Interesting Article on Electric Turbocharger (is it true?)
01-16-2003, 12:05 AM
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Interesting Article on Electric Turbocharger (is it true?)
I found this posted on a forum somewhere... everything below this line is part of the post:
People talked about this subject recently. Here's a current article.
Don't miss last sentence!
Device cuts lag time for turbos
Saab considers motor, but others are skeptical
RICHARD TRUETT
Automotive News
CHICAGO -- Using a small high-revving electric motor, Garrett
Energy Boosting Systems is
looking to put a new -- and faster -- spin on the old-fashioned
turbocharger.
By adding a small electric motor to the turbocharger,
Garrett seeks to overcome turbo lag, the time delay until
a turbocharger becomes effective caused by waiting for
the engine's exhaust stream to speed up the device'sturbine.
Garrett's electrically assisted turbocharger will increase
fuel economy and performance, Rob Gillette, president of
the Torrance, Calif., company said at a press event during
the Chicago Auto Show.
Gillette said the electronically assisted turbocharger will
be used in a 2003-model car but would not name the automaker.
Jury's still out
Opinions differ on whether such a device is needed.
Saab, which allowed Garrett to use its display area at the
Chicago show for a press conference, is evaluating the
technology for its next generation of engines, spokesman Kevin
Smith said. Garrett says the
electric-assisted turbo is best suited for 1.8- to 3.0-liter gasoline
and diesel engines.
But Fritz Indra, executive director of advanced engineering for Saab's
corporate parent, General
Motors, is not convinced adding electric power to a turbocharger is a
good idea.
"With a very good modern turbocharged engine, you don't have lag
anymore,"
Indra said. "An engineer's task is to avoid complexity and go simple
and safe."
Indra says the electrically assisted turbocharger would use a lot of
power, and he
sees potential
trouble connecting electrical cables to a part of the engine that gets
so hot.
He says Opel's new
turbocharger, which is built into the exhaust manifold, is a good
example of
improving the turbocharger without making it more complex.
Cost could also be an issue. Garrett's electric turbocharger will add
$100 to
$200 to the cost of a car, Gillette said.
A turbocharger is a pump mounted in the exhaust system, usually just
below the manifold.
Exhaust gases spin a fan-shaped wheel, which spins another fan-shaped
wheel in the intake
system to blast a denser mixture of fuel and air into the engine to
increase
performance.
Turbochargers were used widely in the late 1970s and early 1980s as
automakers
tried to balance consumer demands for more power with the need to use
smaller engines to meet fuel
economy mandates. But some units were prone to early failure because of
the heat generated by the exhaust gases and the turbo unit.
Today turbochargers are used in Saab, Volvo, Volkswagen and a few other
import vehicles in the
United States. Ford Motor Co. and GM use turbos on their diesel V-8
truck engines.
How it works
Here's how the electric turbocharger works:
An electric motor mounted on the shaft between the compressor and
turbine
wheels quickly
brings the turbocharger up to speed. The motor eliminates turbo lag, so
there's
an instant blast of power at low engine speed. The car's electronic
control unit
controls the turbocharger. The
control unit also governs the boost pressure - the amount of fuel and
air mixture
the turbocharger
pumps into the engine. The electric motor also doubles as a generator,
producing
electricity from
the spinning turbo at cruising speeds. It can supply up to 1.3
kilowatts at 13.5
volts, according to Garrett.
Gillette said it will take the electric turbocharger less than a second
to get up to
full speed, down
from about 3.5 seconds of a regular turbocharger. That will enable the
engine to
develop more
torque at lower speeds and improve fuel economy, Gillette said.
Gillette said the same technology also will be used on superchargers,
which are
mechanically
driven pumps. Gillette said Garrett plans to have an electrically driven
supercharger
ready by late 2004.
People talked about this subject recently. Here's a current article.
Don't miss last sentence!
Device cuts lag time for turbos
Saab considers motor, but others are skeptical
RICHARD TRUETT
Automotive News
CHICAGO -- Using a small high-revving electric motor, Garrett
Energy Boosting Systems is
looking to put a new -- and faster -- spin on the old-fashioned
turbocharger.
By adding a small electric motor to the turbocharger,
Garrett seeks to overcome turbo lag, the time delay until
a turbocharger becomes effective caused by waiting for
the engine's exhaust stream to speed up the device'sturbine.
Garrett's electrically assisted turbocharger will increase
fuel economy and performance, Rob Gillette, president of
the Torrance, Calif., company said at a press event during
the Chicago Auto Show.
Gillette said the electronically assisted turbocharger will
be used in a 2003-model car but would not name the automaker.
Jury's still out
Opinions differ on whether such a device is needed.
Saab, which allowed Garrett to use its display area at the
Chicago show for a press conference, is evaluating the
technology for its next generation of engines, spokesman Kevin
Smith said. Garrett says the
electric-assisted turbo is best suited for 1.8- to 3.0-liter gasoline
and diesel engines.
But Fritz Indra, executive director of advanced engineering for Saab's
corporate parent, General
Motors, is not convinced adding electric power to a turbocharger is a
good idea.
"With a very good modern turbocharged engine, you don't have lag
anymore,"
Indra said. "An engineer's task is to avoid complexity and go simple
and safe."
Indra says the electrically assisted turbocharger would use a lot of
power, and he
sees potential
trouble connecting electrical cables to a part of the engine that gets
so hot.
He says Opel's new
turbocharger, which is built into the exhaust manifold, is a good
example of
improving the turbocharger without making it more complex.
Cost could also be an issue. Garrett's electric turbocharger will add
$100 to
$200 to the cost of a car, Gillette said.
A turbocharger is a pump mounted in the exhaust system, usually just
below the manifold.
Exhaust gases spin a fan-shaped wheel, which spins another fan-shaped
wheel in the intake
system to blast a denser mixture of fuel and air into the engine to
increase
performance.
Turbochargers were used widely in the late 1970s and early 1980s as
automakers
tried to balance consumer demands for more power with the need to use
smaller engines to meet fuel
economy mandates. But some units were prone to early failure because of
the heat generated by the exhaust gases and the turbo unit.
Today turbochargers are used in Saab, Volvo, Volkswagen and a few other
import vehicles in the
United States. Ford Motor Co. and GM use turbos on their diesel V-8
truck engines.
How it works
Here's how the electric turbocharger works:
An electric motor mounted on the shaft between the compressor and
turbine
wheels quickly
brings the turbocharger up to speed. The motor eliminates turbo lag, so
there's
an instant blast of power at low engine speed. The car's electronic
control unit
controls the turbocharger. The
control unit also governs the boost pressure - the amount of fuel and
air mixture
the turbocharger
pumps into the engine. The electric motor also doubles as a generator,
producing
electricity from
the spinning turbo at cruising speeds. It can supply up to 1.3
kilowatts at 13.5
volts, according to Garrett.
Gillette said it will take the electric turbocharger less than a second
to get up to
full speed, down
from about 3.5 seconds of a regular turbocharger. That will enable the
engine to
develop more
torque at lower speeds and improve fuel economy, Gillette said.
Gillette said the same technology also will be used on superchargers,
which are
mechanically
driven pumps. Gillette said Garrett plans to have an electrically driven
supercharger
ready by late 2004.
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