Inlet Duct Treatment is a state-of-the-art method of surge margin enhancement for centrifugal compressors, allowing significant extension of turbocharger operating range.
Technology
The operating range of a turbocharger is limited by the compressor, which experiences surge – an aerodynamic instability of the entire air system – at low flow rates. This impacts both turbocharger-engine matching and wastegate operation, leading to non-optimal performance. IDT introduces a novel blockage-based geometry upstream of the compressor, located close to the blade tips to improve aerodynamic stability and delay the inception of surge.
Experimental testing at 51³Ô¹ÏÍø College of an optimised IDT geometry has delivered a 32.4% improvement to compressor surge margin and a 27.5% increase in operating map width (in comparison to no surge enhancement), under unsteady (pulsating) flow conditions.
Markets
Inlet Duct Treatment provides surge margin improvement to all turbochargers where near-surge operation is significant.
Management
The development of this technology is currently being supported by the Industry Partnerships and Commercialisation Engineering team at 51³Ô¹ÏÍø. A business development manager has been engaged to attract and negotiate with potential licensees for the technology.
If you are interested in this technology, please do not hesitate to contact us:
- Dr Miles Robertson tel: +44 (0)77 8080 0255
- Professor Ricardo Martinez-Botas tel: +44 (0)20 7594 7241