High durability variable geometry turbine for commercial vehicle turbochargers

Abstract

Abstract Transportation sector constitutes a major portion in the Green House Gas (GHG) emissions of the world. Reduction of GHG emission requires the development of highly efficient Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) which are downsized using turbochargers that provide compressed air for cleaner combustion. Variable Geometry (VG) turbochargers are widely accepted for this application because of the ability of VG turbine to function at wider flow range. This ensures the supply of compressed air at low engine speeds also. However, the interaction between stator vanes and turbine rotor has been a major issue in terms of High Cycle Fatigue (HCF) of such a turbocharger. Till now, a conservative design approach constrained the maximum rotation speed to below resonance speed for vibration mode 2. But, to achieve further downsizing it would be necessary to challenge higher rotation speeds. This paper will firstly introduce the tip-timing experiment and CFD-FEA simulations used to evaluate the HCF of VG turbine, and secondly it discusses the results of new VG turbine system which achieved safe operability even at vibration mode 3, both on simulation and experiment. The tip-timing experiment was conducted at 680°C on hot gas stand test bench with optical sensors installed circumferentially around the rotor tip. These measurements have been verified and validated with the safety factor calculated from blade surface pressure data obtained from transient rotor CFD simulations.