This paper describes the development of a high performance
low pressure turbine (LPT) for turbocompounding applications
to be used in a 1.0 litre ”cost-effective, ultra-efficient gasoline
engine for a small and large segment passenger car”. Under this
assumption, a mixed-flow turbine was designed to recover latent
energy of discharged exhaust gases at low pressure ratios (1.05 -
1.3) and to drive a small electric generator with a maximum
power output of 1.0 kW. The design operating conditions were
fixed at 50,000 rpm with a pressure ratio of 1.1. Commercially
available turbines are not suitable for this purpose due to the
very low efficiencies experienced when operating in these
pressure ratio ranges.
The low pressure turbine performance was simulated using a
commercial CFD software. Then, turbine performance was
validated with a comprehensive turbine testing that was
accomplished by using the Imperial College turbine test rig. The
testing and the simulation conditions were conducted for a range
of design equivalent speeds spanning between 80% and 120% at
steps of 10% increase.
In addition, the impact of the turbocompounding on Brake
Specific Fuel Consumption (BSFC) and Brake Mean Effective
Pressure (BMEP) was also assessed by using a 1-D validated
engine model of the engine under study. Three different
arrangements for the turbocompounding were assessed: (1) precatalyst,
(2) post-catalyst and (3) in the wastegate of the main
turbocharger. The outcomes of the simulation were compared to
those obtained for the baseline engine and are discussed in the
the paper. The 1-D engine simulation had shown that the
maximum benefit of the turbocompounding can be achieved when
it was located at the post catalyst with maximum BSFC reduction
of 2.4% at 1500 rpm and 3.0% of BMEP increase at 1000rpm.
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