Applied Thermal Engineering 93 (2016) 797812

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Applied Thermal Engineering

j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w. e l s e v i e r. c o m / l o c a t e / a p t h e r m e n g

Research Paper

Comparison and analysis of the effects of various improved

turbocharging approaches on gasoline engine transient performances
Qijun Tang a,c, Jianqin Fu a,b,*, Jingping Liu a, Benoit Boulet c, Ligang Tan a, Zhichao Zhao a
a State Key Laboratory of Advanced Design and Manufacturing for Vehicle Body, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China
b
Key Laboratory of Low-grade Energy Utilization Technologies and Systems, Ministry of Education of China, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China
c Electrical and Computer Engineering, McGill University, Montreal H3A 0G4, Canada

H I G H L I G H T S

The transient response time follows the descending sequence of EGT, SAT, ECT and SET.
The SAT and ECT engines have higher eciency than the EGT and SET engines.
The PMEP of SAT and ECT engine can be reduced compared with EGT engine.
The performances of SAT and ECT engines can be improved by re-matching a larger turbine.

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Article history: In this paper, several kinds of improved modes for exhaust gas turbocharging (EGT) have been investi-
Received 8 February 2015 gated on the transient performances, including steam-assisted turbocharging (SAT), electronically controlled
Accepted 15 September 2015 turbocharging (ECT) and supercharger-exhaust gas turbocharging (SET). A turbocharged gasoline engine
Available online 21 October 2015
was employed as the study object, which was conducted bench test rstly to get basic data for building
and calibrating the simulation model. Then, an accurate and reliable GT-Power model in steady and tran-
Keywords:
sient engine operation was developed. On this basis, the transient processes of four types of engines:
Gasoline engine
EGT engine, SET engine, SAT engine and ECT engine were investigated by simulation and comparative
Turbocharger
Transient response analysis. The results show that SET, SAT and ECT can reduce the response time and fuel consumption in
Exhaust gas energy recovery acceleration process. The response time of various turbocharging approaches follows the descending se-
Thermal eciency quence of EGT, SAT, ECT and SET. At the speed of 2000 r/min (from idling to full load), compared with
EGT engine, the specic fuel consumption (SFC) of SET engine is decreased by 23.3%, while it can be reduced
by 38.2% and 36.3% in SAT engine and ECT engine, respectively. Finally, to reveal the improvement po-
tentials of SAT and ECT, both of them were re-matched with a larger turbine without wastegate. The results
indicate that the torque and thermal eciency of SAT and ECT engines can be further improved, while
the acceleration equilibrium time is increased.
2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
It is usually admitted that exhaust gas turbocharging (EGT) is a
useful technology to improve engine power and fuel economy. As
a matter of fact, it is also a promising technique of engine waste
heat recovery (WHR) [1,2], since the turbine uses engine exhaust
gas energy to drive the compressor. Compared with the naturally
aspirated (NA) engine, EGT engine has many advantages, such as
higher specic power, smaller displacement and larger torque. As
a result, EGT has been widely applied in automotive gasoline engines
in recent years [35]. However, there are still some barriers in EGT
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 073188983108; fax: +86 073188664452.
E-mail address: fujianqinabc@163.com (J. Fu).
gasoline engine, especially the poor torque and response perfor-
mances during acceleration process of the automobile [6]. It is
commonly accepted that the torque of NA gasoline engine
increases with the opening of throttle. Nevertheless, in the turbo-
charged gasoline engine, torque and other engine variables depend
not only on the throttle opening but also on the dynamic re-
sponse of both turbine and compressor. During a sudden load
increase on the turbocharged engine, an additional time is re-
quired by the turbocharger to build up boost pressure in the exhaust
turbocharging system, and this time is called turbo-lag. As a matter
of fact, turbo-lag is attributed to the gas exchange process between
engine and turbocharger as well as the rotational inertia of turbo-
charger, which becomes one of the main technological diculties
in the EGT engine.
The only way to improve dynamic response of turbocharged
engine is to increase air mass ow (or intake pressure) quickly in

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2015.09.063
1359-4311/ 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
798 Q. Tang et al./Applied Thermal Engineering 93 (2016) 797812
(10)
3 2
(11)
(1) Water tank (2) Pump (3) Heat exchanger (4) Check valve (5) Gas tank (6) Steam valve (7) Turbine (8) Compressor (9) Intercooler (10)
Throttle (11) Engine
Fig. 1. The schematic diagram of the SAT system based on WHR.
the transient process [79]. Usually, a small size turbine with
wastegate is preferred in the matching process of turbocharging
system for the purpose of improving the EGT engine perfor-
mances under low-speed and accelerating operating conditions [10].
However, this method is only suitable for low-speed and low-load
operating conditions. Under high-speed and high-load operating con-
ditions, the exhaust gas ow rate of engine is usually larger than
the limiting value of turbine. Under these circumstances, the extra
exhaust gas is discharged through the wastegate (when the engine
intake pressure is larger than a certain value, the wastegate will
open), which results in the loss of abundant exhaust gas energy.
Unlike the exhaust gas turbocharging, the supercharger directly uses
engine power to drive the compressor, thus it seems to be an ef-
fective aid for acceleration ability [11]. However, the effective power
of engine is consumed in this process, and it results in a decrease
of engine thermal eciency, especially under high speed operat-
ing conditions, thus it cannot satisfy the demand of low fuel
consumption. Other new techniques are also used to improve the
engine transient performances, such as variable geometry turbine
(VGT) [12,13], variable outlet turbine [14] and E-booster [15]. In these
methods, the engine thermal eciency is limited to a certain level
because lots of engine exhaust gas energy is lost.
Engine exhaust gas contains a lot of thermal energy, thus exhaust
gas energy recovery becomes an effective way to improve engine
fuel eciency and power performances. For this reason, engine
exhaust gas energy recovery has attracted many scientists atten-
tion all over the world, and lots of related research has been
conducted in the past decades [6,1620]. In reality, turbocharging
is also a way of engine exhaust gas energy recovery [21], since the
turbocharger uses exhaust gas energy to drive the turbine. As men-
tioned previously, exhaust turbocharging is not a perfect solution
for promoting engine performances, since it is restricted by many
factors, such as turbo-lag and poor performances under low speed
operating conditions. Based on this consideration, various im-
proved means for turbocharging have been developed to improve
the transient response of turbocharged engine especially under low
speed operating conditions, e.g., steam-assisted turbocharging (SAT)
[22], supercharger-exhaust gas turbocharging (SET) and electrical
compressor (E-booster) [2326]. The previous research results
showed that these improved turbocharging approaches can boost
the engine transient response under the acceleration conditions,
while the improvement potentials vary for each method. More-
over, effective work or electric energy is consumed in the SET and
E-booster, and it results in the decline of engine fuel eciency. At
the same time, the concept of electronically controlled turbocharger
(9) (8)
(1)
1 (2)
(7) 5 6
4
(3)
(4)
(6) (5)
(ECT) is presented in these papers [2730], which is also used to
promote the engine transient response performances.
Although many improved methods for engine exhaust
turbocharging have been proposed, little attention has been devoted
to the comparative study on the effects of various turbocharging ap-
proaches on gasoline engine transient performances so far, and the
data about the transient performance parameters of novel turbo-
charged gasoline engine are still scarce. Therefore, further studies
are still necessary to extend the research eld on gasoline engine
turbocharging and matching. Based on the above consideration,
various improved approaches for traditional exhaust turbocharging,
including SAT, ECT and SET, are investigated and compared, for the
purpose of revealing their improvement potentials of energy saving
and transient response performances.
2. Introduction of various improved turbocharging
2.1. Principle of steam-assisted turbocharging
Although the concept of SAT has been proposed in our previ-
ous research [16,31], it is introduced again in this paper for the
integrity of this study. The schematic diagram of SAT engine is de-
picted in Fig. 1 [16,31]. As shown in this gure, the SAT system
consists of a steam generating plant and an engine exhaust
turbocharging system. The steam generating plant is coupled to
engine exhaust pipe so as to use engine exhaust gas energy to gen-
erate high-temperature steam. Then, the high-temperature steam
is injected into the turbine inlet, thus it can be used as the com-
plementary working medium for the turbine. By this means, the
turbine/turbocharger working performances can be improved under
low-speed and low-load engine operating conditions especially in
the acceleration process, since the working medium of turbine is
increased and the working point is shifted to the high eciency area
of turbine MAP. Obviously, the SAT can be regarded as an im-
proved scheme of exhaust turbocharging.
The calculation formulas for the output power of turbine as well
as the associated parameters are given as:
Ptur = m c P (T 4 T5 ) (1)
m = m exh + m ste (2)
m exh m
cP = c P ,exh + ste c P ,ste (3)
m m
 Q. Tang et al./Applied Thermal Engineering 93 (2016) 797812
(1) Compressor (2) Intercooler (3) Engine (4) Turbine (5) Inductor coil (6) Charging switch (7) Motor (8) Discharge switch
Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of the ECT system based on WHR.
m exh m
T4 = Texh + ste Tste
m m
where Ptur is the output power of the turbine; m is the gas mass
ow rate through the turbine; m exh is the mass ow rate of engine
exhaust gas; m ste is the mass ow rate of injected steam; c P ,exh , c P ,ste
and c P are the constant pressure specic heat of engine exhaust gas,
steam and blend at the inlet of turbine, respectively; T 4 and T5 are
the gas temperature at the inlet and outlet of the turbine; Texh and
Tste are the temperature of engine exhaust gas and steam, respec-
tively. Thus it can be seen that the output power of turbine is not
only related to the engine exhaust parameters but is also associ-
ated with the steam parameters, such as mass ow rate, temperature
and specic heat.
2.2. Principle of electronically controlled turbocharging
The schematic diagram of ECT system is depicted in Fig. 2. As
shown in this gure, the ECT system includes several kinds of key
components: turbine, compressor and electric motor. A shaft is used
to link these components. It is worth mentioning that the motor
can be used as both the prime mover and the generator depend-
ing on the operating conditions of engine. Properly speaking, when
the engine exhaust gas energy as well as turbine output power are
larger than the desired value, the motor is used as the generator
to recover the engine exhaust gas energy; or else, it is served as the
prime mover for the compressor. Compared with the exhaust gas
turbocharging system, the main characteristic of ECT system is that
a rotor is mounted on the shaft, and the stator cores as well as coils
are disposed around the rotor [28]. Because of the coupling of motor
on turbocharging system, the ECT can effectively manage the energy
ow of turbocharging system under various engine operating con-
ditions [2730].
When the engine operates at low speed or under acceleration
conditions, the exhaust gas mass ow rate is too low to drive the
turbine suciently. As a result, the turbine power is lower than the
required power for compressor, and the intake pressure is also lower
than the target boost pressure. Under these circumstances, the
charger switch begins to open, and the motor will drive the com-
pressor together with the turbine (it serves as an auxiliary power).
Besides, under climbing or accelerating operating conditions, when
the turbocharger supplies less airow to the engine cylinder, the
ECT system will work to provide an additional power for the
turbocharging system. Under high speed and high load operating
conditions, the exhaust gas energy is more than the required energy/
power for the turbine due to the overabundant exhaust gas. In this
799
3 (2) 2 (1)
1
(8)
(3) (5) (7)
(6)
5
4 (4)
situation, the discharger switch begins to open, then the operat-
(4) ing mode of ECT systems motor changes from prime mover to
generator. As a result, the excess exhaust gas energy can be recov-
ered by this system by storing the generated electric current into
a battery.
The calculation formulas for the compressor output power of ECT
system are given as:
Pcom = m in c P ,in (T 2 T1 ) (5)
where Pcom is the output power of the compressor; m in is the mass
ow rate of engine intake gas; c P ,in is the constant pressure spe-
cic heat of intake gas; T1 and T 2 are the intake gas temperature
at the inlet and outlet of the compressor, respectively.
In the ECT system, the energy balance relationship among turbine,
compressor and motor is given as
Pcom = Ptur + Pmot (6)
ntur Tmot
Pmot = (7)
9550
where Pmot is the power of the motor; ntur is the speed of the turbine;
Tmot is the torque of the motor; is the eciency of the motor. In
particular, when the motor drives the compressor together with the
turbine, the power of the motor is a positive value; or else, it is a
negative value.
2.3. Signicance and innovations of this research
The SAT and ECT are novel turbocharging approaches based on
the method of engine exhaust gas energy recovery, both of which
are the improved schemes of EGT. Unlike the traditional EGT, the
SAT follows the principle of Rankine steam cycle [32,33]. In our pre-
vious paper [22], SAT was proposed to boost engine intake pressure
under steady-state condition, and the results showed that it can ef-
fectively improve the engine performances especially under low
speed operating conditions. However, the effects of SAT on engine
transient performances have not been studied. Fig. 3 exhibits the
relationship between vehicle velocity and running time under the
operating conditions of NEDC. As can be seen from Fig. 3, in most
of the time, the engine operates under transient conditions (accel-
eration, deceleration and idling condition) rather than steady-
state conditions. From this point of view, the transient performances
of the engine represent the actual level of engine performances, and
it is more important than the steady-state performances.
800 Q. Tang et al./Applied Thermal Engineering 93 (2016) 797812

140

120

100

Velocity (km/h)
80

60

40

20

0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400
Time (s)

Fig. 3. The relationship between vehicle velocity and running time under the operating conditions of NEDC.

Besides, the working principle of ECT is more complex, since the obtaining experimental data to build and calibrate the simulation
added motor has two kinds of working modes related to the working model. The main parameters of the gasoline engines are listed in
performances of turbocharging system [34]. Although there is a lot Table 1. Fig. 4(a) and (b) shows the experimental scenarios for engine
of relevant research about the ECT system and ECT engine, the in- bench testing, showing the layout of various kinds of sensors. Ac-
vestigation on its transient performances and response characteristics cordingly, the main test instruments and equipment are listed in
is relatively scarce. Therefore, the SAT and ECT are not put forward Table 2.
rst time in this paper; however, they are still very new concepts According to the test specication and the standard environ-
in the research area of engine turbocharging, and the research on mental conditions of atmosphere, both the steady and transient state
their transient performances and acceleration response is still rare tests were conducted on electric dynamometer. Among them, the
so far, let alone the comparative study among SAT, ECT and EGT. Fur- steady state dyno-test focused on the inuences of the major op-
thermore, the transient process is the main operating conditions erating parameters on engine performances, such as speed, torque,
in engine actual working process, and it directly inuences the fuel fuel consumption, intake pressure and temperature, exhaust pres-
consumption and emissions of the engine. For this reason, choos- sure and temperature, relative AFR, etc. In the transient load step
ing a perfect turbocharging mode and optimizing the turbocharging tests, the speed was xed at 2000 r/min, and the load was changed
system performances under transient operating conditions is very from idling to full load. During the transient process, various kinds
signicant and useful for engine energy conservation and emis- of transient parameters were tested, such as the intake and exhaust
sion reduction. pressure and mass ow rate. At the same time, the compressor and
In addition, since the SAT and ECT are the novel approaches for
engine turbocharging and waste heat recovery, they are also the tech-
nologies within state-of-the-art on the gasoline engine. And this Table 1
Basic parameters of gasoline engines.
viewpoint can be demonstrated from the following two aspects. On
the one hand, all the advanced technologies of modern engine are Item Content
aimed at the target of energy conservation and emission reduc- Engine type Inline 4 cylinder, DOHC-16V
tion. As the SAT and ECT are the approaches of engine exhaust energy Bore (mm) 76.5
recovery and can effectively improve the thermal eciency of engine, Stroke (mm) 75.6
Displacement (L) 1.398
both of them can be regarded as the advanced energy saving tech- Compression ratio 10
nology for the engine. On the other hand, both the SAT and ECT are Booster model Exhaust gas turbocharger/Supercharger-
the progressive turbocharging modes and can promote engine power turbocharger
performances especially the accelerating ability under transient con- Fuel model Direct injection
VVT range (oCA) 50
ditions, thus they are also advanced turbocharged technology of the
Max torque [(Nm)/(r/min)] 205/220
engine. As mentioned above, transient conditions are the common Rated power [(kW)/(r/min)] 96/125
conditions of vehicle engine, and the turbo-lag is the main tech-
nological diculty of gasoline engine. As a result, the signicance
of SAT and ECT becomes more obvious since they can improve the
Table 2
engine performances especially the accelerating response in most
The main test instruments and equipment.
of the running time.
Equipment name Type

3. Testing and simulation of engine working process Electric dynamometer INDY S22-2/0525-1BV-1
Dynamometer control system PUMA OPEN1.4.1
Fuel consumption meter 7351 CST
3.1. Bench testing for turbocharged engine
Data acquisition system PUMA
Fuel temperature control system 753C
In order to explore the effects of various improved turbocharging Coolant temperature control system 553 CONSYSCOOL 553-200
approaches (especially SAT and ECT) on gasoline engine transient Oil temperature control system 554 CONSYSLUBE 554
Mass air ow meter TP16A.00
performances, a comparative study is undertaken on two gasoline
analysis meter ETAS
engines. It is worth mentioning that the basic parameters of the two Burning analyzer INDISET ADVANCED PLUS
gasoline engines are the same, and the difference is that one is Intake pressure sensor 6052CS31U20
matched with exhaust gas turbocharger and the other is matched Exhaust pressure sensor 4049A5S
with supercharger-exhaust gas turbocharger. Firstly, the two gas- Intake temperature sensor PT100
Exhaust temperature sensor K type thermocouple
oline engines are conducted on bench test, for the purpose of
 Q. Tang et al./Applied Thermal Engineering 93 (2016) 797812 801

Fig. 4. The experimental scenarios for engine bench testing.

turbine were also conducted on the bench testing and many rele-
vant parameters, such as turbine speed, pressure ratio, mass ow
rate and eciency, were measured for the purpose of building and
calibrating the simulation model.
3.2. Building and calibration of simulation model
Based on the experimental data and the basic parameters of target
gasoline engine, the simulation model of exhaust turbocharged
engine was built by the GT-Power software. Depicted in Fig. 5 is the
schematic of GT-Power simulation model for EGT engine. As shown
in this gure, the GT-Power model consists of various components,
including cylinders, intake and exhaust manifolds, compressor,
turbine, intake and exhaust valves, etc. Usually, the accuracy and
applicability of GT-Power simulation model strongly depend on the
boundary conditions and initial input data. In this paper, the struc-
ture parameters of the target engine are obtained by measurement;
the maps of compressor and turbine data are derived from the dyno-
test; the ow coecient of intake and exhaust valves are derived
from the steady ow measurements; and the mechanical fric-
tional losses are obtained through engine trailing test. In the GT-
Power simulation model, the in-cylinder combustion process is
approximated by the Wiebe function module, which includes anchor
angle, combustion duration and Wiebe exponent, and all these
parameters are calibrated by the experimental data of combus-
tion and heat release processes from engine bench test. Besides, the
in-cylinder heat transfer process is simulated by the module of
Woschni. Fig. 6(a)(f) gives the comparison of simulated results and
tested data of several engine performance parameters, e.g., torque,
brake eciency, engine intake pressure, turbine inlet pressure, intake
and exhaust mass ow rate. The comparison results show good
agreement with the simulated results and tested data, thus it dem-

Fig. 5. The GT-Power model of exhaust gas turbocharged engine.

802 Q. Tang et al./Applied Thermal Engineering 93 (2016) 797812

250 40

Brake efficiency (%)

200
30

Torque (Nm)
150
EGT_test 20 EGT_test
100 SET_test
SET_test
EGT_simulation 10
50 EGT_simulation
SET_simulation
SET_simulation
0 0
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000
Speed (r/min) Speed (r/min)

(a) Torque (b) Brake efficiency

2.2 3.5
EGT_test

Turbine inlet pressure (bar)

Intake pressure (bar)

3.0 SET_test
1.8 EGT_simulation
2.5 SET_simulation

EGT_test 2.0
1.4
SET_test
1.5
EGT_simulation
SET_simulation
1.0 1.0
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000
Speed (r/min) Speed (r/min)

(c) Engine intake pressure (d) Turbine inlet pressure

500 500
Intake mass flow rate (kg/h)

EGT_test
Exhaust masss flow (kg/h)

400 400 SET_test

EGT_simulation
300 300 SET_simulation

200 EGT_test 200

SET_test
100 EGT_simulation 100
SET_simulation
0 0
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000
Speed (r/min) Speed (r/min)

(e) Intake mass flow rate (f) Exhaust mass flow rate

Fig. 6. The calibration of GT-Power steady state model.

onstrates that the simulation model has enough accuracy and
reliability to simulate the working process of the gasoline engines.
To simulate the transient performances of various turbocharging
engines, the original GT-Power model proceeded with a series of
changes and adjustments. For example, the AFR, combustion po-
sition of 50%, combustion duration of 10%90%, FMEP, etc., all these
parameters are a function of the engine load. In the transient GT-
Power model, these parameters were expressed in the form of a
pointer whose value is associated with the BMEP, and the relation-
ship between the measured value and calculated data was also an
input in the transient simulation model. After the transient simu-
lation model was set up, the simulation calculation of gasoline engine
transient process was undertaken via the GT-Power model.
Fig. 7(a)(d) shows the comparison of the calculated results and mea-
sured values of exhaust turbocharged gasoline engine at 2000 r/min.
As can be seen from Fig. 7(a), the transient responses of simulated
and tested torque are very close during the whole transient
acceleration process. The transient responses of the simulated intake
and exhaust pressure are slightly faster than the measured value
when the throttle is suddenly opened, while the maximum values
of the measured intake and exhaust pressure are a bit higher than
the simulated results, as illustrated in Fig. 7(b) and (c). Moreover,
the comparison of the simulated and tested intake mass ow rates
is the same as that of intake and exhaust pressure. Although there
is a slight difference between the transient simulated results and
tested data, this difference can be acceptable because the bound-
ary conditions of the engine transient process are very complex and
also there is a small test error in the transient experiment. For this
reason, the transient simulation model has enough accuracy and
reliability for this research. In this paper, the GT-Power model is taken
as the baseline model to investigate the transient process of various
turbocharging engines.
4. Results and analysis
4.1. Transient response of steam-assisted turbocharging
Firstly, the boundary conditions of SAT engine transient model
are introduced. Fig. 8(a) displays the relationship between the throt-
tle angle (or opening) and time. As one can see from the gure, at
the time of 01 second, the throttle angle is very small since the
engine operates at idling condition. At the time of 1 second, the
throttle opens suddenly (completely open). In the meantime, the
relationship between the equivalent diameter of turbine bypass valve
opening and the intake pressure is shown in Fig. 8(b), which is cal-
culated according to the test data.
As mentioned previously, SAT system utilizes the engine exhaust
gas energy to generate high-temperature steam, and then the high-
temperature steam is used as the compensatory working medium
for the turbine. According to Formulas (1)(4), the turbine power
 Q. Tang et al./Applied Thermal Engineering 93 (2016) 797812 803

250 2

Intake pressure (bar)

200 1.6

Torque (Nm)
150 1.2
simulation simulation
100 0.8
test test
50 0.4

0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5
Time (s) Time (s)

(a) Torque (b) Engine intake pressure

2.2 200
Turbine inlet pressure (bar)

Intake mass flow rate (kg/h)

150
1.8
100
1.4 simulation simulation
50
test test
1.0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5
Time (s) Time (s)

(c) Turbine inlet pressure (d) Intake mass flow rate

Fig. 7. The calibration of the transient model.

is inuenced by both the temperature and the mass ow rate of the
injected steam. In this study, the target engine speed is xed at
2000 r/min, and the engine load increases from idle condition to
full load. The injected steam temperature is assumed to be 500 K,
and the steam mass ow rate is set to 1.5 g/s, 3.0 g/s, 4.5 g/s and
6.0 g/s [31], respectively. The steam is generated under the engine
steady operation by the steam generating plant, while it is used for
the SAT system under the engine transient operation (accelera-
tion process).
The simulation results of SAT engine transient performances are
shown in Fig. 9(a)(f). As shown in Fig. 9(a), although the mass ow
rate of the injected steam is different from each other, the ulti-
mate engine torque is nearly the same at the end of the acceleration
process. However, the engine transient response is inuenced by
the mass ow rate of the injected steam. According to the principles
of engine energy balance [35,36], the effective thermal eciency
of the engine depends largely on the BMEP (or torque) except at
the full load, which can be used to explain the phenomenon that
the effective thermal eciency of the engine increases with the
steam mass ow rate during the acceleration process, as shown in
Fig. 9(b). Next, the change rules of engine torque and effective
thermal eciency are discussed. It is well-known that the varia-
tion trend of gasoline engine torque is similar to that of intake
pressure since the AFR changes a little. For this reason, the tran-
sient intake pressure of the engine is analyzed, and the corresponding
results are displayed in Fig. 9(c). As one can see, the larger the steam
mass ow rate is, the higher the transient intake pressure will be.
To explain this issue, the exhaust pressure and turbocharging system
performances of SAT engine are discussed. As illustrated in Fig. 9(d),
with the increase of steam mass ow rate, the engine suffers a higher
exhaust pressure, and it seems to have a negative effect on the engine
intake pressure, thermal eciency and torque. But that is not what
happened. In fact, the higher exhaust pressure contributes to the
larger turbine output power (as shown in Fig. 9(f)), thus the com-
pressor can obtain a larger power (as shown in Fig. 9(e)). As a result,
the engine intake pressure can be boosted to a higher level during
the acceleration process. Finally, the increased intake pressure plays
a decisive role in the engine/automobile acceleration process.
According to the above analysis, one can know that the larger steam
mass ow rate contributes to a higher turbine power during the tran-
sient process, and it results in a better compressor response
performance. However, the maximum steam amount which can be
produced by the steam generating plant is limited by the engine
exhaust gas energy.
Then, the transient response time of the SAT engine is con-
cerned. As can be seen from Fig. 9(a), a response time of 1.5 s is

100 10
Equivalent diameter (mm)
Throttle angle (deg)

80 8

60 6

40 4

20 2

0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2
Time (s) Intake pressure (bar)

(a) Throttle angle (b) Equivalent diameter of turbine bypass valve

Fig. 8. Boundary conditions for the SAT engine transient model.

804 Q. Tang et al./Applied Thermal Engineering 93 (2016) 797812

250 35
m=1.5g/s m=1.5g/s

Brake efficiency (%)

34 m=3.0g/s
200 m=3.0g/s
m=4.5g/s 33 m=4.5g/s

Torque (Nm)
150 m=6.0g/s
m=6.0g/s
32 EGT
100 EGT
31
50 30

0 29
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
Time (s) Time (s)

(a) Torque (b) Brake efficiency

2.0 2.0

Turbine inlet pressure (bar)

m=1.5g/s m=1.5g/s
m=3.0g/s
Intake pressure (bar)

1.8 m=3.0g/s
1.5 m=4.5g/s m=4.5g/s
m=6.0g/s 1.6 m=6.0g/s
1.0 EGT EGT
1.4
0.5
1.2

0.0 1.0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
Time (s) Time (s)

(c) Engine intake pressure (d) Turbine inlet pressure

6 6
m=1.5g/s m=1.5g/s
5 5 m=3.0g/s
Compressor power (kW)

Turbine power (kW)

m=3.0g/s
4 m=4.5g/s 4 m=4.5g/s
m=6.0g/s m=6.0g/s
3 EGT 3 EGT
2 2
1 1
0 0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
Time (s) Time (s)

(e) Compressor power (f) Turbine power

Fig. 9. The transient performances of the SAT engine.

required by the original turbocharged gasoline engine to acceler-
ate to the full load. Nevertheless, with this SAT system applied, the
transient response of the engine can be improved obviously. When
the amounts of the injected steam are 1.5 g/s, 3.0 g/s, 4.5 g/s and
6.0 g/s, the required acceleration response time can be reduced to
1.26 s, 1.15 s, 1.08 s and 1.02 s, respectively. Accordingly, the full load
torque can be increased from the original value of 213.2 Nm (EGT
engine) to 215.2 Nm, 216.7 Nm, 218.2 Nm and 221.7 Nm, respec-
tively. However, the full load torque does not increase in an obvious
way with the steam mass ow rate. This is because the wastegate
equivalent diameter increases with the intake pressure, as shown
in Fig. 8(b).
Compared with the EGT engine, the SAT engine not only has
higher thermal eciency but also has better transient response per-
formances. In other words, it requires less time to reach the target
state (e.g., torque and intake pressure) during the transient process
(e.g., accelerating process). Table 3 shows the fuel consumption of
the SAT engine in the acceleration process, which is the integral value
4.2. Transient response of electronically controlled turbocharging
In order to simulate the transient process of electronically con-
trolled turbocharging, a torque module is added to the turbocharger
shaft in the GT-Power model (the torque module can be used as both
the motor and the generator, since it can output and input the
torque). Similar to the study of the SAT engine, the ECT engine speed
is also xed at 2000 r/min, and the load is changed from idle con-
dition to full load. Moreover, the ECT power (torque module) is set
to 0.15 kW, 0.30 kW, 0.45 kW and 0.60 kW, respectively, which is
the assisted power to the compressor.
The simulation results of the ECT engine transient perfor-
mances are shown in Fig. 10(a)(f). At the end of the acceleration
process, although the additional power is different from each other,
Table 3
The fuel consumption of the SAT engine in the acceleration process.

of the instantaneous fuel consumption in the whole acceleration Item Fuel consumption (g) Decrease ratio (%)
process. As it illustrates, the total fuel consumption is reduced with EGT 3.30
the increase of the steam mass ow rate. However, the decreasing m = 0.15 g/s 2.72 17.4
trend turns out to be slow. m = 0.30 g/s 2.44 25.9
m = 0.45 g/s 2.20 33.1
m = 0.60 g/s 2.04 38.2
 Q. Tang et al./Applied Thermal Engineering 93 (2016) 797812 805

250 35
ECT=0.15kW ECT=0.15kW
ECT=0.30kW

Brake efficiency (%)

200 34 ECT=0.30kW
ECT=0.45kW ECT=0.45kW

Torque (Nm)
150 ECT=0.60kW 33
ECT=0.60kW
EGT EGT
100 32

50 31

0 30
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
Time (s) Time (s)

(a) Torque (b) Brake efficiency

2.0 2.0
ECT=0.15kW ECT=0.15kW

Turbine inlet pressure (bar)

ECT=0.30kW ECT=0.30kW
Intake pressure (bar)

1.8
1.5 ECT=0.45kW ECT=0.45kW
ECT=0.60kW 1.6 ECT=0.60kW
1.0 EGT
EGT
1.4
0.5
1.2

0.0 1.0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
Time (s) Time (s)

(c) Engine intake pressure (d) Turbine inlet pressure

5 5
ECT=0.15kW ECT=0.15kW
Compressor power (kW)

Turbine power (kW)

4 ECT=0.30kW 4 ECT=0.30kW
ECT=0.45kW ECT=0.45kW
3 3 ECT=0.60kW
ECT=0.60kW
EGT
2 EGT 2

1 1

0 0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
Time (s) Time (s)

(e) Compressor power (f) Turbine power

Fig. 10. ECT engine transient performances.

the engine performances are nearly the same, as shown in Fig. 10(a)
and (b). However, with the increase of the ECT power, the torque
as well as the brake thermal eciency are enhanced in the accel-
eration process due to the increased intake pressure (see Fig. 10(c)).
In the turbocharger working stage, the more the ECT power added
to compressor is, the greater the increased intake and exhaust pres-
sure will be. It seems that there is no direct connection between
the ECT power and engine exhaust pressure, but this is not true. In
reality, the exhaust pressure is promoted owing to the increased
intake pressure. This is because the higher intake pressure means
the more intake mass ow rate, which has a positive effect on the
engine exhaust pressure. Compared with the approach of SAT, it can
be known that the reason for the increased exhaust pressure in the
ECT engine is different from that in the SAT engine. In a word, the
larger ECT power results in the shorter response time required by
the engine to reach the full load. Particularly, when the ECT power
is 0.15 kW, 0.30 kW, 0.45 kW and 0.60 kW, the acceleration re-
sponse time is reduced from 1.50 s to 1.32 s, 1.20 s, 1.08 s and 1.00 s,
which is benecial to reduce the gasoline engine PMEP. All these
make good sense for pursuing a higher gasoline engine thermal
eciency.
Similar to the SAT engine, the ECT engine not only has higher
thermal eciency but also has better transient response perfor-
mances compared with the EGT engine. Accordingly, Table 4 shows
the fuel consumption of the ECT engine in the acceleration process,
which is the integral value of the engine instantaneous fuel con-
sumption in the whole acceleration process. As can be seen from
Table 4, the total fuel consumption is reduced with the increase of
the ECT power. However, the decreasing rate of ECT gasoline engine
fuel consumption becomes increasingly slower, which is the same
as the SAT gasoline engine. According to the results analyzed above,
it can be known that the ECT can effectively improve the engine
Table 4
The fuel consumption of the ECT engine in the acceleration process.

respectively. And the full load torque is increased from 213.2 Nm Item Fuel consumption (g) Reduced ratio (%)
to 214.8 Nm, 216.4 Nm, 218.0 Nm and 220.0 Nm, respectively. As EGT 3.30
can be seen from Fig. 10(f), at the end of the transient acceleration ECT = 0.15 kW 2.82 14.3
process, the turbine power is reduced compared with the SAT engine ECT = 0.30 kW 2.51 24.0
due to the added ECT power. Accordingly, compared with the SAT ECT = 0.45 kW 2.26 31.5
ECT = 0.60 kW 2.10 36.3
engine, the ultimate exhaust pressure of ECT engine is also reduced,
806 Q. Tang et al./Applied Thermal Engineering 93 (2016) 797812

250 35
EGT

Brake efficiency (%)

200 33
SET

Torque (Nm)
150 31 SAT
EGT ECT
100 SET 29
SAT
50 27
ECT
0 25
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
Time (s) Time (s)

(a) Torque (b) Brake efficiency

2.0 2.0

Turbine inlet pressure (bar)

Intake pressure (bar)

1.8
1.5
1.6
1.0 EGT EGT
SET 1.4 SET
SAT SAT
0.5 ECT
ECT 1.2

0.0 1.0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
Time (s) Time (s)

(c) Engine intake pressure (d) Turbine inlet pressure

6 6
Compressor power (kW)

EGT EGT
Turbine power (kW)

5 5
SET SET
4 4 SAT
SAT
3 3 ECT
ECT
2 2

1 1

0 0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
Time (s) Time (s)

(e) Compressor power (f) Turbine power

Fig. 11. Comparison of transient performances of four types of turbocharging engines.

torque and reduce the fuel consumption in the transient opera-
tion, and the effects of ECT turn out to be larger with the increased
additional ECT power. As mentioned previously, the ECT power is
from the engine exhaust gas energy. Therefore, it can be con-
cluded that the ECT is a good way for engine exhaust gas energy
recovery and is an effective approach to improve engine
performances.
4.3. Comparison of various turbocharging approaches
Furthermore, the transient process of SET gasoline engine was
also simulated, thus it can serve as a comparison basis for the SAT
engine and ECT engine. During the simulation process, the speed
and load of the SET engine are the same as those of the SAT engine
and ECT engine.
In this paper, the greatest concern is the comparison of the tran-
sient performances of various turbocharging gasoline engines. Before
discussing this issue, the main design parameters of the SAT engine
and ECT engine are determined. The injected steam mass ow rate
for the SAT engine is set to 0.60 g/s, and the added motor power
for the ECT engine is set to 0.6 kW. There are two reasons for this
setting. Firstly, from Tables 3 and 4 we can know that the fuel con-
sumptions of the SAT engine and ECT engine decrease with the
increased steam quantity and motor power. Secondly, both the steam
quantity and ECT power have a valid range since their maximum
values are restricted by the engine exhaust gas energy. Then, the
four kinds of turbocharging engines were compared and ana-
lyzed. Fig. 11(a)(f) illustrates the performances of various
turbocharging engines during the acceleration process.
Fig. 11(a) shows the torque of various turbocharging engines
under the acceleration operating conditions. As can be noticed from
this gure, the response time of engine torque under transient op-
eration follows the descending sequence of EGT, SAT, ECT and SET.
As a matter of fact, the response time of SET and ECT are very close.
Fig. 11(b) gives the comparison results of various engine thermal
eciencies. As one can see, the best thermal eciency appears in
the ECT engine rather than SAT engine. Although the SET engine
has the maximum transient torque during the acceleration process,
its transient thermal eciency is the lowest. This is because part
of the effective work is consumed for the mechanical supercharg-
ing. In other words, the increased transient torque is at the cost of
much more fuel energy rather than the exhaust gas waste energy.
Fig. 11(c) gives the intake pressure of various turbocharging engines
during the acceleration process. As shown, the SET engine re-
quires the highest intake pressure to reach the same torque; this
is because it consumes the engine shaft power to drive the com-
pressor. This is the reason why SET engine has the lowest thermal
eciency. The ECT engine has the lowest exhaust pressure (see
 Q. Tang et al./Applied Thermal Engineering 93 (2016) 797812
Table 5
The fuel consumption of various turbocharging engines in the acceleration process.
Item Fuel consumption (g) Decrease ratio (%)
EGT 3.30
SET 2.53 23.3
SAT 2.04 38.2
ECT 2.10 36.3
Fig. 11(d)), which is benecial to reduce the engine PMEP and
promote the engine brake thermal eciency. As shown in Fig. 11(e),
the EGT engine has the smallest compressor power during the ac-
celeration process, thus it results in the worst acceleration
performances of the EGT engine. In the ECT engine, the required
turbine output power can be reduced obviously since the addition-
al motor power is added from the recovered exhaust gas energy,
as shown in Fig. 11(f). As a result, the exhaust pressure of the ECT
engine is decreased compared with the EGT engine and SAT engine,
which is benecial to reduce the engine PMEP and promote the
engine thermal eciency. This reason can also be used to explain
Fig. 11(b).
Table 5 gives the fuel consumption of various turbocharging
engines under the acceleration operating conditions. As can be seen
from Fig. 11(a) and (d), the SAT engine and ECT engine reach the
full load torque almost at the same time in the selected cases, but
their brake thermal eciencies are different from each other, thus
it results in differences in their fuel consumption under the accel-
eration operating conditions. Compared with the EGT engine,
although the thermal eciency of the SET engine is lower in the
acceleration process, its fuel consumption can be reduced by 23.3%
on the basis of the EGT engine; this is because the acceleration re-
sponse time of the SET engine is much lower than the EGT engine.
When the steam mass ow rate of the SAT engine is set to 0.6g/s,
the fuel consumption of the SAT engine can be reduced by 38.2%.
In the meantime, when the additional ECT power is designed to
0.6 kW, the fuel consumption of the ECT engine can be reduced by
36.3%. The increase of the SAT engine torque is slower than that of
the ECT engine at the beginning of the transient process. However,
it turns quicker than the ECT engine later on and leads to lower fuel
consumption than the ECT engine in this case.
According to the above analysis, a conclusion can be drawn
that both the SAT and ECT can signicantly improve the engine
transient response and reduce the engine fuel consumption in the
acceleration process. However, the energy saving potential and
the improvement of the transient response in the SAT and ECT
engines are limited by the bypass-valve. In the transient simula-
tion process of the SAT engine, when the intake pressure is higher
than a certain value (target boosting pressure), the turbine wastegate
begins to open. Under these circumstances, there comes an incon-
ceivable phenomenon. On the one hand, the turbine working
medium is still added by injecting steam in the turbine inlet; on
the other hand, part of exhaust gas is discharged through the
wastegate, which means the waste of engine exhaust gas energy.
However, it is unavoidable. The reasons are given as follows.
Firstly, only when the design parameters (e.g., boosting pressure)
of improved turbocharging engines and original EGT engine keep
consistent can the comparison study be valid. Secondly, if the
wastegate is always keep closed, the boosting pressure will in-
crease rapidly, which causes the gasoline engine operating points
to fall out of the turbocharger map. Coincidentally, there is a
similar issue in the transient simulation process of the ECT engine.
On the one hand, the additional power (ECT power) is added to
the turbocharger; on the other hand, part of engine exhaust gas is
directly discharged through the wastegate to maintain the target
boosting pressure. As a result, the effects of SAT and ECT are not
obvious and clear due to the wastegate opening. To further reveal
807
the improvement potential of the two improved turbocharging
systems, both of them are re-matched with a larger turbocharger
without the wastegate. After that, the transient working pro-
cesses of re-matched engines are re-simulated, and the results
will be analyzed in the next section.
5. Improvement potential of re-matched assisted
turbocharging approaches
5.1. Analysis of re-matched assisted turbocharging approaches
In this simulation, the SAT and ECT were re-matched with the
original gasoline engine. As mentioned above, the re-selected
turbine does not have the wastegate. Consequently, all the engine
exhaust gas will ow through the turbine without bypassing, and
it seems to have a higher energy-saving potential. Also, the
re-matched model can reach the full load torque of the original
gasoline engine at the target operating conditions. The simulation
results of re-matched SAT engine are shown in Fig. 12(a)(f). As
shown in Fig. 12(a), after the SAT engine was re-matched with a
slightly larger turbine, it requires more time to reach the full load
torque, and the full load torque increases signicantly with the
steam injection quantity. As the full load torque is changed and is
larger than the original target torque, the response performance
indicators of the engine should be re-dened to distinguish them
from the previous analysis. In the re-matched engine, the time
required to reach the original target torque is dened as the
response time, and the time required to reach the full load torque
is dened as the equilibrium time. As one can see from Fig. 12(b),
the improvement of re-matched SAT engines thermal eciency
becomes more obvious with the increase of the injected steam.
Fig. 12(c) and (d) displays the intake and exhaust pressure of the
re-matched SAT engine, which can be used to explain the varia-
tion trend of engine torque and thermal eciency. In the meantime,
the turbine and compressor power increase with the injected
steam quantity more obviously than the original SAT engine
with wastegate, as illustrated in Fig. 12(e) and (f). This is because
the added steam not only increases the working medium for
the turbine but also contributes to higher turbocharger eciency
during the transient process. More importantly, more exhaust
gas energy is recovered by the turbine since all the engine
exhaust gas and injected steam ow through the turbine without
bypassing.
The simulation results of the re-matched ECT engine are shown
in Fig. 13(a)(f). It is worth mentioning that the baseline model is
the same as that of the SAT engine. It can be noticed from Fig. 13(a)
that the response time of the re-matched ECT engine is reduced with
the increase of added motor power to the turbocharger, and the full
load torque increases signicantly with the added motor power,
which is benecial to the engine thermal eciency, as displayed
in Fig. 13(b). Moreover, the PMEP of the re-matched ECT engine is
transformed into positive value and plays a positive role in the in-
cylinder thermodynamic cycle, since the exhaust pressure is reduced
obviously and it is lower than the intake pressure, as shown in
Fig. 13(c) and (d). Because of the dual inuences, the brake e-
ciency of the re-matched ECT engine is improved largely. Also, the
compressor power increases with the increase of the ECT power more
obviously than the original ECT engine with wastegate (see Fig. 13(e)).
Similar to the re-matched SAT engine, the turbine power of the re-
matched ECT engine is also increased with the added ECT power,
but in the original ECT engine, the turbine power is reduced with
the added ECT power. This is because more exhaust gas energy is
recovered since the exhaust gas ow rate through the turbine in-
creases when the wastegate is removed. As a result, the turbine can
obtain a higher power.
808 Q. Tang et al./Applied Thermal Engineering 93 (2016) 797812

300 36
m= 0 g/s

Brake efficiency (%)

250 m=1.5g/s
m=3.0g/s

Torque (Nm)
200 35 m=4.5g/s
m=6.0g/s
150 m= 0 g/s
m=1.5g/s
100 34
m=3.0g/s
50 m=4.5g/s
m=6.0g/s
0 33
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Time (s) Time (s)

(a) Torque (b) Brake efficiency

2.0 1.6

Turbine inlet pressure (bar)

1.5
Intake pressure (bar)

1.5
m= 0 g/s 1.4

1.0 m=1.5g/s 1.3 m= 0 g/s

m=3.0g/s m=1.5g/s
m=4.5g/s 1.2
m=3.0g/s
0.5 m=6.0g/s
1.1 m=4.5g/s
m=6.0g/s
0.0 1.0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Time (s) Time (s)

(c) Engine intake pressure (d) Turbine inlet pressure

6 6
m= 0 g/s m= 0 g/s
Compressor power (kW)

5 m=1.5g/s 5 m=1.5g/s
Turbine power (kW)

m=3.0g/s m=3.0g/s
4 m=4.5g/s 4 m=4.5g/s
m=6.0g/s m=6.0g/s
3 3

2 2

1 1

0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Time (s) Time (s)

(e) Compressor power (f) Turbine power

Fig. 12. The transient performances of the re-matched SAT engine.

5.2. Comparison of re-matched turbocharging engines with original
engine
In order to reveal the performance improvement potentials of
the re-matched turbocharging engines, a contrastive analysis is con-
ducted among the re-matched EGT, SAT, ECT engines (turbocharger
without wastegate) and the original EGT engine (original turbo-
charger with wastegate). Similar to the previous analysis, the steam
injection quantity for the re-matched SAT engine is set to 0.60 g/s,
and the motor power for the ECT engine is also set to 0.6 kW. The
comparison results of four kinds of turbocharged gasoline engines
transient performances are depicted in Fig. 14(a)(f). As one can see
from Fig. 14(a), the torque of the re-matched EGT engine (without
wastegate) is slightly less than the original EGT engine, and it re-
quires more response time during the acceleration process.
Compared with the original EGT engine with wastegate, the re-
matched SAT and ECT engines have higher torque, thus less response
time (the time required for the engine to reach target torque) is re-
quired by the two re-matched engines in the acceleration process.
However, a little more time is needed by them to reach the steady-
state process (equilibrium time). As can be seen from Fig. 14(c) and
(d), the intake pressure of the two kinds of EGT engine is very low,
while the turbine inlet pressure of the original EGT engine with
wastegate is the highest among the four types of engines. As a result,
a part of the engines effective work is consumed during the gas ex-
change process. Due to the effects of PMEP, the original EGT engine
with wastegate has the lowest thermal eciency, as shown in
Fig. 14(b). The intake pressure of the re-matched SAT, ECT and EGT
engines is obviously larger than their turbine inlet pressure (see
Fig. 14(c) and (d)), and it leads to the results that the PMEP of the
re-matched SAT, ECT and EGT engines turns out to be positive, which
is very benecial to the engine effective thermal eciency. Fig. 14(e)
and (f) shows the power of compressor and turbine in these engines.
As one can see, the compressor and turbine of the re-matched SAT
and ECT engines have higher power than those of the EGT engine,
that is the reason why the re-matched SAT and ECT engines have
better performances and need more time to reach the equilibrium.
Table 6 shows the comparison results of the transient perfor-
mances of various engines with/without wastegate in the
acceleration process, including full load torque, acceleration time
and effective thermal eciency, etc. As it illustrates, compared with
the original EGT engine with wastegate, the re-matched EGT engines
torque is decreased from 213.2 Nm to 205.3 Nm, the required ac-
celeration equilibrium time is increased from 1.5 s to 3.1 s, and the
effective thermal eciency is increased from 33.8% to 34.7%. In other
words, when a larger turbine without wastegate is matched, the
power performances of the EGT engine descend while the econom-
ic performances ascend in the acceleration process. The main reason
 Q. Tang et al./Applied Thermal Engineering 93 (2016) 797812 809

300 36

Brake efficiency (%)

250

Torque (Nm)
200 35
ECT= 0 kW
150 ECT= 0 kW
ECT=0.15kW
100 34 ECT=0.15kW
ECT=0.30kW
ECT=0.30kW
50 ECT=0.45kW ECT=0.45kW
ECT=0.60kW ECT=0.60kW
0 33
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Time (s) Time (s)

(a) Torque (b) Brake efficiency

2.0 1.6

Turbine inlet pressure (bar)

1.5
1.5
Intake pressure (bar)

1.4
ECT= 0 kW
1.0 ECT=0.15kW 1.3 ECT= 0 kW
ECT=0.30kW 1.2 ECT=0.15kW
0.5 ECT=0.45kW ECT=0.30kW
ECT=0.60kW 1.1 ECT=0.45kW
ECT=0.60kW
0.0 1.0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Time (s) Time (s)

(c) Engine intake pressure (d) Turbine inlet pressure

6 6
Compressor power (kW)

5 5
Turbine power (kW)

4 4

3 3
ECT= 0 kW ECT= 0 kW
2 ECT=0.15kW 2 ECT=0.15kW
ECT=0.30kW ECT=0.30kW
1 ECT=0.45kW 1 ECT=0.45kW
ECT=0.60kW ECT=0.60kW
0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Time (s) Time (s)

(e) Compressor power (f) Turbine power

Fig. 13. The transient performances of the re-matched ECT engine.

is listed as follows. When a larger turbine without wastegate is
matched, the EGT engine exhaust pressure will be reduced obvi-
ously at the target speed (2000 r/min), which has a positive effect
on the engine thermal eciency. However, the turbine power is not
large enough due to the lack of working medium and the low exhaust
pressure (see Fig. 14(f)), and it leads to a lower intake pressure. As
a result, the engine power performances, e.g., full load torque, are
inuenced. But this situation is changed in the re-matched SAT and
ECT engines. Compared with the original SAT engine with wastegate,
both the torque and acceleration equilibrium time of the re-
matched SAT engine are increased. On the one hand, the turbine
of the re-matched SAT engine has higher power since more exhaust
gas ows through the turbine (without wastegate), and it leads to
the increase of engine intake pressure as well as torque. On the other
hand, due to the higher rotational inertia of larger turbine and the
higher torque, the engine requires more time to reach the steady
state. Similar to the re-matched SAT engine, the torque of the re-
matched ECT engine can be further improved, while the acceleration
equilibrium time is also increased owing to the larger turbine without
wastegate.
The thermal eciency of the re-matched SAT and ECT engines
has an improvement on the basis of the original SAT and ECT engines
with wastegate. This phenomenon mainly results from the change
of the turbocharger working parameters. By choosing a larger turbine
without wastegate, the exhaust pressure can be reduced and it is
even lower than the intake pressure, and it makes the PMEP do pos-
itive work during the gas exchange process. Furthermore, all the
exhaust gas ows through the turbine and more exhaust gas energy
can be recovered by the turbocharging system when the wastegate
is removed. Under these circumstances, the exhaust energy recov-
ery eciency is increased. Through the above analysis, a conclusion
can be drawn that by re-matching a larger turbine without wastegate,
the SAT and ECT engines have better power and economy perfor-
mances but at the cost of increasing acceleration equilibrium time.
For the EGT engine, a larger turbine without wastegate can only
promote the thermal eciency, but the full load torque is de-
creased and the acceleration response time as well as equilibrium
time are increased.
5.3. Comparison of the results with literature data
In the research area of turbocharged engine, lots of related re-
searches have been conducted in the transient operation. Rakopoulos
and Giakoumis [37] built a turbocharged engine model based on
the second-law analysis to study the availability performance of all
engine subsystems during transient operation. In their research, a
typical example of a conducted transient experiment was given: the
load from 10% to max, speed at 1180 r/min. The test results showed
810 Q. Tang et al./Applied Thermal Engineering 93 (2016) 797812

300 36
250

Brake efficiency (%)

35

Torque (Nm)
200 34
150 EGT with wastegate 33
EGT with wastegate
EGT
100 32 EGT
SAT
SAT
50 ECT 31
ECT
0 30
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Time (s) Time (s)

(a) Torque (b) Brake efficiency

2.0 2.0
EGT with wastegate

Turbine inlet pressure (bar)

EGT
Intake pressure (bar)

1.8
1.5 SAT
1.6 ECT
1.0 EGT with wastegate
EGT 1.4
0.5 SAT
ECT 1.2

0.0 1.0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Time (s) Time (s)

(c) Engine intake pressure (d) Turbine inlet pressure

6 6
Compressor power (kW)

Turbine power (kW)

5 5
4 4
3 3
EGT with wastegate EGT with wastegate
2 2 EGT
EGT
1 SAT 1 SAT
ECT ECT
0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Time (s) Time (s)

(e) Compressor power (f) Turbine power

Fig. 14. Comparison of the re-matched turbocharging engines and original EGT engine.

that the acceleration response time is 6 s, and the predicted re-
sponse time by the transient model is 5 s, which seems to be
satisfactory. Few research on the steam-assisted turbocharging was
reported so far [22,31,38]. The research showed that SAT is differ-
ent from the previous turbocharger, which can effectively promote
the low-speed performances of the engine and make the peak torque
shift to a low-speed area under steady operation. For example, the
torque can be increased by 25.0% at 1500 r/min and by 7.2% at 4000 r/
min. Electronically controlled turbocharging is a new concept of
turbocharger, which was studied by Gdeke and Prevedel [39] and
Katranik et al. [24] through simulation based on the measured
results of turbocharged engine under steady and transient opera-
tion. And the results showed that the dynamic performance of the
ECT engine can be substantially improved. For example, the time
required to increase the transient power from 25% to 100%, speed
at 1500 r/min amounted to 3.9 s for the original turbocharger,
whereas 1.7 s when the ECT system was applied. In this paper, the
transient performances of the SAT and ECT engines were also com-
pared with the existing literature data, as shown in Table 7. As can
be found from the comparison of the results, the biggest advan-
tage of SAT and ECT is the improvement potential of engine torque
or acceleration response rather than the thermal eciency, which
can provide the reference basis for designing and developing a tur-
bocharged engine.
5.4. Other discussions
The study results of two improved turbocharging systems show
that the SAT and ECT have good feasibility on gasoline engine. On
the one hand, by using the SAT and ECT, the engine performances

Table 6
Comparison of transient performances of engines with/without wastegate.

Item Torque (Nm) with/without Torque increase ratio (%) with/ Time (s) with/without Time decrease ratio (%) with/ Eciency (%) with/without
wastegate without wastegate wastegate without wastegate wastegate

EGT 213.2/205.3 / 1.5/3.1 / 33.8/34.7

SAT (m = 0.60 g/s) 221.7/254.6 4.0/24.0 1.0/2.4 32.0/21.6 33.9/35.2
ECT (P = 0.60 kW) 220.0/255.6 3.2/24.5 1.0/1.6 33.3/47.7 34.0/35.3
 Q. Tang et al./Applied Thermal Engineering 93 (2016) 797812 811

Table 7
Comparison of the results with literature data.

Author Engine type Operation Acceleration time (s) Torque increase Thermal eciency
ratio (%) increase ratio (%)

This paper SAT 2000 r/min, idling to full load 3.12.4 24.0 1.44
This paper ECT 2000 r/min, idling to full load 3.11.6 24.5 1.73
Rakopoulos and Giakoumis [37] Turbocharged diesel engine 1180 r/min, load 10%75% Test data 6 s
Simulation data 5 s
Fu et al. [22] Steam turbocharging gasoline 4000 r/min, full load 7.0 6.90
engine
Fu et al. [31] Steam-assisted turbocharging, 1500 r/min, full load 25.0 1.97
gasoline engine
Gdeke and Prevedel [39] Hybrid turbocharger, 1.8 l 1500 r/min, BMEP = 1 full 43 17.2
gasoline engine load
Katranik et al. [24] ECT 6.87-liter diesel engine 1500 r/min, BMEP = 4 14 bar 3.91.7 1.5

especially transient performances (both the acceleration perfor- of the SAT and ECT engines without wastegate can be increased from
mances and economic performances) can be effectively improved. 213.2 Nm to 254.6 Nm and 255.6 Nm, respectively, and the thermal
On the other hand, since the assisted energy of SAT and ECT comes eciency can be improved from 33.8% to 35.2% and 35.3%, respec-
from the engine exhaust gas rather than engine useful work, engine tively. Although the transient equilibrium time of the re-matched
performances have not been negatively inuenced. Moreover, the SAT and ECT engines is increased, the response time can be
energy-saving potential can be further improved by re-matching a decreased.
larger turbine without wastegate. For the ECT, although the motor The study results of the two improved turbocharging systems
results in the higher system cost, it can also recover the excess show that using the engine exhaust gas energy to improve
exhaust energy and convert it into electric energy. Unlike the ECT, turbocharging system transient performances has very good ap-
the SAT system is relatively simple, and the cost is lower than ECT, plication prospects and energy-saving potentials on gasoline engine.
thus it seems to have better application prospect on engine.
Acknowledgements
6. Conclusions
This research work is jointly sponsored by the National Basic Re-
In this paper, two new assisted turbocharging approaches (SAT search Program of China (973 Program) under the Project No.
and ECT) were investigated and then compared with the EGT and 2011CB707201, and the Open Fund of Key Laboratory of Low-
SET based on the method of numerical simulation. After that, the grade Energy Utilization Technologies and Systems (Chongqing
two new turbocharging approaches as well as the EGT were re- University), Ministry of Education of China (Project No. LLEUTS-
matched for the purpose of revealing their performance 201511). This work was also supported by the China Scholarship
improvement potentials. Through the above analysis, the follow- Council (201406130040). The authors appreciate the anonymous
ing conclusions can be formulated. reviewers and the editor for their careful reading and many con-
The turbocharging system has a great inuence on the gaso- structive comments and suggestions on improving the manuscript.
line engine transient performances. Under the target operating
conditions, the response time of various engines follows the de- Nomenclature
scending sequence of EGT, SAT, ECT and SET. In fact, the response
time of the SET and ECT engines are very close. The maximum m Mass ow rate [kg/s]
thermal eciency appears in the ECT engine rather than SAT engine. cp Specic heat [kJ/(kgK)]
Although the SET engine has the maximum transient torque during n Speed [r/min]
the acceleration process, its thermal eciency is the lowest since P Power [kW]
part of the engines effective work is consumed to drive the T Temperature [K]
compressor. Tmot Motor torque [Nm]
The performances of the SAT and ECT engines have been im- Eciency of motor [%]
proved signicantly compared with the EGT and SET engines because
the assisted power/energy to turbocharging system comes from the Subscripts
recovered exhaust gas energy. Furthermore, the more the addition- 1 Compressor inlet
al steam or ECT power is, the better the engine performances will 2 Compressor outlet
be. Compared with the EGT engine, although the thermal ecien- 4 Turbine inlet
cy of SET engine is lower in the acceleration process, its fuel 5 Turbine outlet
consumption can be reduced by 23.3% at 2000 r/min. When the exh Exhaust gas
steam injection quantity of SAT engine is set to 0.6 g/s, the fuel con- ste Steam
sumption of the SAT engine can be reduced by 38.2%. In the mot Motor
meantime, when the additional ECT power is designed to 0.6 kW, com Compressor
the fuel consumption of ECT engine can be reduced by 36.3%. tur Turbine
The performances of the SAT and ECT engines can be further im-
proved by re-matching a larger turbine without wastegate, since Abbreviation
more exhaust gas energy is recovered and at the same time engine BMEP Brake mean effective pressure
exhaust pressure can be reduced. Under the circumstances, the intake ECT Electronically controlled turbocharging/turbocharger
pressure of the SAT and ECT engines is higher than the exhaust pres- EGT Exhaust gas turbocharging/turbocharger
sure, and PMEP does positive work during the gas exchange process. FMEP Friction mean effective pressure
Compared with the original EGT engine with wastegate, the torque NA Naturally aspirated
812 Q. Tang et al./Applied Thermal Engineering 93 (2016) 797812
PMEP Pump mean effective pressure
SAT Steam-assisted turbocharging/turbocharger
SET Supercharger-exhaust gas turbocharging/turbocharger
SFC Specic fuel consumption
VGT Variable geometry turbocharger
WHR Waste heat recovery
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