All About Turbo Engines and Turbochargers
As an aircraft with a basic engine rises in altitude, the amount of power that the engine can produce by itself decreases. Aircraft engine control power is created through the mixture or air and fuel, and the higher the altitude, the lower amount of oxygen is present in the air.
While making an engine bigger to pull in a greater mass of air may seem like a good solution, it will cause the aircraft to be much bulkier and heavier, and it does not efficiently tackle the core of the problem which is oxygen density. The solution to this problem came with the introduction of turbocharger.
A
turbocharger is a component that is utilized to turn engine waste exhaust into more power through the use of forced air. The gasses from the engines exhaust are brought into the inlet of the turbocharger and spin the turbine within. This air is then compressed in great quantities before being cooled and sent back to the engine cylinders for more power generation. Through a turbocharger, the mass of air that enters the cylinders is increased with each intake, greatly increasing performance.
By compressing air, smaller engines are able to produce much more power through fuel combustion, making them generate equal power to their counterparts of greater size. Within aviation, this allows for smaller engines to be able to perform well at higher altitudes by creating more oxygen dense air for combustion.
Cars, trains, and other engine based vehicles also see increased performance with turbochargers. Through creating smaller engines that increase power through exhaust, better fuel economy and reduced emissions is also possible. Turbochargers also have the added benefit of being more quiet and smooth as compared to standard engines through the refinement and filtering of air as it passes through the
turbocharger and components.
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mark watkins
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Posted on December 12, 2019
aerospace news