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Power Plants-I (ME 406), Spring 2020, Semester 6, Week 2-Topic-4 (1 hr)
1-INTRODUCTION TO INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES
Engr Prof Dr Imtiaz Hakeem

POWER PLANTS-I (ME 406)

SPRING SEMESTER 2020

WEEK 2
27-03-2020 to 02-04-2020

Topic 4 (1 hr)
By

Engr. Prof. Dr. Imtiaz Hakeem

Department of Mechanical Engineering
Sarhad University of Science & IT
 Page 2 of 11
Power Plants-I (ME 406), Spring 2020, Semester 6, Week 2-Topic-4 (1 hr)
1-INTRODUCTION TO INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES
Engr Prof Dr Imtiaz Hakeem

1. INTRODUCTION TO
INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES

(d) Working Principle of Turbocharged and Supercharged Engines and

Performance Characteristics

SUPERCHARGING AND SUPERCHARGERS

The two types of internal combustion engines, i.e., petrol and diesel engine we have stud-
ied so far have been normally aspirated, or naturally aspirated (NA) engines. “Aspi-
rated” means how something breathes: human beings, animals, or engines. A naturally
aspirated engine draws in air by the natural process of atmospheric pressure forcing air
into the low-pressure area of the intake manifold. Low-pressure (or vacuum) is created in
the manifold by the pumping action of the pistons. It is controlled by the valves and, in a
petrol engine, by the throttle.

Atmospheric pressure and the pumping action of the piston do a fine job of allowing a
basic engine to breathe. Remember, however, that one important measure of an engine’s
efficiency is its volumetric efficiency (vol). “Volumetric efficiency is a percentage figure
that indicates the volume of air an engine draws in compared to the maximum it could
draw in, which is its total displacement volume (clearance volume plus swept or stroke
volume).” The overall volumetric efficiency of any naturally aspirated engine, however,
is limited by the density of the air that atmospheric pressure forces into the engine. Re-
member that atmospheric pressure and density are greatest at sea level for any given tem-
pera-ture. At high altitude, atmospheric pressure and air density decrease. Volumetric ef-
ficiency changes directly as air density changes.

If we could increases the pressure on the incoming air above atmospheric pressure, we
could force more air into each cylinder during each intake stroke. More air would allow
more fuel to be mixed with the air while still maintaining the desired air-to-fuel ratio (A/F).
More fuel and air together equal more potential chemical energy to be released through
combustion. All of this adds up to more power, and that is exactly what supercharging
provides.

Supercharging is a process of increasing the density of air (or charge) entering an engine
above that which can be drawn in by the natural pumping action. Supercharging allows a
proportionally increased fuel volume and a denser air-fuel charge. Overall the weight of
the air-fuel charge is greater than for a naturally aspirated engine. This produces more
power because power varies directly with the weight or mass of the air-fuel charge con-
sumed per unit time.

Boost Pressure or “Boost”: A supercharger increases intake air pressure above atmos-
pheric pressure. The amount of increase is the boost pressure, or simply boost. If a super-
charger provides 10 lbf/in2 of boost, the engine operates with atmospheric pressure plus
10 lbf/in2. At sea level, that is 14.7 lbf/in2 + 10 lbf/in2, or 24.7 lbf/in2 total intake pressure.
If atmospheric pressure is 10 lbf/in2 at high altitude, the additional 10 lbf/in2 of boost
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Power Plants-I (ME 406), Spring 2020, Semester 6, Week 2-Topic-4 (1 hr)
1-INTRODUCTION TO INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES
Engr Prof Dr Imtiaz Hakeem

pressure provides 20 lbf/in2 total intake pressure. Superchargers can be built with controls
that allow increased boost at higher altitudes to make up for lower atmospheric pressure.
That is one of the reasons why a lot of superchargers development was done by the aircraft
industry over 50 years ago.

Supercharging and Compression: Supercharging the air-fuel mixture raises the engine
compression pressure and temperature. High compression produces more power from a
given amount of air and fuel than low compression. A high compression ratio (ratio of
total volume divided by clearance volume) on a naturally aspirated engine has advantages
and disadvantages:
Advantages of high compression:
(a) It improves volumetric efficiency because the piston displaces a larger percentage of
total cylinder volume on each stroke.
(b) It improves thermal efficiency because it raises compression temperature and pro-
vides more nearly completer combustion.
Disadvantages of high compression:
(a) The compression ratio is a fixed parameter or part of engine design. Therefore, tem-
perature and pressures are high in all operating modes and can increase exhaust emis-
sions during idle, deceleration, and choked or part-throttle operation.
(b) High compression ratio increases NOx production.
(c) High compression requires high octane petrol with large amounts of antiknock addi-
tives. Tetraethyl lead (TEL) is the most efficient antiknock additive, but it damages
catalytic converters and is a harmful emission, itself.

SUPERCHARGING METHODS:

There are several supercharger types and drive methods. The supercharger can be:

(1) A positive-displacement compressor that moves the same volume of air on each com-
pression cycle regardless of speed, or
(2) A variable-displacement or rotodynamic compressor that moves a greater volume of
air as speed increases.

1. Positive Displacement Supercharger: The most common positive-displacement su-

percharger is the lobe-type, or roots blower (Fig. 1-21 Top). They are used on two-
stroke diesel engines where they are not primary superchargers, but assist air intake
and exhaust scavenging. A positive-displacement supercharger draws in a large vol-
ume of air, compresses it into a small space, and then forces it at higher pressure
through an outlet.

2. Cenrifugal Supercharger: It is the most common and efficient variable-displacement

supercharger (Fig. 1-21 Bottom). Like any centrifugal compressor, it draws the mate-
rial to be compressed (air) through a central inlet. It then uses centrifugal force to move
the air to the perimeter or circumference of the compressor housing and force it
through an outlet. Because centrifugal force increases as speed increases, a centrifugal
supercharger takes in more air and creates more boost pressure as speed increases.
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Power Plants-I (ME 406), Spring 2020, Semester 6, Week 2-Topic-4 (1 hr)
1-INTRODUCTION TO INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES
Engr Prof Dr Imtiaz Hakeem

Fig. 1-21 Top: Roots blower type (positive-displacement superchargers.

Bottom: Centrifugal (variable-displacement) supercharger.

Fig. 1-22 Left: Roots blower type (positive-displacement) supercharger connected to engine. Right:
Centrifygal type (variable-displacement) supercharger connected to engine.
Bottom: Centrifugal (variable-displacement) supercharger.

Drives: Any supercharger, positive- or variable-displacement, can be mechanically-

driven by gears or belts from the engine crankshaft (Fig. 1-22). These drives have limita-
tions, however. A mechanically-driven supercharger can use up to 20% of an engine’s
power, even when supercharger boost is not needed. The efficiency of a mechanically-
driven supercharger is limited by engine speed. They require high overdrive ratios to get
enough speed for adequate boost. This causes high gear or belt speeds and mechanical
wear. There is another drive method called exhaust-driven as explained below.

TURBOCHARGERS AND TURBOCHARGING

There is another way to drive a supercharger that provides almost ‘free’ power. That is the
heat energy in an engine exhaust. Remember that almost 50% of combustion heat energy
is lost in the engine exhaust. If we install a turbine drive wheel in the hot exhaust flow and
connect it by a shaft to a centrifugal supercharger (or centrifugal compressor that increases
the boost of the charge), we can put the exhaust energy to useful work. This is the principle
of a turbocharger.
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Power Plants-I (ME 406), Spring 2020, Semester 6, Week 2-Topic-4 (1 hr)
1-INTRODUCTION TO INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES
Engr Prof Dr Imtiaz Hakeem

A turbocharger is a simple and compact drive with few moving parts. But, is built to pre-
cise, close tolerances and operates under extreme heat and wear conditions. A turbo-
charger has two chambers with two rotating wheels connected by a shaft. Exhaust passes
from the engine manifold into the drive turbine housing. The turbocharger must be as close
as possible to the engine to receive the hottest exhaust. It is the heat energy and expansion
of the exhaust, more than the speed or pressure that delivers rotating force or torque to the
turbine.

Exhaust-driven Supercharger (Turbocharger): The exhaust-driven turbine operates by

the centripetal force (inward force) of the exhaust gas applied to the tips of the turbine
rotor blades through turbine housing or scroll (that converts pressure energy into kinetic
energy), as shown in Fig. 1-23. Exhaust flows inward, exits through the centre outlet
(hence, the turbine is called radial-inflow turbine) and flow to the exhaust system of the
engine. A shaft connects the rotating exhaust turbine to the compressor impeller. Com-
pressor rotation (same rev/min as turbine because they are on the same shaft) draws intake
air through a centre inlet (called ‘impeller eye’) and uses centrifugal force to compress it
to an outlet at the compressor housing or volute (that converts kinetic energy into pressure
energy) perimeter or circumference all the way azimuthally. The turbocharger centre
housing supports the turbine and compressor shaft in a pair of bearings. The centre housing
and bearings are lubricated by the engine lubrication system. The turbine and compressor
wheels (rotor of turbine and impeller of compressor) operate with close clearances in their
housings to minimise leakage around the blades. If exhaust leaks around the turbine
blades, much of the heat energy for compressor rotation is lost. Similarly, if intake air
leaks around the compressor blades, the turbocharger will not develop full boost pressure.
A turbocharger is a simple device, and it can be trouble-free as long as two conditions are
maintained: (i) the turbine shaft and thrust bearings must constantly receive proper lubri-
cation, and (ii) the intake and exhaust housings must be kept free of even the smallest dirt
particles.

Fig. 1-23 Exhaust-gas driven turbocharger and its connection with engine.
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Power Plants-I (ME 406), Spring 2020, Semester 6, Week 2-Topic-4 (1 hr)
1-INTRODUCTION TO INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES
Engr Prof Dr Imtiaz Hakeem

Turbocharger Size, Turbo Lag (or Turbo Delay), and Turbo Response Time: A tur-
bocharger uses exhaust flow for its power, and moving exhaust gas (like any material) has
inertia (or mass). When an engine accelerates or has a load applied (say when driving
uphill the engine speed falls), one or two seconds pass before the exhaust flow develops
enough energy to accelerate the turbine. The turbine, itself, must overcome its own weight
or inertia as it accelerates. The compressor, too, must overcome its inertia and the inertia
of the intake airflow. Because it is a variable-displacement device, it does not supply use-
ful boost at low speed. All these inertia factors cause turbo lag, or turbo delay, the delay
during acceleration when a turbo does not supply boost. While turbo lag may occur for
only a second or less, it has created challenges for engineers to overcome.
The size of the turbocharger (i.e., turbine and compressor wheels) has a large effect on
turbo response time. Large turbine rotor and compressor impeller accelerate slowly;
small ones accelerate faster. A small turbine and compressor (and hence a small turbo-
charger), however, may not have the airflow capacity for a large engine. They may actu-
ally restrict the intake and exhaust at high speed. The exhaust flow and the intake airflow
capability of a turbocharger must match the intake and exhaust breathing capacities of a
specific engine to minimise turbo lag. So turbocharger-engine matching is really a chal-
lenging job for the researchers and engineers.
Location of the Turbocharger: also affects response time. If the turbine is close to the
exhaust manifold and the compressor outlet is close to the intake manifold, turbo lag is
reduced.
Turbocharger Installation: Turbocharger–any supercharger–can be installed either up-
stream or downstream from the engine’s fuel-metering source (carburettor or fuel injec-
tor). If the turbocharger is upstream (on the air intake side) from the fuel source, it com-
presses only air and delivers the denser air charge to the carburettor or injector. If the
turbocharger is downstream from the fuel source, it compresses the air-fuel mixture and
delivers the denser mixture to the cylinders. Let us look at some common turbo installa-
tions:

TURBOCHARGING WITH DIESEL ENGINES:

Turbochargers were common on diesel trucks long before they were common on automo-
biles. A diesel turbocharger is about the simplest possible arrangement. A diesel runs with
an unthrottled air intake. The injection pump is calibrated and governed to inject the right
amount of fuel in relation to engine speed, load, and intake air volume (quality governing).
A diesel turbo is mounted at the inlet of the intake manifold. It compresses intake air and
increases the air volume (density) in the manifold. The fuel injection pump of a turbo
diesel has a manifold pressure compensator that varies the amount of fuel injected in
relation to intake air pressure. This is usually a pressure operated diaphragm that moves
the governor linkage.
On most diesel automobiles, the pressure compensator responds to manifold pressure
changes both from turbocharger boost and from altitude. Atmospheric pressure decreases
at high altitudes and increases at low altitudes. Turbo boost, however, changes inde-
pendently of atmospheric pressure. The manifold pressure compensator responds to the
combined effects of atmospheric pressure and turbo pressure and varies fuel metering ac-
cordingly.
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Power Plants-I (ME 406), Spring 2020, Semester 6, Week 2-Topic-4 (1 hr)
1-INTRODUCTION TO INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES
Engr Prof Dr Imtiaz Hakeem

TURBOCHARGING WITH PETROL FUEL INJECTION ENGINES:

Turbocharger installation on most petrol engines with fuel injection is similar to installa-
tion on diesel engines. The turbo is located at the manifold air intake and compresses only
air. Most turbocharged, fuel-injected petrol engines have individual port or manifold in-
jection nozzles for each cylinder. Fuel is injected into the compressed air charge just be-
fore it enters the cylinder. The throttle is in between the turbocharger and the injectors to
regulate airflow. Some petrol turbo engines, have just one or two injection nozzles in a
throttle body on the intake manifold. The turbo is still upstream the injectors and delivers
compressed air to them. The throttle, however, is downstream from the injectors and reg-
ulates the volume of the compressed air-fuel mixture.

The injection system has a manifold pressure sensor or an airflow sensor that tells the
injection control unit the air pressure or volume in the manifold. This regulates fuel me-
tering to correspond to the intake air volume, whether the engine is running with no boost
or full boost. The pressure or airflow sensor does the same job as the manifold pressure
compensator on a turbo diesel engine.

TURBOCHARGING WITH PETROL CARBURETION ENGINES:

A carburettor can be on the intake or the outlet side of a turbocharger. Each design has
advantages and disadvantages, but an installation with the carburettor at the turbo inlet is
most common.

With the carburettor on the compressor inlet, the turbo increases the airflow and pressure
drop through the carburettor. Atmospheric pressure on the fuel bowl forces more petrol
into the increased airflow to provide the needed air-fuel ratio. The turbo compresses the
air-fuel mixture and delivers it through the manifold to the cylinders.

Locating the carburettor at the turbo inlet allows the use of an essentially standard carbu-
rettor with no modifications to withstand boost pressure. But, it also places the carburettor
farther from the intake manifold. This can cause slight engine hesitation when the throttle
opens quickly. Remote carburettor location also can complicate throttle and choke link-
ages and the preheating of the air-fuel mixture of a cold engine. The turbo also requires a
special seal between the compressor and the centre housing to keep the air fuel mixture
out of the engine oil system. Additionally, fuel may tend to separate from the compressed
mixture as it passes through the turbo and manifold. Careful design of manifolds, turbo-
charger size, and carburettor, however, has overcome most of these problems and made
carburettor location at the turbo inlet the more common arrangement.

With the carburettor on the compressor outlet, the turbocharger delivers high pressure to
the carburettor air horn. This means that the carburettor must be calibrated for correct
fuel metering with more than atmospheric pressure on the fuel bowl. But, when the turbo
is not providing boost, the carburettor must meter fuel at atmospheric pressure. These
factors make the carburettor calibration very difficult when the carburettor is at the turbo
outlet. Moreover, the entire carburettor must be modified to withstand boost pressure with-
out fuel leakage. The fuel system too, must deliver petrol at high pressure to overcome
boost pressure at the carburettor. Air-fuel ratio control is much more difficult with a pres-
surised carburettor.
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Power Plants-I (ME 406), Spring 2020, Semester 6, Week 2-Topic-4 (1 hr)
1-INTRODUCTION TO INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES
Engr Prof Dr Imtiaz Hakeem

TURBOCHARGER CONTROLS (WASTEGATE, BLOWOFF VALVE, WATER

INJECTION, AND TURBO INTERCOOLER (I/C):

Turbocharger installation is not a simple matter of bolting a turbo to an engine and gaining
free power. A turbocharger raises compression pressures and loads on an engine’s moving
parts. It also raises engine and underhood temperatures. Since compression ratios of most
currently naturally aspirated petrol engines range from 8:1 to 9:1, compression ratios usu-
ally are not lowered when a turbo is installed. Because of higher engine and underhood
temperatures, many turbocharged cars have oil coolers and larger capacity radiators. Tur-
bocharged engines also requires shorter oil change intervals than naturally aspirated en-
gines. High pressures and temperatures created by a turbo require controls for three fac-
tors:

(1) Boost pressure,

(2) Air-fuel mixture temperature, and
(3) Detonation.

1. BOOST PRESSURE CONTROL:

(a) Exhaust Wastegate: As a turbo accelerates to 100,000 or 150, 000 rev/min, boost
increases steadily. Boost pressure of any supercharger must be limited to the maximum
that an engine can stand without detonation or serious damage. On a turbocharger, this
is done most efficiently with an exhaust wastegate, which controls exhaust flow into
the turbine. The wastegate is a bypass valve at the exhaust inlet to the turbine. It allows
all of the exhaust to flow into the turbine or it diverts part of the exhaust past the
turbine to the exhaust pipe. The wastegate is operated by a diaphragm actuator, ex-
posed to compressor outlet pressure. When pressure rises to the desired maximum, it
forces the diaphragm to move a rod that opens the wastegate. This diverts part of the
exhaust (in some cases, most of the exhaust) to the turbine outlet and limits turbine
and compressor speed and hence boost pressure.

Fig. 1-24 Exhaust-gas driven wastegate turbocharger and its connection with engine.
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Power Plants-I (ME 406), Spring 2020, Semester 6, Week 2-Topic-4 (1 hr)
1-INTRODUCTION TO INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES
Engr Prof Dr Imtiaz Hakeem

The pressure line to the actuator is at the compressor outlet. During deceleration, pres-
sure at this point rises sharply because the compressor is working against the closed
throttle and an engine that needs little airflow. The actuator opens the wastegate fully
and eliminates overboost. A wastegate can be used on a turbocharger that is either
upstream or downstream from the carburettor or injectors. It does not affect, and is not
affected by, intake air-fuel mixture.

(b) Blowoff Valve (BOV): Boost pressure also can be controlled by a blowoff valve
(BOV). This is a large, spring-loaded relief valve that opens when pressure exceeds
the desired maximum (Fig. 1-25). If the turbo is upstream from the carburettor or in-
jectors and compresses only air, the blowoff valve can relieve excess air pressure di-
rectly to the atmosphere or back to the air intake. If the turbo is downstream from the
carburettor and compresses air and fuel, the valve must relieve pressure back to the
compressor inlet.

A blowoff valve can be operated by manifold vacuum to relieve boost during idle,
deceleration, and choked operation. This lowers combustion temperature and pressure
and NOx emissions under these conditions. A blowoff valve also can be operated by
vacuum on one side of a diaphragm and compressor pressure on the other. A turbo
diesel also may have an overboost protection system that stops fuel injection if the
wastegate fails and pressure gets too high. This is actually a diaphragm-operated de-
vice on the injection pump.

Fig. 1-25 Left: Blow off valve (BOV). Right: BOV installed in the turbochargere-engine assembly.

2. INTAKE MIXTURE COOLING CONTROL:

As turbocharger raises the pressure of the intake air, it also raises the temperature of
the air-fuel mixture. This has two undesirable effects. (i) Higher temperature reduces
the charge density. Thus it works against the boost pressure that increased the charge
density and the temperature to begin with. (ii) A high-temperature air-fuel mixture en-
tering the cylinders tends to detonate more easily. Detonation in a turbo engine with
high compression pressures can burn a piston, bend a rod, or otherwise damage the
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Power Plants-I (ME 406), Spring 2020, Semester 6, Week 2-Topic-4 (1 hr)
1-INTRODUCTION TO INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES
Engr Prof Dr Imtiaz Hakeem

engine very quickly. There are two common ways to cool the intake mixture of a tur-
bocharged engine:

(a) water injection, and

(b) intercooling.

(a) Water Injection: Water injection common on aftermarket turbo systems. It is in-
stalled most easily on a carburetted engine where the turbo is downstream from the
carburettor. An electric or vacuum-operated pump injects a fine spray or mist of
water into the carburettor inlet at maximum boost. The water adds nothing to the
combustion process, but it vaporises along with the petrol and cools the intake
charge. It is expelled as water vapour in the exhaust.

(b) Intercooling: An intercooler is a heat exchanger, through which the compressed

air passes from the turbo to the manifold (Fig. 1-26). Most intercoolers are air-to-
air heat exchanger design. Compressed air from the turbo passes through the radia-
tor-like intercooler and transfers heat to ambient airflow around the intercooler. In-
tercoolers work best on systems with fuel injection or a carburettor downstream
from the turbo. Only air passes through the intercooler, and there is no chance of
fuel separation from the mixture as it cools. Intercoolers also can be built as air-to-
water heat exchangers, but they are more complicated and heavier than air-to-air
intercoolers.

Fig. 1-26 Water ijection and intercooler locations in a turbocharged engine.

3. DETONATION AND SPARK TIMING CONTROL:

High temperature and pressure are not the only causes of detonation in a turbocharged
engine. If the spark timing is overly advanced, the dense air-fuel mixture will ignite too
soon, burn unevenly, and develop peak cylinder pressure too early on the power stroke.
All of these can cause knocking and engine damage, ignition timing must be retarded from
maximum advance when a turbo engine is at peak boost.

One easy way to do this on a petrol engine is with manifold pressure retard on the distrib-
utor vacuum advance diaphragm. The distributor vacuum unit is built so that manifold
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Power Plants-I (ME 406), Spring 2020, Semester 6, Week 2-Topic-4 (1 hr)
1-INTRODUCTION TO INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES
Engr Prof Dr Imtiaz Hakeem

pressure acts on a diaphragm to retard timing at high boost. The retard diaphragm moves
the contact breaker plate of the distributor opposite to the way it moves for advance. This
works similarly to the way a dual-diaphragm distributor retards timing with high manifold
vacuum at idle and deceleration.

A turbocharged diesel can be built with similar boost pressure retard on the injection
pump. A diaphragm, actuated by boost pressure, moves the injection timing advance link-
age to retard injection slightly at high boost pressure.

Boost pressure retard of ignition timing works well enough on a simple turbo installation,
but it does not offer the precise timing control of electronic detonation sensing. Many late-
model turbo engines with electronic controls use a sensor that signals the computer to
retard timing when detonation occurs. The sensor is a piezoelectric crystal that generates
a voltage or varies the return signal of a reference voltage when engine knock occurs. The
sensor detects detonation as physical hammering within the engine and signals the com-
puter to retard timing instantly. The computer then gradually restores the maximum spark
advance that the engine needs for efficient operation.

Fig. 1-27 Detonation ans spark timing control vlave for vacuum retard and advance.