Numerical Simulation of the Effects of Manufacturing Deviations in Compressor Wheel Geometry on Performance
Abstract Increasingly stringent emission norms place tougher challenges on the efficiencies of a turbocharger. Higher efficiency requirement on turbocharger translates into tighter tolerances on the various geometrical dimensions. While this is applicable for all the components, in this study, the focus is on the compressor wheel. Compressor wheels are either cast or milled and variations are possible in either of the processes. Even small changes in the dimensions of compressor wheel (like diameter, angle distribution, thickness distribution, axial length and blade width etc.), cause the performance losses in Turbo charger. Loss in Performance of turbocharger affects Low-end torque, power rating, fuel economy as well as increasing compressor exit temperature. It is therefore important to understand and quantify the impact of the variation in blade geometry on pressure ratio, choke flow and efficiency. In this paper, a few case studies of manufacturing variations in blade thickness, blade height and axial length are shown based on gas stand tests as well as 3D CFD simulations. A process for extracting real geometry from white light scan data obtained from the manufactured wheel is shown which helps to compare the differences with the design intent geometry. Flow simulations with the real geometry show the impact on performance. Subsequently a systematic analysis of the variations is carried out to quantify the performance impact.