8

Pulse Converters and

Summary of Turbocharging
Systems
8.1 Introduction
The pulse turbocharging system has been found to be superior to the constant
pressure system on the majority of today's diesel engines. Generally, it is used on
all but highly rated engines designed for constant speed and load or marine appli-
cations. In chapter 7 it was made clear that the pulse turbocharging system is
usually most effective when groups of three cylinders are connected to a turbine
or turbine entry. When one or two cylinders are connected to a turbine entry,
the average turbine efficiency and expansion ratio tend to fall due to the wide
spacing of exhaust pulses. The 'pulse converter' has been developed to overcome
some of these disadvantages on certain engines (although some versions are suit-
able for use on any engine) as a compromise between the pulse and constant
pressure turbocharging system.
The term 'pulse converter' was first used by Birmann. [1] His objective was
to design a device that preserved the unsteady flow of gases from the cylinder
during the exhaust and valve overlap periods, yet maintained steady flow at the
turbine. In this way he hoped to achieve good scavenging and high turbine ef-
ficiency. Figure 8.1 shows one of the devices proposed. All the cylinders are con-
nected to a single-entry turbine, resulting in a continuous, and almost steady flow,
and high turbine efficiency. To achieve good scavenging, Birmann proposed a
'jet-pump' system, using a high velocity jet of gas issuing from a central nozzle to
reduce the pressure in short pipes at the exhaust valves. The high velocity jet

Recirculation pipe Turbine

Nozzle

Figure 8.1 Schematic of early Birmann pulse converter

N. Watson et al., Turbocharging the Internal Combustion Engine
© N. Watson and M. S. Janota 1982
288 TURBOCHARGING THE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE

should create a suction effect in the surrounding area, due to the conservation of
momentum. The by-pass tube was used to provide the jet for the first cylinder
(so that some gas circulated at all times) and to maintain an almost constant
pressure at the jet nozzles (reducing the filling and emptying losses of a normal
pulse exhaust system).
The system shown in figure 8.1 has several disadvantages.
(1) There is insufficient length between exhaust ports to permit efficient
pressure recovery in the diffusers.
(2) Each nozzle must be larger than the last, resulting in high manufacturing
cost.
(3) Frictional and diffusion losses will be high, since much of the exhaust gas
will pass through several ejectors and diffusers.
( 4) The whole installation is bulky and complex.
(5) The large total volume of the installation can result in poor performance
when starting and accelerating, as in the constant pressure turbocharging system.
Birmann gradually developed refmements of his pressure pulse-energy convert-
ing system (pulse converter), but it never achieved wide acceptance possibly due
to the problem of trying to optimise the size of the ejector nozzles and amount
of recirculation. Furthermore, the extremely turbulent nature of the gas flow
entering the diffusers must have resulted in poor diffusion which, when combined
with high jet velocities, would imply high losses. Consequently the energy avail-
able during expansion through the turbine is reduced, although the steady flow
conditions would aid efficient conversion of this energy into useful work.
No doubt stimulated by Birmann's work (and in particular his simpler pulse
converter [2, 3, 4, 5, 6]), Brown Boveri and Sulzer initiated a test programme
with pulse converters on a four-stroke diesel engine in 1957. This work was re-
ported by Decollogny and Meier [7] and later, more comprehensively, by Petak.
[8] Rather than apply a complex 'ejector-junction-diffuser' arrangement at each
cylinder, pairs of cylinders were joined in the conventional arrangement of a pulse
system. The pulse converter was used only to join groups of cylinders(figure 8.2)
that would normally be kept separate. Thus, for example, four cylinders of an

I. Normal pulse operation

2. Pulse converter with mixing pipe and plenum

Figure 8.2 Petak's pulse converter