SUPERCHARGING

Superchargers & Turbochargers

Supercharging or turbocharging are the techniques used in automobile, in order to produce additional horse power,
by increasing air density into the engine cylinder.

Akhil.K
4NM07ME010

Sl.No Contents Page No

1 Introduction to Supercharging 3
2 Introduction To Superchargers 4
3 Types of Superchargers 4
4 Advantages of Superchargers 6
5 Disadvantages of Superchargers 7
6 Introduction to Turbochargers 8
7 Methods of Turbocharging 9
8 Limitations of Turbochargers 10
9 Methods to overcome Turbo Lag 11
INTRODUCTION TO SUPERCHARGING:

The power output of an engine depends upon the amount of air indicated per unit time, the degree of utilization

of this air and thermal efficiency of the engine. The amount of air inducted per unit time can be increased by

increasing the engine speed or by increasing the density of air intake. The method of increasing the inlet air

density is called Supercharging. The increase in the amount of air inducted per unit time by supercharging is

obtained mainly to burn a greater amount of fuel in a given engine and thus increase its power. Supercharging

can be done both for SI engines as well as CI engines

The objects of supercharging include the following,

- To obtain more power from an existing engine.

- To increase more power output for a given weight and bulk of the engine.

- To compensate for the loss of power due to altitude.

Effects of Supercharging on effect of the engine;

Power output: The power output of a supercharged engine is higher than the engine without supercharging.

Mechanical efficiency: The mechanical efficiency of a supercharged engine is slightly better than the natural

aspirated engine.

Fuel Consumption: This depends on the method adopted for supercharging and type of engine.

Supercharging of an engine can be done using either one of the following components;

1) Using Superchargers

2) Using Turbochargers
SUPERCHARGERS:

A supercharger is any device that pressurizes the air intake to above atmospheric pressure.

Superchargers increase intake by compressing air above atmospheric pressure with the help of a compressor,

without creating a vacuum.

Superchargers are powered mechanically by belt- or chain-drive from the engine's crankshaft.

Most are driven by an accessory belt, which wraps around a pulley that is connected to a drive gear. The drive

gear, in turn, rotates the compressor gear. To pressurize the air, a supercharger must spin rapidly – more

rapidly than the engine itself. Making the drive gear larger than the compressor gear causes the compressor to

spin faster. Superchargers can spin at speeds as high as 50,000 to 65,000 rotations per minute (RPM).

For a supercharger to work at peak efficiency, the compressed air exiting the discharge unit must be cooled

before it enters the intake manifold. The intercooler is responsible for this cooling process.

Intercoolers come in two basic designs: air-to-air intercoolers and air-to-water intercoolers. Both work just like

a radiator, with cooler air or water sent through a system of pipes or tubes. As the hot air exiting the

Supercharger encounters the cooler pipes, it also cools down. The reduction in air temperature increases the

Density of the air, which makes for a denser charge entering the combustion chamber.

TYPES OF SUPERCHARGERS:

Roots Superchargers: The Roots supercharger is the oldest design. Philander and Francis Roots patented the

design in 1860. In 1900, Gottleib Daimler included a Roots supercharger in a car engine.
As the meshing lobes spin, air trapped in the pockets between the lobes is carried between the fill side and the

discharge side. Large quantities of air move into the intake manifold and "stack up" to create positive pressure.

For this reason, Roots superchargers are really nothing more than air blowers. Roots superchargers are usually

large and sit on top of the engine. They are the least efficient supercharger for two reasons, they add more

weight to the vehicle and they move air in discrete bursts instead of in a smooth and continuous flow.

Twin-screw Superchargers: A twin-screw supercharger operates by pulling air through a pair of meshing

lobes that resemble a set of worm gears.

Like the Roots supercharger, the air inside a twin-screw supercharger is trapped in pockets created by the rotor

lobes. But a twin-screw supercharger compresses the air inside the rotor housing. That's because the rotors have

a conical taper, which means the air pockets decrease in size as air moves from the fill side to the discharge

side. As the air pockets shrink, the air is squeezed into a smaller space. This makes twin-screw superchargers

more efficient, but they cost more because the screw-type rotors require more precision in the manufacturing

process. Some types of twin-screw superchargers sit above the engine like the Roots supercharger. They also

make a lot of noise. The compressed air exiting the discharge outlet creates a whine or whistle that must be

subdued with noise suppression techniques.

Centrifugal Superchargers: A centrifugal supercharger powers an impeller, a device similar to a rotor. at very
high speeds to quickly draw air into small compressor housing

Impeller speeds can reach 50,000 to 60,000RPM. As the air is drawn in at the hub of the impeller, centrifugal

force causes it to radiate outward. The air leaves the impeller at high speed, but low pressure. A diffuser, a set

of stationary vanes that surround the impeller converts the high-speed, low-pressure air to low-speed, high-

pressure air. Air molecules slow down when they hit the vanes, which reduces the velocity of the airflow and

increases pressure. Centrifugal superchargers are the most efficient and the most common of all forced

induction systems. They are small, light weight and attach to the front of the engine instead of the top.

Advantages of Superchargers:

- The biggest advantage of having a supercharger is the increased horsepower.

- Superchargers do not suffer lag, a term used to describe how much time passes between the driver depressing

the gas pedal and the engine's response.

- Installing a turbocharger requires extensive modification of the exhaust system, but superchargers can be

bolted to the top or side of the engine. That makes them cheaper to install and easier to service and maintain.

- No special shutdown procedure is required with superchargers.

Disadvantages of Superchargers:

- Since they are driven by engine itself some of the power developed will be utilised in running the

compressor.

- One of the common disadvantage concerned with both Superchargers as well as Turbocharger is ‘knocking’

of engine. Since the temperature is raised because of forced induction, knocking takes place which is a

serious problem.

- Since some of the superchargers are larger in size the efficiency of the engine decreases as it is the additional

component bolted on to it.

TURBOCHARGERS:

Turbochargers are a type of forced induction system whose function is same as that of Supercharger. They

compress the air flowing into the engine.

A turbocharged engine produces more power overall than the same engine without the charging. This can

significantly improve the power-to-weight ratio for the engine.

In order to achieve this boost, the turbocharger uses the exhaust flow from the engine to spin a turbine, which in

turn spins an air pump. The turbine in the turbocharger spins at speeds of up to 150,000 RPM.

The turbocharger is bolted to the exhaust manifold of the engine. The exhaust from the cylinders spins the

turbine, which works like a gas turbine engine. The turbine is connected by a shaft to the compressor, which is

located between the air filter and the intake manifold. The compressor pressurizes the air going into the

pistons.

The exhaust from the cylinders passes through the turbine blades, causing the turbine to spin. The more

exhaust that goes through the blades, the faster they spin. On the other end of the shaft that the turbine is

attached to, the compressor which pumps air into the cylinders. The compressor is a type of centrifugal pump, it

draws air in at the centre of its blades and flings it outward as it spins.

In order to handle speeds of up to 150,000 rpm, the turbine shaft has to be supported very carefully. Most

turbochargers use a ‘Fluid Bearing’. This type of bearing supports the shaft on a thin layer of oil that is

constantly pumped around the shaft. This serves two purposes: It cools the shaft and some of the other

turbocharger parts and it allows the shaft to spin without much friction. Some turbochargers use ‘Ball Bearings’

instead of fluid bearings to support the turbine shaft. But these are not your regular ball bearings, they are

super-precise bearings made of advanced materials to handle the speeds and temperatures of the turbocharger.

Ceramic turbine blades are lighter than the steel blades used in most turbochargers.

When air is compressed, it heats up; and when air heats up, it expands. So some of the pressure increase from a

turbocharger is the result of heating the air before it goes into the engine. An intercooler or charge air cooler

is an additional component that looks something like a radiator, except air passes through the inside as well as
the outside of the intercooler. The intake air passes through sealed passage ways inside the cooler, while cooler

air from outside is blown across fins by the engine cooling fan.

Methods of Turbocharging and their Advantages and Limits:

Constant Pressure Turbocharging: The exhaust from various cylinders discharge into a common manifold at

pressure at pressures higher than the atmospheric pressure. The exhaust gasses from all the expanded in the

exhaust valves to an approximately constant pressure in common manifold from here it passes to turbine. Thus

the blow-down energy, in the form of internal energy, is converted into work in the turbine. The exhaust gases

are maintained at constant pressure during the whole cycle so that a pure Reaction turbine can be used.

Advantages:

- The exhaust piping is very simple for a multi-cylinder engine as well as single-cylinder, highly efficient

turbine can be used.

- Engine speed is not limited by the pressure waves in the exhaust pipes.

Disadvantages:

- Scavenging is not efficient.

- At part load the efficiency of turbine reduces due to partial admissions to the turbine.

Pulse Turbocharging: Considerable part of the blow-down energy is converted into exhaust pulses as soon as

the exhaust valve opens. Towards the end of exhaust the pressure in the exhaust pipe drops below the

scavenging and large air pressure making scavenging quite easy. The rate of the exhaust gas at the various

turbine inlet is different and variable in time.

Advantages:

- The space required is less due to short and smaller diameter pipes.

- Comparatively better scavenging is obtained at low loads due to reduced pressure.

Disadvantages:

- With large number of cylinders complicated inlet and exhaust pipe arrangements are needed.

- The length of the pipe or engine speed is limited.

Two Stage Turbocharging: Two –stage turbocharging is defined as use of two turbochargers of different sizes

In series; for example a high-pressure stage operating on pulse system and a low-pressure stage on constant

pressure operation.

Advantages:

- Better matching of the turbochargers to engine operating conditions possible.

- The efficiency of two-stage turbocharger is higher than that of a single stage turbocharger having a high boost

ratio.

Disadvantages:

- The space requirement is higher.

- The total system is heavier.

Limitations of Turbocharging:

- The use of turbochargers requires special exhaust manifolds.

- Fuel injection has to be modified to inject more fuel per unit time.

- The efficiency of the turbine blades is very sensitive to gas velocity so that it is very difficult to obtain good

efficiency over a wide range of operations.

- One of the main problems with turbochargers is that they do not provide an immediate power boost. It takes a

second for the turbine to get up to speed before boost is produced. This results in a lag known as ‘Turbo Lag’.

Methods to overcome Turbo lag: One way to decrease turbo lag is to reduce the inertia of the rotating parts,

mainly by reducing their weight. This allows the turbine and compressor to accelerate quickly, and start

providing boost earlier. A small turbocharger will provide boost more quickly and at lower engine speeds.

Most automotive turbochargers have a wastegate, which allows the use of a smaller turbocharger to reduce lag.

Some engines use two turbochargers of different sizes. The smaller one spins up to speed very quickly,

reducing lag, while the bigger one takes over at higher engine speeds to provide more boost.