Turbocharger

Two stroke crosshead engines must be supplied

with air above atmospheric pressure for it to work.
Although turbochargers were developed in 1925, it
was not until 1950s that large two stroke engines
were turbocharged. Pressurized air is needed to
scavenge the cylinders of the exhaust gases and
supply the charge of air for next combustion cycle
was provided by mechanically driven air
compressors (roots blower) or by using the space
under the piston as a reciprocating compressor
(under piston scavenging). This of course meant
that the engine was supplying the energy to
compress the air, which meant that the useful work
obtained from the engine was reduced by this
amount.

 About 35% of the total fuel energy goes out

in the exhaust gas. The turbocharger uses
7% of the total energy (20% of the exhaust
gas energy) to drive a single row turbine. The
turbine shaft drives a rotary compressor. Air
is drawn and compressed. Due to
compression, the air temperature rises.
Hence it is cooled in a cooler to increase its
density and then sent to the air inlet manifold
or scavenge air receiver. At full power of
diesel engine, the turbocharger may be
rotating at > 10000rpm.

 Power of a two stroke diesel engine

= pm x L x A x N x no. of cylinders
Where pm = mean effective pressure;
L = stroke of the engine;
A = cross sectional area of the cylinder;
N = revolution per second of the engine
Thus to increase the power of the engine of given
swept volume i.e. the power to weight and volume
ratios of the engine we have to increase either mean
effective pressure or the revolution per second of
the engine. The approach of increasing power output
by increasing speed is unattractive, due to rapid rise
of mechanical and aerodynamic losses, and the
corresponding fall in brake thermal efficiency.

 For increasing the mean effective

pressure, more fuel has to be burnt
during the cycle of the engine, which
requires higher quantity of air per cycle
of the engine. The purpose of
supercharging is to increase the mass
of air trapped in the cylinders of the
engine, by raising its density. A
compressor is used to achieve the
increase in air density.

 Two methods of supercharging can be

distinguished by the method to drive the
compressor. If the compressor is driven from
the crankshaft of the engine, the system is
called mechanically driven supercharging or
often just supercharging. If a turbine drives
the compressor, which itself is driven by the
exhaust gas from the cylinders, the system is
called turbocharging. The shaft of the
turbocharger links the compressor and the
turbine, but is not connected to the
crankshaft of the engine.

 The advantage of the turbocharger, over a

mechanically driven supercharger, is that
the power required to drive the
compressor is extracted from the exhaust
gas energy rather than the crankshaft.
Thus turbocharging is more efficient than
mechanical supercharging. However the
turbine imposes a flow restriction in the
exhaust system, and therefore the exhaust
manifold pressure will be greater than
atmospheric pressure.

 If sufficient energy can be extracted from

the exhaust gas, and converted into
compressor work, than the system can be
designed such that the compressor
delivery pressure exceeds that at turbine
inlet, and the inlet and exhaust processes
are not adversely affected. For a
compressor pressure ratio of 5, allows to
increase the specific power output of the
engine by 400%.

Compressor characteristic and the surge limit

Centrifugal compressor
characteristics are similar to
those of centrifugal pumps.
At a constant RPM, the
characteristic would appear
similar to the figure. At
constant speed the
discharge pressure first
rises as volumetric flow
increases and then drops off
rather sharply. The
compressor efficiency curve
also rises to a peak,
although at any constant
this peak is to the right of
the pressure peak. The
power consumed by the
compressor is related to the
product of discharge
pressure and flow rate.

 In the region to the right of the peak in pressure

curve, operation will be stable: in this region a
momentary drop in volumetric flow rate, for
example, perhaps brought on by a momentary
reduction in engine speed, will be countered by
a rise in pressure, with little or no effect on the
turbine. In the region to the left of the pressure
peak, a momentary drop in volumetric flow rate
will be accompanied by a drop in discharge
pressure and a reduction in compressor power
consumption.

 Operation in the unstable area to the left

of the pressure peak may result in
compressor surge. As the pressure at the
compressor discharge falls below that
downstream, the flow can reverse. The
result can simply be a pulsation if the
situation is not severe or of long duration,
or the reversed flow can continue to the air
intake and become audible, ranging in
volume from a soft sneezing to a very loud
backfiring sound.

 Obviously, operation in the

surge region should be
avoided; consequently,
turbocharger designers
establish a line, called a
surge limit, through the
pressure characteristics
slightly to the right of the
peak. Similar data as
previous figure are
obtained at several
constant speeds covering
the range of operation, and
plotted together on the
same axes. The resulting
compressor performance
map is shown.

Cleaning Turbochargers in operation

Periodic cleaning reduces or even prevents
contamination, allowing significantly longer
intervals between overhauls. The proposed
cleaning method, carried out periodically, will
prevent a thick layer of dirt from forming. A
thick layer of dirt can cause a drop in
efficiency and increased unbalance on the
compressor side of the turbocharger, which
could influence the lifetime of the bearings.

 The compressor wheel of the turbocharger can

be cleaned during operation by spraying water
into the air inlet casing. The dirt layer is removed
by the impact of the injected water. Since the
liquid does not act as a solvent there is no need
to add chemicals. The use of saltwater is not
allowed, as this would cause corrosion of the
aluminium compressor wheel and the engine.
Water is injected from a water vessel that holds
the required quantity of water.

Procedure
The best results are
obtained by injecting water
during full-load operation of
the engine, i.e. when the
turbocharger is running at
full speed. The complete
contents of the water vessel
should be injected within 4
to 10 seconds. Successful
cleaning is indicated by a
change in the charge air or
scavenging pressure, and in
most cases by a drop in the
exhaust gas temperature.

 If cleaning has not produced the desired results,

it can be repeated after 1 0 minutes. The interval
between compressor cleanings will depend on
the condition of the turbocharger suction air. It
can vary from 1 to 3 days of operation. If a very
thick layer has built up and it cannot be removed
using the method described, it will be necessary
to dismantle the turbocharger in order to clean
the compressor side. Since the dirt layer is
removed by the kinetic energy of the water
droplets, the engine has to be run at full load.

Cleaning the Turbine

The combustion of heavy fuel in diesel
engines causes fouling of the turbine
blades and nozzle ring. The result of this
fouling is reduced turbine efficiency and
engine performance as well as an
increase in the exhaust gas temperature,
Experience has shown that the
contamination on the turbine side can be
reduced by regular cleaning in operation,
and that such cleaning allows longer
intervals between turbocharger
overhauls.

 Some of the deposits have their origin in

soot, molten ash, scale and unburned oil,
partially burnt fuel and sodium vanadylvanadat. Investigations have shown that
most of the residues are caused by the
calcium in the lube oil reacting with the
sulfur from the fuel to form calcium sulfate
during the combustion process.

 The quantity of the deposits depends on

the quality of the combustion, the fuel
used, and the lube oil consumption. The
frequency with which cleaning has to be
carried out depends on the extent of the
contamination on the turbine side.
Two cleaning methods exist
Wet cleaning (water injection)
dry cleaning (solid particle injection)

Procedure for wet cleaning

1. The exhaust gas
temperature before the
turbine should be in the
range of 200 to 4300 C
2. The boost pressure should
be above 0.5 bar to prevent
water entering the oil
chamber on the turbine side.
3. The quantity of injected
water will depend on the
exhaust gas temperature,
water pressure, size of the
turbo-charger and number of
gas inlets.

 Water should be injected for 5 to 10 minutes.

Check if the water has entered the turbine parts
by opening the drain of the gas outlet casing.
Water flowing out provides assurance that
enough water has passed the nozzle ring and
the turbine blades. The interval between turbine
cleanings will depend on the combustion, the
fuel used and the fuel oil consumption. It can
vary from 1 to 20 days of operation.
Principle:
The dirt layer on the turbine components is
removed by thermal shock rather than the
kinetic energy exerted by the water droplets.

Procedure for dry cleaning

The exhaust gas temperature

before the turbine should not
exceed 5800 C.
Dry cleaning has to be carried
out more often than water
cleaning as it is only possible
to remove thin layers of
deposits. A cleaning interval of
1 to 2 days is recommended.
To ensure effective mechanical
cleaning, granulated dry
cleaning media are best
injected into the turbine at a
high turbocharger speed.
The quantity needed will vary
from 0.2 l to 3 l, depending on
the size of the turbocharger.

 Experience has shown that the best

results are achieved with crushed nut-shell
or granulate.
Principle:
The layer of deposits on the turbine
components is removed by the kinetic
energy of the granulate causing it to act as
an abrasive. Experience has shown a
combination of the two to be very
effective, especially in the case of 2-stroke
engines.