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Thermodynamic and experimental analysis of turbocharger for a downsized LPG fuelled automotive SI engine

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Abstract

There has been extensive research on efficient energy conversion systems which also includes turbocharging the automotive SI engine. This research focuses on comparing the thermodynamic aspects of the turbine at different boost pressures at maximum engine torque and speed regions. A naturally aspirated CNG SI engine developing 15.5 kW at 3400 rpm was converted to a turbocharged LPG engine at the compression ratio of 8.5:1. The turbine performance was evaluated using ANSYS CFX numerical simulation tool and results were validated. The simulation study reveals that 1.3 bar boost pressure has a higher enthalpy generation and also has minimal Mach number than 1.5 bar signifying the effects of exhaust blowdown. Further, the experimental study was carried out at different boost pressures. The results show that at 1.3 bar, the turbine efficiency was higher with reduced heat transfer rate to the compressor which was due to reduced friction work compared to 1.5 bar which altogether improved the engine performance. This is also evident from the minimal COV of IMEP for 1.3 bar. On the whole, the turbine exhibited better performance for 1.3 bar and resulted in reduced thermal loading.

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Abbreviations

A:

Area of the scroll

AT :

Throttle cross-sectional area at the turbine wheel (m2)

CNG:

Compressed natural gas

CO:

Carbon monoxide

CO2 :

Carbon dioxide

COV:

Coefficient of variation

EVC:

Exhaust valve closing

EVO:

Exhaust valve opening

g:

Exhaust gas

HC:

Hydrocarbon

IAT:

Intake absolute temperature

IMEP:

Indicated mean effective pressure (bar)

IVC:

Intake valve opening

IVO:

Intake valve closing

k:

Ratio of the specific heat capacity

LPG:

Liquefied petroleum gas

MAP:

Manifold absolute pressure

\({\dot{m}}_{T}\) :

Turbine mass flow rate (kg/s)

NOx :

Oxides of nitrogen

P3t :

Pressure at the turbine inlet (kPa)

P4s :

Pressure at the turbine outlet (kPa)

R:

Centroid radius of the scroll

Rg :

Exhaust gas constant (J/kg K)

T3t :

Temperature at the turbine inlet (K)

T4t :

Temperature at the turbine outlet (K

\({\pi }_{c}\) :

Pressure ratio

\(\mu \) :

Flow coefficient due to friction

\({\eta }_{T}\) :

Turbine efficiency

G:

Gas

S:

Static

T:

Turbine

t:

Total

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Government of India, Project No: EMR/2016/004138, for their valuable funding, and Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), for their support to carry out the research work.

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  1. Automotive Research Centre, School of Mechanical Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, India

    Jim Alexander & E. Porpatham

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Contributions

EP: Supervision, conceptualization, methodology, writing- review, and editing. JA: software, data generation, formal analysis, writing- original draft, writing-review, and editing.

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Correspondence to E. Porpatham.

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Alexander, J., Porpatham, E. Thermodynamic and experimental analysis of turbocharger for a downsized LPG fuelled automotive SI engine. Int J Energy Environ Eng 12, 383–399 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40095-020-00373-x

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