Turbocharger Structural Integrity

Since the introduction of Euro VI in January 2014, all new diesel powered commercial vehicles have been equipped with turbocharged engines. It is virtually impossible to meet these emission regulations without using a turbocharger. Similarly, in the passenger car sector both on diesel and petrol (gasoline) powered vehicles, legislative pressure to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide are seeing the introduction of turbochargers across almost all new power units. Future legislation will continue this trend with engine manufacturers becoming increasingly reliant on turbocharging. As well as increasing the requirement for turbochargers, these external factors are also demanding that turbochargers become more responsive with reduced rotor inertia and lower thermal inertias. This in turn makes the task of ensuring that turbocharger components remain fit for purpose for the life of the turbocharger that much more difficult. In this paper some of the recent developments in turbocharger technology will be identified and the demands that these place on the structural components will be explored. The limitations of current methods of structural integrity assessment for some of these components will be discussed. Future developments of these methods will then be proposed.