SUPERCHARGING AND

TURBOCHARGING
AIRFLOW REQUIREMENTS
Airflow requirements of an engine can be
calculated using the following three factors,
1. Engine displacement
2. Engine revolutions per minute (RPM)
3. Volumetric efficiency
AIRFLOW REQUIREMENTS
Volumetric Efficiency
 Volumetric efficiency is the ratio of the actual volume
of air–fuel mixture drawn into an engine to the
theoretical maximum volume that it can draw (based
upon the bore and stroke).

 Volumetric efficiency decreases as engine speed

increases.
AIRFLOW REQUIREMENTS
Engine Compression
 Higher compression increases the thermal efficiency
of the engine because it raises compression
temperatures, resulting in hotter and more complete
combustion.
SUPERCHARGING PRINCIPLE

 The amount of force an air–

fuel charge produces when it
is ignited is mainly a function
of the charge density.
 Density is the mass of a
substance in a given amount The more air and fuel that
of space. can be packed in a cylinder,
the greater the density of the
air–fuel charge.
SUPERCHARGING PRINCIPLE
 An engine that uses atmospheric pressure for intake is
called a Naturally Aspirated (NA) engine.
 To achieve an increase in mixture compression, air is
forced into the engine cylinder at more than
atmospheric pressure. This is called supercharging.
 This method uses a pump to push more air (denser air /
air–fuel mixture) into the cylinders.
 Since the density of air / air–fuel mixture is more ( ie
the weight is more) power which is directly related to
the weight of air/ air–fuel mixture consumed within a
given time period is also more.
SUPERCHARGING
(Advantages)
 In addition to the increased power resulting from
combustion, there are several other advantages of
supercharging an engine,
i. It increases the air–fuel charge density to provide
high compression pressure when power is required,
but allows the engine to run on lower pressures
when additional power is not required (flexibility of
operation).
SUPERCHARGING PRINCIPLES
(Advantages)
ii. The pumped air pushes the remaining exhaust
from the combustion chamber during intake and
exhaust valve overlap resulting in better
scavenging.
iii. The forced airflow and removal of hot exhaust
gases lowers the temperature of the cylinder
head, pistons and valves which helps extending
the life of the engine.
iv. Altitude compensation can be easily achieved.
SUPERCHARGING TYPES
 Superchargers mostly fall into one of the following two
categories,

1. Mechanically driven superchargers and

2. Turbo superchargers driven by exhaust gasses.

 A third category is electrically powered superchargers.

SUPERCHARGERS
 A supercharger is an engine-driven air pump that
supplies air at more than the atmospheric pressure into
the intake manifold and boosts engine torque and power.
 A supercharger provides an instantaneous increase in
power without the delay or lag often associated with
turbochargers.
 In basic concept, a supercharger is nothing but an air
pump mechanically driven by the engine itself.
SUPERCHARGERS
There are two types of superchargers defined according to
the method of compression:

I. Positive displacement and

II. Dynamic compressors.

The positive displacement type delivers a fairly constant

level of pressure increase at all engine speeds (RPM),
whereas the dynamic displacement type deliver increasing
pressure with increasing engine speed.
SUPERCHARGERS
Positive displacement
 Positive displacement superchargers deliver a nearly
fixed volume of air per revolution at all speeds.
 Leakage is almost constant at all speeds for a given
pressure, thus its importance decreases at higher
speeds.
Major types of positive-displacement pumps are,
a) Roots
b) Lysholm twin-screw
c) Sliding vane
d) Scroll-type supercharger, also known as the G-Lader
SUPERCHARGERS
Positive displacement
SUPERCHARGERS
 Roots-type supercharger.
The roots-type supercharger
is called a positive
displacement design because
all of the air that enters is
forced through the unit.
 Centrifugal supercharger.
A centrifugal supercharger is
similar to a turbocharger but A roots-type supercharger uses
is mechanically driven by the two lobes to force the air around
the outside of the housing into
engine instead of being the intake manifold.
powered by the hot exhaust
gases.
SUPERCHARGERS
Supercharger Boost Control
 Many factory-installed superchargers are equipped with a
bypass valve that allows intake air to flow directly into the
intake manifold bypassing the supercharger.
 The computer controls the bypass valve actuator.

The bypass actuator

opens the bypass
valve to control
boost pressure.
TURBOCHARGERS
TURBOCHARGERS
 The major disadvantage of a supercharger is its reliance
on engine power to drive the unit.
 By connecting a centrifugal supercharger to a turbine
drive wheel and installing it in the exhaust path, the lost
engine horsepower is regained to perform other work
and the combustion heat energy lost in the engine
exhaust (as much as 40% to 50%) can be recovered to do
useful work.
TURBOCHARGERS
 The main advantage of
turbochargers over a
mechanically driven
supercharger is that the
turbocharger does not utilise
the power from the engine.
A turbocharger uses some of
 In a naturally aspirated engine, the heat energy that would
about half of the heat energy normally be wasted.
contained in the fuel goes out
the exhaust system.
TURBOCHARGERS

A turbine wheel is rotated by the expanding exhaust gases.

TURBOCHARGERS
Turbocharger Design and Operation
 A turbocharger consists of two
chambers connected by a
center housing.
 The two chambers contain a
turbine wheel and a
compressor wheel connected
by a shaft which passes
through the center housing.
TURBOCHARGERS
Turbocharger Design and Operation

• As exhaust gas enters the turbocharger, it rotates the

turbine blades.
• The turbine wheel and compressor wheel are on the same
shaft so that they turn at the same speed.
• Rotation of the compressor wheel draws air in through a
central inlet and centrifugal force pumps it through an
outlet at the edge of the housing.
TURBOCHARGER - Operation

The exhaust drives the turbine wheel on the left, which is

connected to the impeller wheel on the right through a shaft.
The bushings that support the shaft are lubricated with engine
oil under pressure.
TURBOCHARGER - Operation
The turbine consists of two components;
1. The turbine wheel and
2. The collector, commonly referred to as the turbine
housing .
 The exhaust gas is guided into the turbine wheel by the
housing.
 The energy in the exhaust gas turns the turbine.
 Once the gas has passed through the blades of the wheel it
leaves the turbine housing via the exhaust outlet area.
TURBOCHARGER - Operation
 Compressors consist of two sections,
1. The impeller or compressor wheel and
2. The compressor housing .
 The compressor wheel is connected to the turbine by a
forged steel shaft.
 As the compressor wheel rotates , air is drawn in and is
compressed as the blades spin at a high velocity.
 The housing is designed to convert the high velocity, low
pressure air stream, into a high pressure low velocity air
stream, through a process called diffusion.
TURBOCHARGER - CARE
 If properly maintained, the turbocharger is a trouble-free
device.
 However, to prevent problems, the following conditions
must be met:
– The turbocharger bearings must be constantly
lubricated with clean engine oil—turbocharged
engines should have regular oil changes.
– Dirt particles and other contamination must be kept
out of the intake and exhaust housings.
TURBOCHARGER - CARE
– Whenever a basic engine bearing (crankshaft or
camshaft) has been damaged, the turbocharger must
be flushed with clean engine oil after the bearing has
been replaced.
– If the turbocharger is damaged, the engine oil must be
drained and flushed and the oil filter replaced as part
of the repair procedure.
TURBOCHARGERS
Turbocharger Size and Response Time
 A time lag occurs between an increase in engine speed
and the increase in the speed of the turbocharger.
 This delay between acceleration and turbo boost is called
turbo lag
 To minimize turbo lag, the intake and exhaust breathing
capacities of an engine must be matched to the exhaust
and intake airflow capabilities of the turbocharger.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SUPERCHARGER &
TURBOCHARGER
 The compressors in Superchargers are driven by the power
taken directly from the engine whereas as for driving a
turbocharger unit the exhaust gases are used.
 Since the supercharger draws mechanical energy from the
engine directly it is less efficient when compared to a
turbocharger which uses the waste gas energy.
 Turbochargers are used where fuel economy is a concern,
whereas the superchargers are employed in sports cars which
are meant for high speed and not better economy.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SUPERCHARGER &
TURBOCHARGER
 Supercharger is easier to control in terms of the power output
while the turbochargers are known for their dramatic rise in
pressures and tremendously high working temperatures
making them inherently more difficult to control at the time
when they deliver the additional power.
 Since the supercharger is driven directly by the engine
through belts, the response is instantaneous and a sudden
increase in power is observed. On the other hand in
turbochargers, exhaust gases control the drive and hence the
system takes a bit of time before it reaches the operating
speed after opening the throttle called as Turbo Lag.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SUPERCHARGER &
TURBOCHARGER
 Complexity in design is another factor. Turbochargers are
compact and require significantly less space. Supercharger
is more difficult to adopt as the modification is too time
consuming as more space is needed for the same.
 Superchargers are more costly than a turbocharger.
 Both superchargers and turbochargers, are intercooled,
since the temperature of the compressed incoming air is
high. An intercooler is used to cool air making it more
efficient in terms of combustion.
BOOST CONTROL
• Both supercharged and turbocharged systems
are designed to provide a pressure greater
than atmospheric pressure in the intake
manifold.
• This increased pressure forces additional
amounts of air into the combustion chamber
over what would normally be forced in by
atmospheric pressure.
BOOST CONTROL
• The following values will vary due to altitude
and weather conditions (barometric pressure).
– 1 atmosphere = 14.7 PSI
– 1 atmosphere = 29.50 in. Hg
– 1 atmosphere = 1.0 bar
– 1 bar = 14.7 PSI
BOOST CONTROL

FIGURE 19-10 The unit on top of this Subaru that looks like a radiator is the
intercooler, which cools the air after it has been compressed by the
turbocharger.
BOOST CONTROL
Wastegate
• A wastegate is a valve
similar to a door that can
open and close.
• The wastegate is a bypass
valve at the exhaust inlet
to the turbine.
– It allows all of the exhaust
into the turbine, or it can
route part of the exhaust
past the turbine to the
exhaust system. FIGURE 19-11 A wastegate is used on the
first-generation Duramax diesel to control
maximum boost pressure.
BOOST CONTROL
Relief Valves
• A wastegate controls the exhaust side of the
turbocharger, a relief valve controls the intake side.
• A relief valve vents pressurized air from the
connecting pipe between the outlet of the
turbocharger and the throttle whenever the throttle
is closed during boost, such as during shifts.
• There are two basic types of relief valves including:
– Compressor bypass valve or CBV
– Blow-off valve or BOV
BOOST CONTROL
Relief Valves

FIGURE 19-12 A blow-off valve

is used in some turbocharged
systems to relieve boost
pressure during deceleration.
IF ONE IS GOOD, TWO ARE BETTER
• A V-type engine has two
exhaust manifolds and so
two small turbochargers
can be used to help force
greater quantities of air
into an engine.

FIGURE 19-13 A dual turbocharger

system installed on a small block
Chevrolet V-8 engine.
TURBOCHARGER FAILURES
• When turbochargers fail to function correctly, a drop
in power is noticed.
• To restore proper operation, the turbocharger must
be rebuilt, repaired, or replaced.
• Because there are no seals to keep oil in, excessive
oil consumption is usually caused by:
– A plugged positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) system
– A clogged air filter.
– A clogged oil return (drain) line from the turbocharger to
the oil pan (sump).