Types of Turbochargers

What is Turbocharger?
A turbocharger, (or turbo), is a piece of turbine-driven forced induction equipment, that
increases the efficiency and power output of an internal combustion engine by forcing
excess air into the combustion chamber.

Typically, a turbo sucks air, cools it down, and then feeds more air to the engine than it
receives through its standard intake. Nevertheless, turbochargers can be deep and
impenetrable to fully understand their internal functioning. A turbocharger is a tiny
turbine that lies between the engine and exhaust.

Due to the air intake of both as well as the car, a turbocharger uses exhaust gases to spin
the turbine which then forces more air into your car's engine and increases the power of
the car.

The turbocharger is consists of a compressor wheel, a turbine wheel, two ports for the
air inlet and air outlet, and two ports for the exhaust inlet and exhaust outlet. Let us
now discuss how the turbocharger works in your car engine.

How Does Turbocharger Works?

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The turbocharger on the car applies the same working principle as the piston engine. A
turbocharger usually consists of a turbine section and compressor section. A turbine
section has a turbine wheel to convert the energy and turbine housing to protect it.

The purpose of using turbine housing is to guide the exhaust gas into the turbine wheel.
The energy released from the exhaust gas causes the turbine wheel to spin, and so the
gas leaves the turbine housing through an exhaust outlet area.

Now, the compressor section also includes the compressor wheel to convert some of the
energy and the compressor housing for protection. The mode of action of the
compressor is opposite to that of the turbine.

A compressor wheel is connected to the turbine by a forged steel shaft, and as the
turbine turns the compressor wheel, the high-velocity spinning pulls in the air and
compresses it as a result.

Then, the compressor housing turns the high-velocity, low-pressure air stream into a
high-pressure, low-velocity air stream by a process termed diffusion. And finally,
compressed air is pushed into the engine, causing the engine to burn more fuel to
produce more energy.

Types of Turbochargers
Following are the types of turbocharger used in automobile:

1. Single-Turbo
2. Twin-Turbo
3. Twin-Scroll Turbo
4. Variable Geometry Turbo
5. Variable Twin Scroll Turbo
6. Electric Turbo

1. Single-Turbo

A single turbocharger is the most people think of like a turbo. By varying the size of the
components within the turbo, quite separate torque characteristics can be obtained. The
larger turbos give higher levels of top-level power, while tinier turbos can spool quicker
and produce better low-end power.

They are costly to increase engine power and efficiency, and as have become more
popular, allow small engines to increase efficiency by naturally producing the same
power as larger engines, but with less weight.

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However, they work best in a narrow RPM range, and drivers will usually feel "turbo-
lag" till the turbo starts operating within its peak rev band.

Advantages of Single-Turbo

1. It is cost-effective for increasing the power and efficiency of the engine.

2. It is the simplest type of turbocharger and usually easy to install.
3. Single-turbos are used for smaller engines to produce the same power as larger
engines. So, they can often reduce weight.

Disadvantages of Single-Turbo

1. The single turbo has a somewhat narrow effective RPM range. This creates a
problem, as you have to choose between good low-end torque or better high-end
power.
2. The response of a single turbo maybe not fast as the other types of turbos.

2. Twin-Turbo

In a twin-turbo turbocharger, there is a second turbocharger to the engine. In a V6 or

V8 engine, this can be done by allowing a single turbo to work with each cylinder bank.
Alternatively, a smaller turbo can be applied at lower RPMs with a larger turbo for
higher RPMs.

The second configuration allows for a wider operating RPM range, and gives better
torque at lower revs (reducing turbo lag), but also power at higher RPM, it is also
known as twin sequential turbocharging. Unexpectedly, having two turbos greatly
increases complexity and costs.

Read Also: What are the Different Types of Lubrication System?

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Advantages of Twin-Turbo

1. The benefits and drawbacks are similar to the single turbo setup for a parallel
twin-turbo on a 'V' shaped engine.
2. Concern a sequential turbo or to use a turbo at low and high rpm allow for a
much wider and flatter torque curve. Better low-end torque, but won't lose
power at high RPM like a smaller single turbo.

Disadvantages of Twi-turbo

1. It requires higher cost and somewhat complex because of the usage of doubled
components.
2. There are lighter and more efficient for achieving similar results.

3. Twin-Scroll Turbo

This type of turbocharger needs a split inlet turbine casing and exhaust manifold that
individually joins the correct engine cylinder with each scroll.

Take an example, in a four-cylinder engine (with firing order 1-3-4-2), cylinders 1 and 4
can support one scroll of the turbo, while cylinders 2 and 3 feed a different scroll. This
layout gives an efficient distribution of gas exhaust energy to the turbo and helps
provide condensed, pure air in each cylinder.

The more energy is sent to the exhaust turbine, which means more power. Repeat, there
is a major cost for approaching the complexity of a system that requires complex
turbine housing, exhaust manifolds, and turbos.

Read Also: Three Major Types of Governors Used in Automobile Engine

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Advantages of Twin-scroll Turbo

1. You can get more power because more energy is sent to the exhaust turbine.
2. Based on various scroll designs, a wide RPM range of effective boosts can be
possible.
3. You can get more tuning flexibility because more valve overlap is possible
without interrupting the exhaust scavenging.

Disadvantages of Twin-scroll Turbo

1. It needs a specific engine layout and exhaust design.

2. These are costly and complex compared to conventional single turbos.

4. Variable Geometry Turbo (VGT)

Variable Geometry Turbochargers are also known as variable nozzle turbines. It is

commonly used in diesel engines because the exhaust gases in diesel engines are low,
the heat will not harm the vanes.

Variable geometry turbo consists of a ring of vanes of aerodynamic shape in the turbine
housing at the turbine inlet. It is complex in design and also requires a higher cost than
other types. Now VGTs are limited due to their cost in petrol engine applications.

This turbocharger results in a wider boost range and shorter lag time due to its ability to
vary the area-to-radius ratio so that it matches the engine RPM. This design allows the
aspect ratio of the turbocharger to change when the position is changed.

Advantages of Variable Geometry Turbo

1. They provide a wide and flat torque curve and provide effective turbocharging
over a wide RPM range.
2. Only one turbo is needed to simplify the sequential turbo setup.

Disadvantages of Variable Geometry Turbo

1. These are commonly used in diesel applications, where exhaust gases are low, so
the vane is not damaged by heat.
2. This requires a higher cost because foreign metals have to be used to maintain
reliability for gasoline application.

5. Variable Twin Scroll Turbo

The variable twin-scroll turbo is a combination of twin-scroll turbo and variable

geometry turbo.

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The variable twin-scroll turbo is a combination of twin-scroll turbo and variable

geometry turbo. This turbo allows good high-end performance in any vehicle. This
design provides exhaust airflow to be directed into only a single scroll.

In addition, it also provides the amount of the valve to open to allow gases to split in
both scrolls if needed. The VTS turbocharger design gives a cheaper and more robust
option to the VGT turbo, meaning that it is a good option for petrol engine applications.

Advantages of Variable Twin Scroll Turbo

1. These are cheaper than variable geometry turbo, so it allows gasoline

turbocharging.
2. They also provide a wide and flat torque curve.
3. They are more robust in design than variable geometry turbo based on material
selection.

Disadvantages of Variable Twin Scroll Turbo

1. It requires a higher cost and is complex compared to a single turbo or common

twin-scroll turbo.
2. This technique has been worked with before, but it is not sustainable in the
production world.

6. Electric Turbo

The electric turbos are the latest and recently added to the turbocharger industry. It is
completely different from the other types of turbochargers. They are used to reduce the
turbo lag and assist a normal turbocharger at low engine speeds.

This is done by attaching an electric motor that rotates the compressor from the start
and through the lower revs until the power from the exhaust volume is sufficient to
make the turbocharger work.

One drawback of the electric turbo is that it is quite expensive and complex. This
turbocharger choice also allows for the consumed energy to be recovered and used to
generate power.

Advantages of Electric Turbo

1. Turbo lag and exhaust gases are easily eliminated by connecting an electric
motor directly to the compressor wheel.
2. The wasted energy is recovered by connecting an electric motor to an exhaust
turbine.
3. It provides a wide effective RPM range with full torque.

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Disadvantages of Electric Turbo

1. Higher costs are required and are complicated, as you must now consider the
electric motor and ensure that it remains cool to prevent safety issues.
2. VGTs or twin scrolls can provide similar benefits at a significantly lower cost.

Why Turbocharger is Needed?

In general, engines suck air directly from the atmosphere. So, they do not suck enough
air out of the atmosphere for combustion. This may be due to the high speed or the
design of the engine.

In that case, you need to use an external device to provide air to the engine for entire
combustion, and this device is known as a turbocharger. A turbocharger obtains energy
from exhaust gases to do its work.

Applications of Turbocharger
Turbochargers were mainly employed to increase the amount of air going into the
engine. And also increases the amount of fuel that can be combusted efficiently, which
in turn increases power.

Power also improved by increasing the size of the engine, but this will increase the
weight and internal friction, which will increase fuel consumption.

The turbocharger performs an important role in the IC engine. This increases the
volumetric efficiency of the IC engine cylinder by giving it compressed air. Therefore it
benefits in radiation control. So it is used in aerospace, automotive, marine, and energy
sector applications.

Wrapping it up
A turbocharger is attached to an engine to deliver more power. This enables smaller
engines to produce more horsepower and torque than normal. It uses the heated and
expelled air from the engine to rotate the compressor wheel and take the outside air.

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