Heat Transfer Correction Methods for Turbocharger Performance Measurements

Abstract

Turbocharger performance maps used for the matching process with a combustion engine are measured on test benches which do not exhibit the same boundary conditions as the engine. However, these maps are used in engine simulations, ignoring that the compressor and turbine aerodynamic performance is rated on the basis of quantities which were measured at positions which do not coincide with the respective system boundaries of the turbomachinery. In the operating range of low to mid engine speeds, the ratio between the heat flux and the work done by the turbine and the compressor is much greater than at high speeds where heat transfer phenomena on the compressor side can usually be neglected. Heat losses on the turbine side must be taken into account even at higher shaft speeds when dealing with isentropic turbine efficiencies. Based on an extensive experimental investigation, a one-dimensional heat transfer model is developed. The compressor and turbine side are treated individually and divided into sections of inlet, wheel, outlet, diffuser, and volute. The model demonstrates the capability to properly account for the impact of heat transfer, and thereby improves the predictive accuracy of temperatures relevant for the matching process.