Impact of simple surge-enhancing inlet geometries on the acoustic behaviour of a turbocompressor

Abstract

[EN] This paper reports the results of an experimental campaign where four different inlet geometries for the compressor of an automotive turbocharger were acoustically characterized. These four geometries (a straight pipe for reference, a tapered duct, a 90º elbow and a reservoir) were selected for their potential for deep surge margin enhancement, while being simple enough to be commonly found in production vehicles. A detailed measurement of this surge margin enhancement was performed, together with acoustic measurements of both radiated and orifice noise at design conditions of best isentropic efficiency and also close to the deep surge limit. Results demonstrated that while all the proposed geometries indeed enlarged the usable air mass flow range, changes in the acoustic behaviour of the system could be positive, neutral, or even negative. It is therefore important to carefully consider accurate noise measurements before implementing these geometric solutions in production vehicles, and to further pursue research on the link between the characteristic flow pattern produced by each inlet geometry and the noise emission of the turbocompressor. ; The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The equipment used in this work has been partially supported by FEDER project funds ''Dotacio´n de infraestructuras cientı´fico te´cnicas para el Centro Integral de Mejora Energe´tica y Medioambiental de Sistemas de Transporte (CiMeT)'' (grant number FEDER-ICTS-2012-06), framed in the operational program of unique scientific and technical infrastructure of the Spanish Government. ; Broatch, A.; Margot, X.; Garcia Tiscar, J.; Roig-Villanueva, F. (2018). Impact of simple surge-enhancing inlet geometries on the acoustic behaviour of a turbocompressor. International Journal of Engine Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468087418784125 ; S