DE VELO PMENT MATERIAL S

TURBOCHARGER WITH WATER-COOLED

ALUMINUM TURBINE HOUSING
Continental has developed the world‘s first turbocharger featuring an aluminum water-cooled turbine housing for
series production in passenger cars. This unit is 1.2 kg lighter – nearly 30 % – than the steel equivalent and will
be put into production for the first time in a three-cylinder gasoline engine belonging to a new family of engines.

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 AUTHORS
ACHIM KOCH
is Head of Development for Exhaust
Gas Turbochargers in the Powertrain
Division of the Continental AG
in Regensburg (Germany).
MARC HILLER
is Group Manager for FEA Simulation
in the Powertrain Division of the
Continental AG in Grünstadt (Germany).
TORSTEN BORSDORF
is Group Manager of Project
Management in the Powertrain
Division of the Continental AG
in Grünstadt (Germany).
❶ SK turbocharger with steel housing under full load
11I2014 Volume 75
KEY TECHNOLOGY FOR EFFICIENCY
Exhaust gas turbochargers are a key
technology by which combustion en-
gines can be made more efficient. For
gasoline engines, turbocharging can
facilitate a transition from four-cylinder
engines to more efficient three-cylinder
units which offer outstanding perfor-
mance, even in mid-size vehicles. Since
turbochargers are an additional compo-
nent, lightweight design is very impor-
tant. Turbochargers also generate intense
heat against which adjacent components
must be protected in today’s tightly
packed engine bays. For compact vehi-
cles in particular, economic and business
conditions apply that can be at odds
with the cost of materials that are con-
ventionally used in turbochargers and
with heat protection measures.
In accordance with customer require-
ments, between January 2011 and mid-
2013 Continental developed the world‘s
first water-cooled aluminum turbine
housing for a turbocharger in passenger
cars. In August 2013, this innovative
housing for compact, turbocharged gaso-
line engines was put into production for
the Mini (type F56/F54). The housing was
developed based on the SK1 turbocharger
with radial turbine technology, which has
already proven its worth in other vehicles.
Offering maximum efficiency and opti-
mum time-to-torque, this turbocharger
was introduced in 2009 [1, 2] and entered
into production in 2011 [3].
FIRST ENGINE APPLICATION
The new turbocharger design was first
used in a 1.5-l three-cylinder gasoline
engine with an output of 100 kW, devel-
oped from BMW’s B38 modular product
and process system. The aim of the new
development is to construct all in-line
engines based on the same underlying
concept and on standard engine periph-
erals. Primary development objectives
for the modular in-line engine system
were greater efficiency, reduced weight,
improved performance, compact design,
and orientation towards Euro 6 and
SULEV emission requirements that will
soon be law worldwide.
The turbocharger is located on the right
side of the three-cylinder gasoline engine,
which has essentially been designed for
turbocharging, and is fixed to the cylin-
der head with a clamping/sliding bar.
The exhaust manifold is integrated into
the turbine housing of the turbocharger
and the two together form the “hot end”.
The selected parting line between turbo
module and cylinder head also enables
the connection of an uncooled steel tur-
bocharger. For cooled turbochargers, the
coolant is fed directly from the cylinder
head so that the turbocharger is an inte-
gral part of the engine. Since the B38
modular engine system is designed for
both horizontally and longitudinally
mounted assemblies, the new turbo-
charger also supports both types of
installation. Since a three-cylinder, high-
performance engine producing 170 kW
from just 1.5 l has already been realised
with the same modular engine system,
a Continental SK2 turbocharger with tur-
bine housing made from high-alloy steel
is used here.
DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE
FEATURES OF THE TURBOCHARGER
Development work began with the SK
turbocharger, a modular unit whose
main components are bolted together
axially. In the standard design with steel
housing, the patented core with the bear-
ing housing is cooled by means of gener-
ously dimensioned cooling channels.
At full load, a turbocharger fitted to
a gasoline engine is subject to hot gas
temperatures of up to around 1000 °C,
for which reason it is normal for the
housing to begin to glow, ❶. Due to this
high thermal load, it used to be assumed
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DE VELO PMENT MATERIAL S

❷ Cross-section of turbocharger with water jacket around the turbine housing ❸ Coolant flow for cooling the aluminum turbine housing

that steel was the only suitable material.
The new turbocharger design therefore
has a water jacket around the turbine
housing, ❷. As a result, the surface
temperature of the housing does not
exceed 120 °C and on the inside the
temperature does not exceed 350 °C.
The weight-saving is significant, espe-
cially in the compact vehicle sector.
Whereas the turbine housing of the steel
B38 turbocharger weighs around 4.4 kg,
the A1 housing is around 1.7 kg lighter.
If we include the weight of the coolant
when the system is fully filled, the alu-
minum housing offers a net weight sav-
ing of 1.2 kg over the steel equivalent.
The electrically controlled actuator
was selected so that the waste gate could
be positioned as flexibly and dynami-
cally as possible after it. The built-in,
rapid-response electromotive actuator
does not rely on the presence of either
under or overpressure. It is used to open
the waste gate as early and as wide as
possible under partial load. This allows
the catalytic converter to heat up more
quickly (optimum flow) and to stay hot.
As a result, the materials of the waste
gate actuator were also designed for high
frequency of movement during opera-
tion, for the duration of the gate‘s service
life. At the same time, the principle cool-
ing of the exhaust mass flow in the tur-
bine housing has the positive effect of
lowering the exhaust gas temperatures
ahead of the catalytic converter to well
below 850 °C, meaning that aging of the
catalytic converter can be pretty much
ruled out [4].
DESIGN OF THE COOLING CIRCUIT
To restrict the component temperature
of the aluminum turbine housing effec-
tively, great attention was paid to the
design of the cooling circuit. Basic cool-
ing performance had to be designed for
heat input of up to 38 kW. At the same
time, the flow of coolant at every point
inside the housing had to be optimised
in such a way as to prevent local tem-
perature peaks. During operation, the
volume flow within the water jacket
is up to 40 l/min, ❸. Due to excellent
cooling, there is no need to cool the
bearing housing in the core of the
aluminum turbine housing. Here, heat
is also removed via the water jacket.
The heat input by the turbocharger
into the cooling circuit can be used
to heat up the interior more quickly,
because the warm-up time following
a cold start is shorter.
The turbine housing is made from
an aluminum alloy material containing
silicon and magnesium. This material,
which is temperature-treated after cast-
ing, combines favorable strength prop-
erties with the excellent heat conductiv-
ity of aluminum. During development,
the flow of coolant in the turbine hous-
ing was optimised using the methods

❹ During CFD simulation, flow of coolant through the water jacket

subject to detailed optimisation

32

❺ Simulation of life time until crack initiation:
contour plot of damage parameter D in the tongue
area of the volute
of computational fluid dynamics (CFD).
Central issues here were the thermal
interactions between coolant and ex-
haust flow, the effect of an integrated
exhaust manifold on thermal input, and
the impact of boiling temperatures in
the coolant. In addition to the basis for
calculation of component strength, sim-
ulation is also designed to minimise ad-
ditional cooling requirements.
Development tasks were to optimise
cooling in the water jacket and to clarify
the underlying conditions for subsequent
simulation using the finite element
method (FEM). CFD simulation was split
❻ Simulation of filling of pouring cluster during aluminum casting of turbine housing
11I2014 Volume 75
into two areas: On the exhaust gas side
they were carried out with predefined
surface temperatures and on the coolant
side with predefined thermal loads for
analysing the conductivity coefficients
and the amount of heat dissipated.
❹ shows a snapshot from the CFD
simulation. The flow of coolant was pre-
optimised by means of detailed modifi-
cations to the cross sections, flow guid-
ance, modified channel designs, and
local taperings. In sensitive areas with
high thermal input, the flow of coolant
was accelerated and at the same time,
pressure losses were reduced. In addi-
tion, a new and specially developed
approach was adopted here based on a
modified Chaboche model to simulate
the lifespan of the turbine housing. Tran-
sient FEM calculations enabled the life
expectancy of components to be pre-
dicted much more accurately. ❺ shows –
in the vicinity of the volute tongue and
depicted in color – the level of the dam-
age parameter which can be used for
consideration of the number of load
cycles until crack initiation.
Since the turbocharger is an integral
component of the B38 modular engine,
it was essential that both supplier and
OEM worked closely together when de-
signing the cooling circuit. During simu-
lation, databases were exchanged repeat-
edly, each time being integrated into the
next higher simulation level.
Simulation was also very important for
the casting process of the aluminum tur-
bine housing because the structural
quality and freedom from defects of the
cast components depend directly on the
filling of the mold. ❻ shows the tempera-
ture distribution of a simulation of the
filling process after filling. A positive
side effect of water cooling is the com-
paratively low surface temperature of the
aluminum turbine housing. As a result,
there is no need for expensive, highly
thermal-resistant materials such as
nickel alloy, and measures for shielding
of adjacent components can also be
almost entirely dispensed with.
CONCLUSION AND OUTLOOK
Despite additional cooling costs, this
innovative turbocharger design with
water-cooled aluminum turbine housing,
which is integrated closely into the
three-cylinder gasoline engine, offers
significant cost and weight savings with
considerable CO2 potential [4]. The
water-cooled turbocharger is lighter and
also cheaper due to the material used,
because expensive, heat-resistant alloys
are not required. Despite increased cool-
ing requirements, the system costs for
turbochargers with aluminum turbo
housing are therefore lower than when
nickel alloys are used. In the engine, the
water-cooled aluminum turbocharger
offers improved fuel consumption and,
in addition to increased comfort, sup-
ports the outstanding driving dynamics
of the three-cylinder unit.
REFERENCES
[1] Schwerdel, U.; Koch, A.; Claus, H.; Frankenstein,
D.; Held, J.; Kaufmann, A.; Herfurth, R.: Neuer
Turbolader mit elektrischer Waste-Gate Verstellung.
14 th Supercharging Conference, Dresden, 2009
[2] Koch, A.; Claus, H.; Frankenstein, D.; Herfurth,
R.: Turboladerdesign für elektrische Waste-Gate-
Betätigung minimiert Leckage. In: MTZ 71 (2010),
No. 10
[3] Ernst, R.; Friedfeldt, R.; Lamb, S.; Lloyd-
Thomas, D.; Phlips, P.; Russell, R.; Zenner, T.: The
New 3 Cylinder 1.0 L Gasoline Direct Injection Turbo
Engine from Ford. 20 th Aachen Colloquium Auto-
mobile and Engine Technology, 2011
[4] Steinparzer, F.; Schwarz, C.; Brüner, T.; Mattes,
W.: Die neuen BMW 3- und 4-Zylinder Ottomotoren
mit TwinPower Turbo Technologie. 35 th Vienna Inter-
national Motor Symposium, 2014
[5] Hiller, M.; Bogner, M.; Koch, A.; Kömpel, R.-M.:
Water-cooled Turbochargers for Automotive Gaso-
line Engines – a Challenge for the Numerical Simu-
lation. 3 rd Int. Conference on Downsizing and Turbo-
charging, Wiesbaden, 2011
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