Analysis of a Tilted Turbine Housing Volute Design Under Pulsating Inlet Conditions

Samuel Lee, Martyn Jupp, John Allport, Ambrose Nickson

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

9 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Radial inflow turbines are widely used in the automotive turbocharger industry due to the greater amount of work that can be extracted per stage and their ease of manufacture compared with equivalent axial designs [1]. The current industry trend towards downsized engines for lower emissions has driven research to focus on improving turbine technologies for greater aero-thermal efficiency. Consequently, mixed flow turbines have recently received significant interest due to a number of potential performance benefits over their radial counterparts, including reduced inertia and improved performance at low velocity ratios.

This paper investigates the performance of a tilted volute design compared with that of a radial design, under steady state and pulsating flow conditions. The tilted volute design was introduced in an attempt to improve inlet flow conditions of a mixed flow turbine wheel and hence improve performance. The investigation is entirely computational and the approach used was carefully validated against gas stand test results.

The results of the study show that under steady state conditions the tilted volute design resulted in stage efficiency improvements of up to 1.64%. Under pulsating flow conditions, the tilted housing design resulted in a reduction in incidence angle and a maximum cycle averaged rotor efficiency improvement of 1.49% while the stage efficiencies resulted in a 1.23% increase. To assess the loss mechanisms within the rotor, the entropy flux generation through the blade passage was calculated. The tilted housing design resulted in reductions in leading edge suction and shroud surface separation resulting in the improved efficiency as observed.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationASME Turbo Expo 2017
Subtitle of host publication Turbomachinery Technical Conference & Exposition
PublisherAmerican Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
Number of pages10
Volume2C: Turbomachinery
ISBN (Print)9780791850800
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2017
EventAmerican Society of Engineers Turbo-Expo: Turbomachinery Technical Conference & Exposition - Charlotte, United States
Duration: 26 Jun 201730 Jun 2017

Conference

ConferenceAmerican Society of Engineers Turbo-Expo
Abbreviated titleASME
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityCharlotte
Period26/06/1730/06/17

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