence and air begins to flow into the air inlet casing, eral performance is positively influenced by low air friction
through the compressor wheel and into the diffusor and losses on the various flow surfaces of the compressor wheel
air outlet casing. The air leaves the compressor wheel at its and the diffusor.
circumference with an absolute velocity C.
Fig. 4 shows the characteristic of a modern compressor. At
a given speed and with increasing volume, the achievable
pressure ratio is lower due to the lower efficiency. We find the
explanation of this in Fig. 6. Theoretically, a compressor with
backswept vanes and no losses due to incidence or to friction
will exhibit a decreasing pressure ratio with increasing volume
(line a). But there is friction, and it increases with the volume
(line b). To the left and right of design point A on the constant
speed line c, the angle of incidence of the flow into the diffu-
c [-] sor is not optimal. The hatched areas show the magnitude of
the losses.
1.11
5.5
The surging phenomenon
5.0 The compressor runs at constant speed and supplies air to
n Line of constant the air receiver of the engine, where a required pressure must
n0
efficiency
4.5 be maintained. Fig. 7 shows the line of constant speed and
1.00
the operating line of the engine. The intersection of the two
Surge line
lines is the working point A. If a slight increase in air volume
Compressor pressure ratio
4.0
occurs, more pressure is required on the operating line and
the pressure becomes lower on the constant speed line. The
81
3.5
76
0.
65
Low efficiency C2
0.
0.
Line of
occurs, the pressure will increase although less pressure is
0.
72
constant speed
0.
0.78
2.5 required on the working line. Equilibrium is then once more at
point A. The working point A is stable on the part of the con-
0.67 stant speed line inclined downwards with increasing volume.
2.0
0.56
1.5
VTR 304P
1.0
1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 V300 [m 3/s]
Volume flow
B A Line of
a constant
A
speed
b
c
V – 0 + V
If a slight decrease in volume occurs at point B (at the same Given the knowledge available nowadays, the specifications
pressure as A), then the pressure on the constant speed virtually exclude the possibility of modern compressors surging.
line decreases. The compressor cannot maintain the required Why then, does surging occur and especially after several
pressure, the volume continues to decrease and the compres- years of operation? In some of the cases that we have encoun-
sor surges. Point B is not stable on that part of the constant tered the reasons have had something to do with the way
speed line that is inclined upwards (with increasing volume). the turbochargers have been maintained. On a 2-stroke
engine with constant pressure turbocharging, two or more
Theoretically, instability of the compressor starts where the turbochargers supply air in parallel to a common air receiver.
line of constant speed is level. Since we combine a turbo- The compressors and turbines are kept clean by waterwash-
machine, which supplies a continuous airflow, with an engine ing during operation. Sometimes, “dry cleaning” is used for
taking air intermittently, there will always be a pressure fluctu- the turbines. The intervals between overhauls that include dis-
ation which influences the point where instability starts. It mantling of the turbo chargers are long. And on ships running
goes without saying that this overview of the functioning of a a tight time schedule, not all the turbochargers can be over-
centrifugal compressor has been greatly simplified. hauled at the same time. The state of wear and cleanliness
changes with time. When the differences become considerable,
A case where surging occurred the turbocharger efficiency will also change. The charger in
Before we look at this case, we shall first consider how a the worst condition may start surging. The turbochargers on
turbocharger specification is determined. Generally, it is based the engine have practically the same intake and exhaust gas
on so-called ISO (International Standards Organisation) condi- temperature as well as the same pressure ratios over the
tions, namely ambient pressure of 1 bar and ambient temper- compressors and over the turbines (Fig. 5).
ature of 25 °C. Margins must be incorporated in the specifica-
tion to take certain deviations into account. The combined performance of the turbochargers yields an
average efficiency. The turbocharger with the lower efficiency
The deviations can be due to: must achieve the pressure ratio prescribed by the other turbo -
– The engine application, e. g. for a ship’s propulsion with charger(s) and will react by reducing its air mass flow. This
fixed pitch propeller, for a generator drive or dredger pump may result in surging. The influence of turbine wear can be
drive (full torque, variable speed). seen in Fig. 8. The turbocharger with the worn turbine works
– The ambient conditions, e. g. variations in the atmospheric in parallel with turbochargers in a better condition. It must
pressure or in the intake temperature. achieve the pressure ratio prescribed by the others even though
it tends to run at a somewhat lower speed. A considerable
Where there is considerable deviation from the ISO conditions, difference in the state of turbine wear may also result in surg-
it may be necessary to adjust the output of the engine to the ing, starting from the “worst” charger.
prevailing conditions. For stationary engines, a turbocharger
specification may be adapted to the site conditions.
85
.001 .002 .003 .004 .005 .006 S/ DT
When surging begins, it is usual to first reduce the charge air A schematic of the flow path for the charge air and the
pressure by reducing the engine output slightly or blowing off exhaust gas is given in Fig. 9. The various flow obstructions
some air from the air receiver. Such situations, which arise generally develop simultaneously, although they will not be
after many years of operation, have been met with in practice. equally severe. Margins for deviations from the layout data are
The time schedules of the ships being all-important, it may incorporated in the turbocharger specification. Thus, only
be difficult to plan maintenance so that more than one turbo- extreme cases of airflow obstruction are likely to make the
charger can be overhauled at the same time. In such cases, compressor begin to surge.
the charger specification can be adapted so as to cope better
with the prevailing situation. Of course, there are many more reasons (e. g. concerning the
engine and its adjustment) for the turbocharger running out-
Modern turbochargers having compressors with backswept side of its design range and for surging starting. However, it
vanes perform very satisfactorily on 4-stroke engines and would go beyond the scope of this article to consider them. A
generally exhibit good stability. The reasons for surging occur- reasonable maintenance schedule aimed at keeping the
ring are usually due to a reduction in airflow, caused by engine and charger(s) in good condition is the practical way to
obstruction of the air flowpath. This may be due to: prevent unexpected anomalies from occurring.
– A dirty filter in the silencer-filter
– Increased backpressure after the turbine
(dirty exhaust boiler, dirty exhaust silencer)
– A dirty aircooler (airside)
– A high aircooler cooling water temperature
– A dirty, contaminated nozzle ring / turbine
– The ship’s hull being dirty, causing the engine to run at full
torque / reduced speed
Air cooler Nozzle ring Turbine Air cooler Nozzle ring Turbine
To exhaust To exhaust
gas boiler gas boiler
From From
silencer-filter silencer-filter
Diffusor Diffusor
Compressor Compressor
These ideas are not new. Fig. 1 shows a very basic example
of the axial turbine, a windmill. This particular type was in use
as early as the 13th century. For turbocharger turbines, the air,
or rather the gas flow has to be used much more efficiently.
The turbine is therefore equipped with a large number of blades
and the gas is guided to these blades through carefully
directed nozzles. The cutaway drawing of a turbocharger in
Fig. 2 shows the arrangement of the nozzles and the turbine.
Fig. 1: The windmill – ancestor of the axial turbine. This type has been
in use since the 13th century.
2
4
1
5
exhaust boiler
m m m Exhaust gas to silencer
Exhaust gas
pvT pint pnT
from engine spark retainer
TvT Tint TnT
ambient
.
m Gas mass flow, kg / s
pvT Pressure before turbine, bar
TvT Temperature before turbine, K (°C + 273)
pint Pressure between nozzle ring and turbine, bar
Tint Temperature between nozzle ring and turbine, K
pnT Pressure after turbine, bar
TnT Temperature after turbine, K
Fig. 3: Flowpath of the exhaust gas through the nozzle ring and turbine.
The flow path of the gas through the turbine is shown sche- ptotvT
matically in Fig. 3. Exhaust gas from the engine enters the gas h [J / kg] C E^2/2 pstatvT
inlet casing and flows to the nozzles. The nozzles direct the
gas jets at the turbine blades, where the energy is transferred ptotint
from the gas to the turbine. As the gas passes through the Cin^2/2
⌬h s pstatint
nozzle ring, its velocity increases considerably, but no power ⌬h
= C o^2/2
is extracted here. The pressure between the nozzle ring and
⌬h blades ptotnT
the turbine blades, p int, decreases due to the gas expanding.
pstatnT
Further expansion over the turbine blades, down to the back
Cout^2/2
pressure after the turbine, allows power to be extracted from
the exhaust gas. s [J / kg K]
h, s, ⌬hs, ⌬h, see Fig. 4
In the field of thermodynamics, it is usual to show these Co Gas velocity corresponding to isentropic
enthalpy drop ⌬hs, m/s
processes in so-called enthalpy-entropy diagrams. The en-
CE Gas velocity at nozzle ring inlet, m / s
thalpy is the specific energy content per unit of gas mass
Cin Gas velocity at turbine blade inlet
(Joule / kg) while the entropy is a variable of state, expressed (equal to velocity at nozzle ring outlet), m / s
in Joule / kg °K. C out Gas velocity at turbine outlet, m / s
⌬h blades Enthalpy drop over turbine blades
The turbocharger has a single-stage turbine which allows the ⌬hblades /⌬h s Degree of reaction
combination of the nozzle ring and turbine to be considered
as one flow area, thereby eliminating the intermediate pressure Fig. 5: Enthalpy-entropy diagram showing absolute velocities.
and temperature, which are very difficult to measure due
to the high gas velocities between the nozzle ring and turbine
blades.
ptotvT
h [J / kg] pstatvT ' st EF09
EF16
.85 EF23
s = ⌬h/⌬h s
⌬h s ⌬h .80
ptotnT .75
pstatnT
EF09 Smallest nozzle ring
.70
EF16 Medium-size nozzle ring
s [J / kg K]
EF23 Biggest nozzle ring
⌬hs Isentropic enthalpy drop, J / kg .65
⌬h Usable enthalpy drop, J / kg 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 Ttot-stat
s Isentropic efficiency
Fig. 4: Enthalpy-entropy diagram for the nozzle ring and turbine assembly. Fig. 6: Isentropic turbine efficiency versus pressure ratio TtotvT-statnT .
s / smax l U
1 r
.75
a Relative isentropic efficiency
.50 plotted over U/Co
c
h p totvT b U Mean blade speed
r Mean blade radius
.25
Angular velocity
⌬hs l Blade length
0 p statnT c ⌬hs Isentropic enthalpy drop
.5 1 U/C O C O Gas velocity, CO= 1⁄ 2 √⌬h s
s
Looking at Fig. 4, it is seen that for a given pressure ratio The degree of reaction influences the turbine efficiency. In
ptotvT /pstatnT, ⌬h s depicts the specific energy difference Fig. 6, the turbine isentropic efficiencies have been plotted
(enthalpy drop) without losses to the surroundings. No in- over the pressure ratios T (p totvT /pstatnT). The figure also
crease in entropy takes place. However, the technical proces- shows clearly that, depending on the engine application requi-
ses we apply always incur losses. The processes are said rements, a combination of nozzle ring and turbine can be
to be irreversible. The entropy has to increase. ⌬h depicts the chosen for higher turbine efficiency at full load or part-load
enthalpy drop that can be used. The ratio ⌬h / ⌬h s is referred operation of the engine.
to as the isentropic efficiency.
Turbochargers are frequently fitted to engines with a pulse
The gases have a certain velocity on arriving at the nozzle turbocharging system. The pressure ratio over the turbine is
ring, where the gas expands, increasing the velocity. The gas then highly variable. To determine the influence of the turbine
expands further over the turbine blades, which run a certain efficiency on this type of operation, it is convenient to plot
speed, and exits the blading at a relatively low velocity. The the efficiency over the so-called blade speed ratio, U / C o. U is
gas velocity-enthalpy relationship at the different points can the mean turbine blade speed and C o is the gas velocity
be seen in Fig. 5. corresponding to the isentropic enthalpy drop over the nozzle
ring and turbine assembly. Fig. 7 shows the main details.
The enthalpy drop between the nozzle ring inlet and the turbine
exhaust can be divided into several parts – the gas velocity Fig. 8 depicts the exhaust gas pressure during the gas
at the nozzle ring inlet, the turbine blade inlet (equal to the exchange period of a 4-stroke engine. The mean turbine
nozzle ring outlet velocity) and the turbine blade outlet. The blade speed, U, is constant, while C o varies with the gas
gas velocity at the turbine blade inlet is converted into usable pressure and temperature. U / Co changes accordingly, and
output with the best possible efficiency that can be achieved. with it the efficiency. Fortunately, at low pressures, when the
Obviously, after the gas has left the turbine blades it cannot efficiency is low, only a small enthalpy drop and a reduced
perform any more work. gas mass are involved, so that not much energy is converted
with low efficiency.
If the entire enthalpy drop (expansion pressure ratio) were
used to increase the gas speed in the nozzle ring, we would
speak of an impulse turbine. But if only a part is used and the Temp. Texh. pipe
remaining enthalpy (pressure ratio p int /pnT) expands over the [K] p exh. pipe
turbine blades, we speak of a reaction turbine. The degree of
reaction is the ratio of enthalpy drop over the turbine blades
to the total enthalpy drop.
U/C o optimal U/C o higher
Press.
From Fig. 3 we have seen that there is an intermediate pressure, [bar]
pint, between the nozzle ring and the turbine blades. Different
turbine blade heights can be applied for a given turbocharger
frame size. Nozzle rings with a gas flow area ranging from small
to large may be chosen for every blade height. A small nozzle
° Crank angle
ring area combined with a turbine of fixed area will cause the
Exhaust Scavenging Inlet
intermediate pressure to be low. The degree of reaction will be
low. A large nozzle ring area for the same turbine will result in Fig. 8: Period of gas exchange in a 4-stroke engine with
pint being higher, as will the degree of reaction. 3-pulse turbocharging.
3
V TR .. 4 V TR .. 1
Fig. 9: Turbine blades with profile twisted from root to tip to take Fig. 11: RR . . 1 turbocharger. 1 = Volute outlet around the turbine,
account of the increase in blade speed with the blade length. 2 = Turbine, 3 = Gas inlet casing.
The nozzle ring blades have a fixed outlet angle. The shape of ding enthalpy drop. This layout is used in VTR . . 4E turbochar-
a turbine blade is shown in Fig. 9. Its profile is twisted from gers, where very high overall efficiencies are required.
root to tip to take into account the fact that the circumferential
speed U increases with the radius. It can be seen in Fig. 10 Turbochargers with axial turbines are used on medium-speed
that the twisted turbine blade is necessary for opti mal flow and slow-speed engines. They are perfectly capable of accep-
conditions over the blade length. ting the exhaust gas from engines running on heavy fuel oil.
The turbine retains its high efficiency over a very long period
To make best possible use of the energy contained in the of time, the more so when reasonable maintenance is provided.
exhaust gases, correctly shaped gas-inlet casings must be The axial turbine is able to supply an adequate output with
provided to keep pressure losses due to the flow to a mini- good efficiency to drive the compressor from low pressure
mum. For this reason, channels are used in which the gas ratios upwards, thus assuring good part-load performance of
velocity gradually accelerates from the inlet to the nozzle ring the engine. The latter is especially important for fixed-pitch
(see Fig. 2). In addition, the gas passage after the turbine propeller drives. Turbochargers with axial turbines are found
has also been configured to limit pressure losses. The diffusor on ships, in diesel power stations and on diesel locomotives,
has a shape which allows the low static pressure after the dredgers, etc.
turbine to be utilized, thereby increasing the available pressure
ratio p tot /p stat over the turbine assembly and the correspon- The radial turbine
A turbocharger fitted with a radial turbine of the so-called
mixed flow type is shown in Fig. 11. This particular design, a
CE
type RR . . 1, has no nozzle ring. The gas inlet casing is shaped
in such a way that the required exhaust gas velocity at the
CE Gas inlet speed, nozzle ring turbine inlet is obtained by correct dimensioning of the circular
Nozzle ring (stator)
U Blade speed outlet of the volute around the turbine. For different applications
U
C in Absolute blade inlet speed, different gas inlet casings are needed. This design is used
W in
Cin assumed constant over
blade length (equal to nozzle
especially for large series of turbochargers having the same
U Turbine
(rotor) ring gas outlet velocity) turbine specification. A construction with nozzle ring is
W in Gas velocity relative to blade advantageous for easy adaptation.
U
C out Absolute blade outlet speed,
Cout assumed axial and constant
W out In the enthalpy-entropy diagram, the thermodynamic process
over blade length
U root Inlet turbine blade U of the radial turbine can be shown in the same way as for the
tip W out Gas velocity relative to blade
W in W in axial turbine (Fig. 5). Unlike the axial turbine, the radial turbine
Cin Cin
has an inlet with a diameter which is larger than that of the
Uroot Outlet turbine blade U tip outlet (Fig. 13). The energy transfer to the rotor can be written
Cout
as shown in Fig. 12.
Cout
W out W out
Fig. 10: Velocity diagrams for blade profiles at the blade middle, Fig. 12
blade root and blade tip. Comparison of profile center lines.
' sT AF10
Uout
AF15
.85 AF06
rin rout
Fig. 13: Schematic of turbine rotor showing inlet and outlet radius Fig. 14: Isentropic turbine efficiency plotted over expansion ratio
and speed. ptotvT /pstatnT .
The difference between the circumferential speeds adds con- Under adverse conditions – gases with a low energy content,
siderably to the turbine work. If care is taken to see that the high turbocharger speed (e. g. a 4-stroke engine at full
gas is accelerated while expanding in the rotor passages speed with no load) – the turbine may tend to act as a centri-
(relative velocity Wout > Win), this will also make a positive con- fugal compressor due to the centrifugal force acting on
tribution to the turbine work. It is clear that the absolute the gas particles.
velocity Cout cannot do any work and should be as low as
possible. Considering this situation, it would appear that for Turbocharging of automotive engines is already under way, so
small (automotive) turbo chargers the radial turbine is a that small turbochargers with radial turbines can be said
must. An axial turbine with small dimensions is not feasible in to have found their place in the engine industry. Their use on
practice. The small-size radial turbine does not suffer from high-speed industrial engines is also widely accepted. How-
efficiency loss due to clearance leakages as much as a small ever, for bigger engines running on poor-quality fuels the axial
axial turbine would. turbine is generally the preferred type. ABB supplies turbo-
chargers with radial turbines for engines rated at up to about
Turbochargers with radial turbines can be produced more 2000 kW.
economically. This is the reason for the overlap of turbo-
charger sizes where both axial and radial turbines are availa- The above overview is just that – an overview. Details of the
ble. Their application then depends on the engine require- performance and operation of the turbocharger turbines
ments. would go beyond the scope of this article. If you have a ques-
tion that the article does not answer, please send it to us. We
The efficiency of a typical RR . . 1 turbine is plotted over its will do our best to answer it.
pressure ratio in Fig. 14. At low pressure ratios there is a wide
gap between the efficiency with a large and with a small
volute exit area. The large volute exit area causes the degree
of reaction to be relatively high, so that the influence of
centrifugal force working in a direction opposite to the gas
flow has less influence than when the volute exit area is
small. At high pressure ratios the influence of the centrifugal
force on the gas particles is not so significant due to the
much higher energy content of the gas. The small volute exit
area exhibits high efficiency for a relatively low degree of
reaction, the large volute exit area exhibiting low efficiency.
The idea of supplying air under pressure to a diesel engine 1271 Normal diesel engine Turbocharged diesel engine
850 100
was voiced by none other than Dr. Rudolf Diesel as early as Exhaust gas Exhaust gas
1896. The use of a turbocharger for this purpose, however, Engine friction Engine friction
Output bhp Air compressor Air compressor
was the result of work by a Swiss, Alfred Büchi, who patented 185 178
fuel injection fuel injection
Fig. 1: Diagram showing the pressure p cyl in the cylinder, pexh in the
exhaust pipe and p r in the air receiver of an 8-cylinder engine. The
scavenging period, where the inlet and exhaust are simultaneously
open, is not disturbed by the exhaust pulses of other cylinders.
Arrangement for 2-stroke engine Arrangement for 2-stroke engine with constant pressure turbocharging
with pulse turbocharging and scavenging pumps in series with the turbocharger compressor
(B & W 1970) (Götaverken 1970)
Turbine
Compressor
Compressor
Turbine
g / bhph
Engine
Aircooler Engine
Aircooler
Pulse timing
bar
Constant pressure timing
EO EO CP IO BDC IS ES ES CP
Fig. 4: Timing of inlet and exhaust for pulse and constant pressure
turbocharging.
The advantage of the pulse system was that no mechanical constant pressure turbocharging on the B & W engines came
system was necessary at any point in the engine load range in due course, and the expected reduction in fuel consump-
to guarantee the air supply. This was also due to the very high tion with it (Fig. 7). An electrical auxiliary blower had to be
mechanical efficiency of the VTR turbochargers. The exhaust used to start the engine and for low part-loads.
gas energy needed was obtained by opening the exhaust
valve early (Fig. 4). However, this reduced the effective expan- The higher pressure ratios and higher efficiencies with the
sion stroke of the engine. VTR . . 4 turbochargers allowed further increases in output and
a reduction in the specific fuel consumption. A better under-
The engine with scavenging pumps and featuring constant standing of the thermodynamics of the diesel cycle and the
pressure turbocharging can make do with a much later open- properties of the air and gas flows has resulted in only the
ing point for the exhaust valve, but takes part of the energy longitudinally scavenged 2-stroke diesel engines being able
for the air supply from the crankshaft. The engine has to drive to hold their own in the marketplace. VTR . . 4D turbochargers
its own scavenging pumps. Thus, the fuel consumption of (combining high pressure ratio and high efficiency) meet
these types of engine was not essentially different, amounting the present-day requirements of the engine manufacturers
to 150 – 155 g / bhph (204 – 211 g / kWh). (actual status: pressure ratio 3.7:1, mean effective pressure
18 – 19 bar).
From the above, it is obvious that the combination of constant
pressure turbocharging and no scavenging pumps would
improve the fuel consumption. This became possible with the
introduction of turbochargers with improved efficiency. The
VTR . . 1 was introduced in 1971. Changeover from pulse to
Fig. 5: Götaverken engine of type VGS11U, rated 26,400 bhp, Fig. 6: Eriksberg B &W engine of type 10K98FF, rated 38,000 bhp,
19,400 kW at 119 rev / min. Three VTR 630 turbochargers are installed. 27,950 kW at 103 rev / min, fitted with four VTR 750 units.
9 4
medium
⌬be
6 3
3 2
Range for most applications
0 1
95 90 85 80 ° crank angle 70 72 74 76 78 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96
Exhaust open before bottom dead center Year
Fig. 7: Improvement in fuel consumption due to later opening of the Fig. 8: Increase in compressor pressure ratio over the years.
exhaust valve.
The next turbocharger generation, the TPL series, is in the The increase in compressor pressure ratio over the years is
process of being introduced and will allow further improve- shown in Fig. 8. Twenty years were needed to increase it from
ments in engine output and fuel consumption. about 1.3 to 2 in 1970. Initially, a given 4-stroke engine would
have a compression pressure of, say, 35 bar, and a maximum
4-stroke engines firing pressure of 50 bar. To achieve a charging pressure of
The turbocharging of 4-stroke engines has, of course, also 0.3 bar gauge, the compression ratio of the engine would be
been strongly influenced by the availability of adequate turbo- reduced from approximately 13.4 to 11.1. The compression
chargers. While the 4-stroke engine is basically self-aspirating, and maximum firing pressure would then remain the same,
it is not so de pendent on high turbocharger efficiency. What is but the output would increase by some 30 percent. This
it then, that makes turbocharging so attractive? would eventually have a negative influence on starting the
engine.
The turbocharger allows:
– an increase in engine output for a given speed which Encouraged by the results achieved, the engine manufacturers
is approximately proportional to the absolute charging designed for higher pressures. The introduction of air-coolers
pressure supplied by the turbocharger, to reduce the temperature of the compressed air entering the
– a reduction in required space for the installation of a engine cylinders helped to increase the engine output at more
specific engine output, moderate charging pressure levels (e. g. a mean effective pres-
– more favorable fuel consumption. sure of 10 bar, a charging pressure of 0.6 bar gauge with air-
cooler and 0.85 bar without air-cooler, for the same charge of
air (kg) in the cylinders; without an air-cooler the exhaust gas
temperature would be some 50 °C higher).
e
ur bin
re t
ss u re p befo
p re ien
t
ing
p charg p amb
t after compressor p charging pressure
tafter air-cooler p before turbine
pambient
S V
Fig. 9: Comparison of the cylinder diagrams of a 4-stroke engine with and without turbocharging.
60
T cooling water
55
Cylinder liner 50
1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995
Year
Fig. 11: Heat transfer from the hot-gas side to the cooling water Fig. 12: Increase in turbocharger efficiency as a result of continuous
through the wall of the cylinder liner. development over the years.
with the increasing level of turbocharging. This is illustrated in to achieve a low NOx emission level through low process
Fig. 10. The heat in the lubricating oil represents roughly the temperatures (high air-to-fuel ratio, high charging pressure).
output needed to overcome friction, i.e. the mechanical effi- Put in general terms, the materials and energy required to
ciency of the engine. The heat in the cooling water is roughly produce a turbo charged engine for a given output and speed
equivalent to the heat load of the combustion chamber parts. are considerably less than for a non-turbocharged engine for
With turbocharging, we succeed in keeping the heat flow to the same output and speed.
the cooling water, in absolute terms, approximately constant,
this being largely independent of the level of turbocharging. To complete this overview, Fig. 12 shows how the turbocharger
This is also one of the most important successes of turbo - efficiencies have developed up until the present day. As
charging. Alfred Büchi mentioned this in his lecture of 1928, high efficiencies allow a large turbine area and this in turn
and it still holds true today. The very simplified explanation is reduces the work necessary to expel the exhaust gas from the
shown in Fig. 11. The heat transmission coefficient from the 4-stroke engine cylinders, the full-load fuel consumption is
gas to the wall depends on the pressure (公pgas). The heat influenced favourably. The 2-stroke engine may further reduce
transmission coefficients through the wall and from the wall the timing for the inlet and exhaust, or allow a power turbine
to the cooling water have hardly changed. The process tem- to be installed to convert excess exhaust gas energy into use-
peratures still being at the same level as without turbocharging ful output.
(fuel-air ratio) and the surface areas still the same, the heat
flow to the cooling water could not change very much. Looking to the future, ABB is preparing to introduce its new
TPS and TPL turbocharger designs combining compactness
Further advantages of turbocharging with high pressure ratios and high efficiencies. Since non-
The state of the art for modern engines is an output 4 times turbocharged engines will hardly be built anymore, the future
(400 percent) as high as the non-turbocharged engine for the looks bright for our turbochargers.
same speed and dimensions. From Fig. 10, it can be seen
that the heat introduced with the fuel at 400 percent output
has increased to only 320 percent. This means that the spe-
cific fuel oil consumption (sfoc) of modern engines amounts to
only 80 percent of the sfoc of the non-turbocharged engine.
Thus, turbo charged engines are a must in terms of environ-
mental protection. Fuel that is not burnt neither causes air
pollution nor produces CO 2. Also, the modern turbocharger
combining high pressure ratios with high efficiency is an
important factor when the engine process has to be adjusted
Operating turbochargers | Turbo Magazine 1/1996 33
About the author
From 1992 to 1996 Turbo Magazine carried a series of articles
by Johan Schieman on the subject of operating turbochargers.
The series came to an end with Johan’s death in April 1996.
This collection of his articles is both a response to the many
requests received from readers and a modest memorial to
the author.
www.abb.com/turbocharging