Numerical Computation of the Pulsatile Flow in a Turbocharger With Realistic Inflow Conditions From an Exhaust Manifold
The combined effect of different secondary perturbations at the turbine inlet and the pulsatile flow on the turbine performance was assessed and quantified by using Large Eddy Simulation. The geometrical configuration consists of a 4-1 exhaust manifold and a radial turbine. At the inlet to each port of the manifold, engine realistic pulsatile mass flow and temperature fields are specified. The turbine used in this numerical study is a vaneless radial turbine with 9 blades, with a size that is typical for a turbocharger mounted on a 2.0 liters IC engine of passenger cars. The flow field is investigated and the generated vortices are visualized to enable a better insight into the unsteady flow field. Correlations between the turbine inflow conditions, such as mass flow rate, strength of secondary flow components, and the turbine performance have also been studied. The results show that the flow field entering the turbine is heavily disturbed with strong secondary flow components and disturbed axial velocity profile. Between the inlet to the turbine and the wheel, the strength of the secondary flow and the level of the disturbances of the axial flow decrease which gives large losses in this region. Even though the magnitude of the disturbances decrease, the flow entering the wheel will still be disturbed, resulting in a perturb inlet flow to the wheel which affects the shaft power output from the turbine.