Research on the Critical Speed of a Mixed-Flow Turbocharger with Hybrid Ceramic Ball Bearing

The critical speeds for a vehicle turbocharger with hybrid ceramic ball bearing are researched. The ball bearing-rotor system produces resonance when it working in critical speed and that makes the turbocharger injury working for a long time. The calculation and analysis methods of the critical speed for the vehicle turbocharger are described. The critical speed is computed by two methods including Riccati transfer matrix and DyRoBeS finite element method for a vehicle turbocharger with hybrid ceramic ball bearing. The vibration experiment had been taken to validate the calculating result, Comparison between the results by two calculation methods and the test results show that the first critical speed differences are 6.47 % and 5.66 %, the second critical speed differences are 2.87 % and 2.94 % respectively. And then, the primary factors which influence the critical speed are analyzed, the conclusions will be helpful for the vehicle turbocharger bearing-rotor system design.

Design and study on variable nozzle mixed-flow turbocharger

A spatial motion mechanism was designed which could make all the nozzle vanes rotate a- round the center of ball with the same radius synchronously to realize control of the variable nozzle mixed-flow turbocharger （VN-MT）. The back and abdomen of the nozzle vane was designed as arc- shaped. A variable nozzle ring perfectly combined with the mixed-flow turbine was made available. The turbine geometric model of VN-MT was established through the computational fluid dynamics （CFD）. Compared with nozzleless mixed-flow turbine, the flow range of variable nozzle mixed-flow turbine was broadened tremendously while the peak turbine efficiency point was lower slightly. Flow field analysis in turbine stage showed that the energy was larger and the blade load of rotor was lower than loss of the VN-MT under designed condition the nozzleless mixed-flow turbocharger.

A Strategy to Control the Turbocharger Energy of a Diesel Engine at Different Altitudes

Power deterioration is a major problem for diesel engines operating at high altitudes.This problem stems from the limited availability of turbocharger energy,which is not enough to increase the boost pressure to the required level.In this study,a control strategy is introduced in order to achieve engine power recovery at different altitudes.It is shown that as the altitude increases from 0 to 4500 m,the required boost pressure ratio increases from 2.4 to 4.3.The needed turbocharger energy should be increased accordingly by 240%,and the TCC(turbine characterization coefficient)should be adjusted within wide ranges.A 12%decrease in the TCC can lead to a rise of the intake air pressure,which can compensate the pressure decrease due to a 1000 m altitude increase.The fluctuation range of boost pressure was within 14.5 kPa for variations in altitude from 0 to 4500 m.

Development of Turbocharger for Improving Diesel Engine Matching Performance

The two development ways of turbocharger technology to solve the problem of matching performance with diesel were presented. The ways of waste valve gate turbocharger and variable geometry turbocharger can solve the problem of engine’s low speed torque and achieve lower smoke level. Especially for variable geometry turbocharger, it covers all conditions of engine. It can not only improve the low engine’s speed torque and keep the power performance at high engine speed, but also cover wide engine speed performance that keeps lower fuel consumption and exhaust gas temperature in full load and part load matching. The results of theory analysis and experiment research showed that it’s the ideal solution to solve the matching problem of diesel engines.

Time-dependent Vibration Frequency Reliability Analysis of Blade Vibration of Compressor Wheel of Turbocharger for Vehicle Application

Blade vibration failure is one of the main failure modes of compressor wheel of turbocharger for vehicle application. The existing models for evaluating the reliability of blade vibration of compressor wheel are static, and can not reflect the relationship between the reliability of compressor wheel with blade vibration failure mode and the life parameter. For the blade vibration failure mode of compressor wheel of turbocharger, the reliability evaluation method is studied. Taking a compressor wheel of turbocharger for vehicle application as an example, the blade vibration characteristics and how they change with the operating parameters of turbocharger are analyzed. The failure criterion for blade vibration mode of compressor wheel is built with the Campbell diagram, and taking the effect of the dispersity of blade natural vibration frequency and randomness of turbocharger operating speed into account, time-dependent reliability models of compressor wheel with blade vibration failure mode are derived, which embody the parameters of blade natural vibration frequency, turbocharger operating speed, the blade number of compressor wheel, life index and minimum number of resonance, etc. Finally, the rule governing the reliability and failure rate of compressor wheel and the method for determining the reliable life of compressor with blade vibration is presented. A method is proposed to evaluate the reliability of compressor wheel with blade vibration failure mode time-dependently.

Effects of Floating Ring Bearing Manufacturing Tolerance Clearances on the Dynamic Characteristics for Turbocharger

The inner and outer oil film dynamic characteristic coefficients of floating ring bearings（FRBs） change due to the manufacturing tolerance of the floating ring, journal and intermediate, which leads to high-speed turbocharger＇s vibration too large and even causes nonlinear vibration accident. However, the investigation of floating ring bearing manufacturing tolerance clearance on the rotordynamic characteristics is less at present. In order to study the influence law of inner and outer clearance on turbocharger vibration, the rotor dynamic motion equations of turbocharger supported in FRBs are derived by analyzing the size relations between floating ring, journal and intermediate for the inner and outer oil film clearances, the time transient response analysis for combination of FRBs clearance are developed. A realistic turbocharger is taken as a research object, the FE model of the turbocharger with FRBs is modeled. Under the conditions of four kinds of limit state bearing clearances for inner and outer oil film, the nonlinear transient analyses are performed based on the established FE dynamic models of the nonlinear rotor-FRBs system applied incentive combinations of gravity and unbalance force, respectively. From the waterfall, the simulation results show that the speed for the appearance of fractional frequency is not identical and the amplitude magnitude is different under the four kinds of bearing manufacturing tolerance limit clearances, and fractional frequency does not appear in the turbocharger and the amplitude is minimum under the ODMin/IDMax bearing manufacturing tolerance clearances. The turbocharger vibration is reduced by controlling the manufacturing tolerance clearance combinations of FRBs, which is helpful for the dynamic design and production-manufacturing of high-speed turbocharger.

Effects of Semi-floating Ring Bearing Outer Clearance on the Subsynchronous Oscillation of Turbocharger Rotor

Semi-floating ring bearing（SFRB） is developed to control the vibration of turbocharger rotor. The outer clearance of SFRB affects the magnitude and frequency of nonlinear whirl motion, which is significant for the design of turbocharger. In order to explore the effects of outer clearance, a transient finite element analysis program for rotor and oil film bearing is built and validated by a published experimental case. The nonlinear dynamic behaviors ofrotor-SFRB system are simulated. According to the simulation results, two representative subsynchronous oscillations excited by the two hearings respectively are discovered. As the outer clearance of SFRB increases from 24 ~tm to 60 pro, the low-frequency subsynchronous oscillation experiences three steps, including a strong start, a gradual recession and a combination with the other one. At the same time, the high-frequency subsynchronous oscillation starts to appear gradually, then strengthens, and finally combines. If gravity and unbalance are neglected, the combination will start starts from high rotor speed and extents to low rotor speed, just like a ＂zipper＂. It is found from the quantitative analysis that when the outer clearance increases, the vibration amplitude experiences large value firstly, then reduction, and suddenly increasing after combination. A useful design principle of SFRB outer clearance for minimum vibration amplitude is proposed： the outer clearance value should be chosen to keep the frequency of two subsynchronous oscillations clearly separated and their amplitudes close.

Elimination of misrun and gas hole defects of investment casting TiAl alloy turbocharger based on numerical simulation and experimental study

Casting technology of thin-wall TiAl alloy turbochargers was studied by investment casting and numerical simulation.Misruns and gas holes were the main defects observed in preliminary work due to the poor fluidity of alloy,and to gas entrapment.In order to eliminate these defects,cast parameters,such as centrifugal rotation rate and mould preheating temperature,were optimized by numerical simulation,meanwhile,the structure of the shell mould was optimized to improve the filling capacity of TiAl alloy.Pouring experiments were carried out by vacuum induction melting furnace equipped with a water-cooled copper crucible based on the above optimization.The quality of the TiAl alloy casting was analyzed by fluorescent penetrant inspection and X-ray detection.The results show that a centrifugal rotation rate of 200 rpm,mould preheating temperature of 600°C,shell preparation through organic fiber addition can dramatically improve the mould filling capacity,and integrated turbochargers were finally prepared.

Rotor dynamic analysis of small vehicle gasoline turbocharger in semi-floating bearings

The critical speed and unbalance response of a small vehicle gasoline turbocharger in semi-floating bearing are analyzed.The dynamical characters of semi-floating bush bearing used in small vehicle gasoline turbocharger were summarized by comparing the structure and shaft rigid mode of semi-floating bush bearings with those of floating bush bearings.The rotor model was built.The first,second and third mode of critical speeds of rotor system were computed,and the changes in the compressor or turbine bushing bearing clearances were analyzed.Compared with the experiment data,the accuracy and the rationality of computation model were verified.The unbalance response and time transient rotor response were also computed.

Method for Evaluating the Reliability of Compressor Impeller of Turbocharger for Vehicle Application in Plateau Area

As turbocharging diesel engines for vehicle application are applied in plateau area, the environmental adaptability of engines has drawn more attention. For the environmental adaptability problem of turbocharging diesel engines for vehicle application, the present studies almost focus on the optimization of performance match between turbocharger and engine, and the reliability problem of turbocharger is almost ignored. The reliability problem of compressor impeller of turhocharger for vehicle application when diesel engines operate in plateau area is studied. Firstly, the rule that the rotational speed of turbocharger changes with the altitude height is presented, and the potential failure modes of compressor impeller are analyzed. Then, the failure behavior models of compressor impeller are built, and the reliability models of compressor impeller operating in plateau area are developed. Finally, the rule that the reliability of compressor impeller changes with the altitude height is studied, the measurements for improving the reliability of the compressor impellers of turbocharger operating in plateau area are given. The results indicate that when the operating speed of diesel engine is certain, the rotational speed of turbocharger increases with the increase of altitude height, and the failure risk of compressor impeller with the failure modes of hub fatigue and blade resonance increases. The reliability of compressor impeller decreases with the increase of altitude height, and it also decreases as the increase of number of the mission profile cycle of engine. The method proposed can not only be used to evaluating the reliability of compressor impeller when diesel engines operate in plateau area but also be applied to direct the structural optimization of compressor impeller.

Effects of Unbalance Location on Dynamic Characteristics of High-speed Gasoline Engine Turbocharger with Floating Ring Bearings

For the high-speed gasoline engine turbocharger rotor, due to the heterogeneity of multiple parts material, manufacturing and assembly errors, running wear in impeller and uneven carbon of turbine, the random unbalance usually can be developed which will induce excessive rotor vibration, and even lead to nonlinear vibration accidents. However, the investigation of unbalance location on the nonlinear high-speed turbocharger rotordynamic characteristics is less. In order to discuss the rotor unbalance location effects of turbocharger with nonlinear floating ring bearings（FRBs）, the realistic turbocharger of gasoline engine is taken as a research object. The rotordynamic equations of motion under the condition of unbalance are derived by applied unbalance force and nonlinear oil film force of FRBs. The FE model of turbocharger rotor-bearing system is modeled which includes the unbalance excitation and nonlinear FRBs. Under the conditions of four different applied locations of unbalance, the nonlinear transient analyses are performed based on the rotor FEM. The differences of dynamic behavior are obvious to the turbocharger rotor systems for four conditions, and the bifurcation phenomena are different. From the results of waterfall and transient response analysis, the speed for the appearance of fractional frequency is not identical and the amplitude magnitude is different from the different unbalance locations, and the non-synchronous vibration does not occur in the turbocharger and the amplitude is relative stable and minimum under the condition 4. The turbocharger vibration and non-synchronous components could be reduced or suppressed by controlling the applied location of unbalance, which is helpful for the dynamic design, fault diagnosis and vibration control of the high-speed gasoline engine turbochargers.

Computation of the Matching Performance of Diesel Engine with Variable Geometry Turbocharger

To compute the matching performance of diesel engine with variable geometry turboeharger（VGT）, the formerly used program is improved through adjustment of turbine mass flow rate and efficiency characteristics. The calculation result is applied to forecast the performance of J6110Z diesel engine with rotary-vaned VGT70, and to guide the improvement of engine fuel supply. The computed engine performance curve coincides with the experiment result well： the low-speed torque, fuel economy, exhaust temperature and boost pressure of the VGT engine are all improved.

Research on the Control Strategy of Variable Nozzle Turbocharger for Natural Gas Engine

A variable nozzle turbocharger （VNT） was applied to a 2.2-liter L4 natural gas engine,and a VNT control system was designed to operate it.Based on VNT matching test results,a VNT control strategy was studied,in which VNT adjustment is carried out through pre-calibrated VNT handling rod position,combined with a closed-loop target boost pressure feedback using proportional-integral-derivative（PID） algorithm.Experimental results showed that the VNT control system presented in this thesis can lead to optimized performance of VNT,increase engine volumetric efficiency over a wide speed range,improve engine dynamic characteristics and upgrade economic performance.

High-quality aluminum turbocharger impellers produced by thixocasting

The thixocasting process was chosen to produce the impellers as it is capable of producing castings with extremely high internal quality.Slugs cut from the DC cast bars are re-heated to the semi-solid casting temperature, and a specially-designed runner and gating system is used to prevent oxide from the surface of the slugs from becoming incorporated into the impeller.The technology used to produce the semi-solid impellers is described in detail.The semi-solid cast impellers, produced from an Al-Si-Mg-Cu alloy, are heat treated to the T6 temper.Results from testing are presented demonstrating that the impellers are free of porosity and other internal defects.Both mechanical property and fatigue data are presented showing that the semi-solid impellers have better properties than impellers produced by conventional casting and similar properties to forged and machined impellers.A short study is also described which identified suitable processing parameters to minimize hot tearing in the complex-shaped turbocharger impellers semi-solid cast from alloy 201.The surfaces of the impellers were examined using penetrant testing, and the results of modifying processing parameters on the propensity for surface cracking are presented.An aging study was performed to identify optimum mechanical strength.

Influence of Structural Parameters of Turbocharger Floating Bearing on Its Dynamic Characteristic Coefficients

The structure parameters in an actual industrial production have a great influence on the coefficient of supercharger floating bearing dynamic characteristics,but there has been little systematic study so far.In this paper,the influence of structural parameters of the turbocharger floating bearing on its dynamic characteristic coefficientsis systematically investigated based on the theories of hydrodynamic lubrication and tribology.The influence of clearance ratio on eccentricity and the influence of internal to external radius ratios,and Sommerfeld number were analyzed.A new formula of responding characteristics of the oil film force caused by the displacement or velocity disturbance was deduced near an equilibrium in the steady state.Applying the newly developed formula,the dynamic characteristic was studied for floating bearings.Regularity for change of oil film stiffness and damping was analyzed with the structural parameters of floating bearing such as radius ratios and eccentricity.It has been found that the clearance ratio increases with eccentricity when the radius ratio is unchanged.The eccentricity decreases with the internal to external radius ratio of floating rings when the clearance ratio is constant.The absolute value of total principal stiffness and total main damping decrease with the clearance ratio and radius ratio of floating rings when the total cross damping is stable.The results and findings in this paper can contribute to nonlinear dynamics designs of turbocharger rotor-bearing systems.

Turbocharger Noise Prediction Using Broadband Noise Source Model

The noise prediction of the turbocharger is studied.The broadband noise source model is employed to predict the near-field noise of the turbocharger.The 3D software Solidworks is adopted to establish the model blades and inlet of turbocharger compressor,then this 3D model is introduced into the software CFD to calculate the flow-field under different inlet shapes,different blades shapes and different clearances between casing and impeller.On the base of the above simulation,the broadband noise source model is employed to calculate and analyze the near-field noise.The calculation shows that compressor static pressure values and the sound power values near the impeller outlet are the largest.Through the noise calculation by using broadband noise source model under different inlet shapes and blade shapes,we find that the noise level of the inlet of cylindrical and cone types are smaller.Compared with the current widespread used backward skewed or radial blades,there is little difference of the noise value of the inlet of the forward skewed blades.

Fatigue Reliability of Blade Root of Turbocharger Turbine for Vehicle Application

The blade root fatigue is one of important failure modes of turbocharger turbine for vehicle application,and the reliability and life of turbine with blade root fatigue failure mode are studied.Firstly,the stress characteristics of turbine are analyzed,and based on the operating profile of turbocharger corresponding to the endurance test of engine,the stress spectrum of turbine with blade root fatigue failure mode is studied with the simulation method.Then,with the number of endurance test profile cycle as the life parameter,the reliability model and failure rate model of turbine with blade root fatigue failure mode are derived respectively. Finally,the rules that the reliability and failure rate of turbine with the blade root fatigue failure mode changes as life parameters are studied,and the life probabilistic characteristics of turbine are also studied.

Reverse Engineering of Turbocharger Compressor Designs Based on Non-Parametric CAD Data

The improvement of turbocharger components-such as compressor-by means of virtual methods can be done most efficiently if those component’s geometries are given in a parameterized format. It is shown here how the geometric description of turbocharger compressors that have a neutral format (ASCII or STEP/IGES) can be transformed in a parameterized description. This description is then used to perform parameter variations which are validated via simulation methods like CFD. The parameterization of the geometry is therefore a very important step within the workflow of the virtual design of turbocharger components as without it the investigation of different geometries are very time-consuming and expensive.

Continental AG＇s turbocharger production line completed in Shanghai, China

Continental AG completed the turbocharger production line in Jiading district, Shanghai, China, which is the first turbocharger production line of the Group outside Europe. Shanghai plant now, with about 1,600 employees, has a number of production lines including ABS system.

Vibration-Based Analysis for Detecting Turbocharger Blade Defect on High-Power Diesel Generator

This study is concerned with 12-MW capacity turbochargers on diesel power generators. These are generators equipped with 18 cylinders. Our previous studies [1] showed that the processing of vibration signature collected from a power generator is very complex, insomuch the dominant vibration remains the one originating from explosion frequency in the diesel generator cylinders, with a fairly high number of cylinders. This vibration drowns out all other possible vibrations, which can expose defects. The study at hand is focused on turbochargers with 20,940 rpm, while the rotation speed in the diesel engine is 600 rpm only. With the turbocharger rotating at very high speed, it results in severe mechanical constraints on the rotor shaft in the turbocharger and its related organs (turbine blades). The wear of turbine blades can result in breakdowns in the turbocharger. This article is an attempt to early detect defaults in turbine blades based on vibration signature that can be experimentally determined. We noted in our investigations that a diesel engine and its turbochargers do not bear the same mechanic loads. While the diesel engine is the seat of violent shocks brought about by explosions in cylinders, the turbochargers are driven by the action of exhaust gas from explosions, without being affected by explosion shocks. The study found that explosion frequency in the diesel engine cylinders, which disrupted the vibration signals in the diesel engine and alternator, did not impact on the vibration signals in the turbocharger. We experimentally determined, following several campaigns of measurements, a vibration signature on the turbochargers under study, which corresponds to a defect in turbine blades.