An investigation into the passive acoustic effect of the turbine in an automotive turbocharger

Abstract

The turbine of an automotive turbocharger is one of many elements in the exhaust line which lie between the primary noise source, namely the gas pulsations through the exhaust valves, and the primary noise radiation element, the exhaust tailpipe orifice. Like every other element of the exhaust system, it has a passive acoustic effect on the propagation of the primary exhaust noise. Thus knowledge of the passive acoustic effect of the turbine is essential to an understanding of the overall acoustic effectiveness of an exhaust system. In particular, if a comprehensive model of the acoustic propagation through the entire exhaust system of a turbocharged engine is sought, an acoustic model of the turbine is a prerequisite. This paper presents such a model as well as an experimental technique from which measured data can be obtained to verify the model and to characterise the acoustic behaviour of the turbine in a more general sense. In the first instance, the one-dimensional nonlinear equations of the fluid flow are solved for steady flow, to determine the background conditions for acoustic propagation including the mean convective flow distribution. The nonlinear time-domain flow equations are then linearised and solved for a single frequency of sound. At low frequencies, there is good agreement between measured and predicted results. System resonances that are observed at high frequencies can also be explained by the model.