How will turbochargers bring more power and efficiency in the future?

24-04-2022

How will turbochargers bring more power and efficiency in the future?

 

We know that today's turbochargers are no longer the high-spinning parts of the eighties that easily shattered engines. At least one in every four vehicles in North America is now turbocharged. They're more efficient and reliable, and they cost less, and many of our much-loved engines compromise on turbocharging.

 

According to the estimation of turbocharged engine manufacturer Bo Tao Power, within five years, nearly half of the world's newly launched light vehicles will be equipped with turbocharging technology, which is 18 million more than the current market, of which North America is expected to account for 39% of them.

 

The purpose of taking a turbocharged engine is nothing more than to increase power, improve fuel economy, or both. For turbocharging, the future development direction may further improve power performance and eliminate the shortcomings of current turbocharged engines while ensuring energy saving.

 

Electric Turbo and Hybrid.

 

Those who don't like the turbo-hybrid V6 powertrains that are being used in F1 cars today will be driving cars with similar technology in a few years. A DC motor embedded in the connecting shaft of the turbine and compressor can spin the turbine at full speed without having to use exhaust gas to drive it, and this can be done almost instantaneously, reducing turbo lag to almost zero.

 

Therefore, in the low-speed range where the turbine has not been driven in the conventional turbine engine, the motor-driven turbine can make up for the lack of power response of the conventional turbine engine. Although some high-end models are currently equipped with mechanical turbo dual boosting, this effect can also be achieved, but its high cost and large footprint make it impossible for ordinary vehicles to popularize such technical configurations.

 

Secondly, because it is an electric drive, the boost power can be controlled more accurately and conveniently through software. At the same time, the electric turbine will use the energy of the excess exhaust gas to regenerate electricity, rather than letting it bypass the turbine when the turbine is running at high load. A supercapacitor will be used to store this electrical energy to drive turbines or other electrical components, like a power-generating hybrid system. So, the result of using an electric turbo is faster power delivery and more efficient fuel economy.

 

We've already seen electromechanical turbocharging on Ford Focus and Audi's diesel prototypes, albeit on a slightly different basis, not connected to the exhaust. However, regardless of the unproven reliability of electric turbos in production vehicles, it faces the same big problem as electric turbochargers: it requires high power support as a source of energy when working, or requires consume more energy.

 

At peak load, the electric turbo requires 48 volts to drive, but manufacturers haven't shown much interest in redesigning their current 12-volt systems. At the same time, due to the limitations of power and some axial-flow turbine structures, it is difficult for electric turbines to achieve the efficiency of traditional turbines under high load conditions.

 

Therefore, in order to meet the demand for high voltage, the turbo generator in the F1 racing technology mentioned above needs to further improve the efficiency of converting exhaust gas into electricity in mass-produced cars. Alternatively, the high-voltage batteries found on conventional hybrids could be employed to provide the electric turbo drive. Moreover, if you insist on achieving the same effect as a traditional turbine through electricity, especially under high load conditions, the energy consumption ratio, heat dissipation, life, and weight of the motor system are also potential problems.

 

Perhaps the use of electric turbines in the low-speed range, and switching to traditional turbos in the high-speed range is a way of doing both. For example, Volvo and Audi are developing in this direction. But there are also companies like Subaru that are technically pursuing excellence, and have adopted a more radical method of using electric turbos to work in the full-speed range, completely replacing traditional turbos.

 

But taking a step back, even if we overcome various technical issues, the need for electric turbines is still under discussion. This is because, fundamentally, electric turbines require additional power, which is contrary to the energy-saving purpose of conventional turbines that use exhaust gas as power. Therefore, finding a suitable balance between energy saving and performance also needs to be explored in the future.

 

Due to structural limitations, conventional turbochargers have inherent deficiencies. After we have designed ideas to make up for these shortcomings, how to apply these new technologies to vehicles is also a big test for hardware materials. For example, the materials mentioned above that can withstand ultra-high temperatures are a bottleneck in the development of turbine systems to achieve higher thermal efficiency.

 

Further, with the increasing development and advancement of technology, we believe that technical problems like the ones mentioned above will be solved soon. But while the smaller turbo engine has achieved better results in EPA tests, compared to the naturally aspirated engine, the small turbo did not live up to the claims on many road tests. fuel consumption level.

 

Electronic Turbocharger

At present, the results recognized on the test instruments are often unqualified on the real road, indicating that the current means of testing the technical effect are not perfect, and there is a certain distance from the completely real driving environment. So the next step is to find a way to properly match different situations, so that the results achieved in the laboratory and the test bench can be fully achieved in reality, otherwise everything is just on paper.


Get the latest price? We'll respond as soon as possible(within 12 hours)

Privacy policy