Home History How it Works Physics Multimedia Bibliography
How It
Works
Turbochargers are also known as a
forced induction system. This system is known to compress the air
before it gets to the intake valve on the engine. There is
another system called a supercharger that uses a external compressor
powered by electricity or by the engine drive belt. It is not as
efficient to use superchargers because it takes energy to run the
compressor, where as turbochargers are powered by exhaust fumes.
An engine goes through 4 phases: the intake,
compression, combustion, and exhaust.
A turbocharger is set up receive the exhaust flow which spins the
turbine. The turbine blades are connected to a shaft and the other side
of the turbine has blades that are set up to compress air. The air from
the air filter has ddirect flow to the turbo. After the air is
compressed, it is sent to the engine intake valves.
The shaft the spins between the two turbines gets to speeds up to
150,000 rpm meaning that its crucial to have very precise bearings.
Regular bearings cannot handle high speeds, so most turbos use fluid
bearings. Oil is a good lubricator that also cools the shaft. It also
reduces the friction.
Because its mounted to the exhaust, the turbo gets hot also making the
compressed air hot. There is turbo cooler for this. A turbo cooler is a
radiator, but instead of water being cooled, the compressed air cooled
and then sent to the engine intake.