1.

TURBOCHARGER
Books Referred:- M. low speed Diesel Engine – by Dennis Gerffith

AIM: To study the purpose, location of turbocharger, its various components and their purpose, gas
path and air path, types of turbocharging systems, surging, turbocharger deposits and cleaning and a
brief description about air coolers and their maintenance.

SAFETY:

1. Use proper PPE.

2. Proper permission to stop the engine and work permit and risk assessment to be carried out.
3. All the lifting tools and equipments to be checked.
4. Availability of spares to be checked.
5. Maintain the cleanliness.
6. Stop the Engine.
7. Put lock out and Tag out.
8. Shut off / Blank the starting air and control air.
9. Shut off fuel, lube oil, jacket water supply.
10. Engage the Turning Gear.
11. Correct use of tools and equipments.
12. Take care of various threads and sealing.
13. Check guiding rope for lifting and conveying.

TOOLS:

1. All open and ring spanners set.

2. Box spanner with ratchet.
3. Depth gauge and straight edge strip.
4. Lifting crane and Chain Pulley.
5. Lube oil pan and tray with Diesel and Kerosene.
6. Bearing Pullers, I bolt, D shackles, Lifting belt of proper capacity.
7. Screw Gauge/ Vernier calliper.
8. Stand for resting the rotor.

LOCATION: Located on the exhaust manifold or on the Air Cooler of the engine.

PURPOSE: Turbochargers are used to increase the power output and efficiency of the engine by
waste heat recovery from the exhaust gases. The purpose of turbocharger is as follows:

1. To provide the charge air at higher density.

2. For better scavenging.
3. For cooling the combustion chamber.
4. For waste heat recovery.
5. To increase the efficiency of the engine.
AIR PATH: Suction filter → Blower → Diffuser plates → Volute casing → Intercooler
→ Scavenge manifold → Underpiston scavenge space → Combustion chamber

GAS PATH: Inlet to turbocharger → Nozzle rings → Turbine blades → Exhaust gas outlet

DESCRIPTION: A turbocharger consists of two sections

1. Gas Side
2. Air Side

GAS SIDE:

1. Single row of turbine blade.

2. Nozzle blade.
3. Fir Tree root arrangement.
4. Lacing wire.
5. Labyrinth Seal.
6. Bearing for the support.
7. Cooling water space.
8. Sealing Air space.
9. Breather.
10. Bush bearing.

ROTOR: The rotor generally has three sections:

1. Turbine Disc
2. Turbine shaft
3. Impeller shaft (Made from – Austenitic Stainless Steel) which has heat of corrosion
resistance.

BLADE FITTING:

1. The blades are mounted axially into slots cut in the disc FIR TREE ROOT. Shape of the blades
are locked to prevent the axial movement.
2. During service blades expand and are also subjected to centrifugal force and these both are
imposing the stress on the FIR TREE ROOT shape.
3. That is the reason that the fir tree arrangement should be carefully designed to reset this
loading. Blades are a push fit into the disc

LACING WIRES:

1. Vibration of blades can be a problem, particularly for long blades. For that purpose, lacing
wires are used to dampen vibrations which is located about one – third of the distance down
the blade from the tip.
2. Lacing wire pass through holes in blades and exert friction dampening effect on the
vibrations. This lacing wire is being crimped between the individual blades to keep it located.
CASING:

Turbocharger casing for cooled blowers is of CAST IRON for gas side and ALUMINIUM ALLOY for air
side. The main casing incorporates: -

1. Mounting feet
2. Water jacket
3. Also from shroud around the central part of the rotor.

The gas inlet casing is also water cooled, which provides housing for Nozzle Blades and Locating
Bearing.

The air side casing is having two parts. Which provides locating part for

1. Suction filter
2. Locating Bearing, while the outlet casing has the
3. Volute Casing shape to convert kinetic energy of air into the pressure energy.
4. Diffuser Blades may also be located in the outlet casing to direct the air from the
impeller into the volute.

BEARINGS: The Turbocharger bearing may be of the

1. White Metal lined Sleeve type

2. Ball type
3. Roller type

In some turbochargers both are used.

1. Plain White metal bearing require an oil supply under pressure at all time to avoid the failure
of the bearings. This type of bearing has an indefinite life and oil wedge which forms
dampen out vibrations from the engine acting through the casing.
2. A double faced thrust bearing is used to keep the rotor located axially in position in the
casing and takes axial thrust from gas side.
3. As the ship pitches the bearing prevents the movement of the rotor. These bearing are also
fitted with DAMPING SPRING PLATE between the bearing and the casing.

LUBRICATION: An internal oil sump is provided with rotor driven pump which takes suction of the
oil when the rotor turns.

LABYRINTH SEAL: Labyrinth seal are provided at the three locations in the turbocharger in order to
prevent gas and air leak.

1. One seal is located between the turbine disc and gas side bearing to prevent the gas
leak from the turbine. Which may lead to the contamination of lube oil used for
bearings.
2. Second seal is located between the Turbine disc and the Impeller to prevent the leakage
of air to gas side or leakage of gas to impeller.
3. Third seal is located between the air side bearing and the eye of the Impeller to prevent
oil laden air from being drawn into the Impeller.
TURBOCHARGING SYSTEMS:

1. Pulse System
 This system is used in four stroke engines and utilises the energy of the exhaust
gases when the exhaust valve opens to drive the turbocharger.
 The piping system is more complex than the constant pressure system. Pipes have to
run from each cylinder to the turbocharger.
 The turbocharger gas inlet casing has several inlet ports depending upon the
number of units.
 The high energy of the exhaust gas entering the turbocharger results in it being very
responsive to engine loads changes. This also means an auxiliary blower is not
required.

2. Constant pressure system

 This generally applies to two stroke engines.
 The exhaust gas is discharged from the cylinders into a large manifold where the gas
pressure is reduced to below scavenge pressure.
 The turbocharger operates at maximum efficiency due to the constant pressure of
the exhaust gas.
 The exhaust valve opening point does not depend on a need to supply the
turbocharger and allows the exhaust valve to open later, giving a longer power
stroke.
 The constant pressure system is not very efficient at low loads; therefore, an
auxiliary blower is required for low load operations.

TURBOCHARGER SURGING:

Surging is the breakdown of gas flow and a reversal of flow from the scavenge space through the
diffuser and impeller. Surging is undesirable as it interferes with combustion and more importantly,
increases the possibility of thrust bearing failure.

Causes of Surging:

1. Fouled compressor or turbine, or dirty intake filters. These should be regularly cleaned to
prevent a build-up of deposits.
2. Poor power distribution between the cylinders.
3. Rapid change in load or rpm, particularly in bad weather when the engine may be racing.
4. A fouled hull will also increase the risk of surging.
5. High exhaust back pressure, usually evident by higher than normal exhaust temperatures.
6. Exhaust valve not opening properly.
7. Fouled nozzle ring.
8. Fouled exhaust inlet grid.
9. Fouled scavenge air cooler.
10. Choked scavenge ports.
Measures to be taken in case of surging:

1. Engine speed must be reduced.

2. The compressor should be water washed and the air intake filters cleaned.
3. The engine’s power balance must be checked by taking a set of indicator cards.

TURBOCHARGER DEPOSITS AND CLEANING:

The deposits found on turbocharger are:

Compressor: Oil mist, dust, soot, etc. which all are derived from the atmosphere.

Turbine: Fuel derived ashes such as sodium/vanadium compounds, sulphur compounds,

metallic ashes such as iron and nickel. If the fuel has high level of contaminants such
as sodium, iron, calcium, magnesium, etc. there may be excessive ash deposits.

Cleaning of turbocharger:

Compressor: A small fixed container is provided which is filled with water to clean the
compressor. The water is injected using the air from the turbocharger, so the higher
the compressor speed the better the cleaning. Cleaning is carried out at full load and
performance once per day. Solvents should not be used. The procedure is as
follows:

1. Open the filter on the tank and fill with fresh water only. Secure filler cap and close vent.
2. Open the air supply valve A.
3. Open injection valve B and wait for 30 seconds.
4. Close valves A and B and open vent.
5. Check to ensure the tank is empty. If not, there may be a blockage, usually at the bottom of
the tank, due to rust and scale, or at the injection nozzle.
Turbine: The turbine can be water washed or dry cleaned.

1. Water washing:
 The engine speed must be reduced to reduce the exhaust temperature and prevent
thermal shock of the turbine.
 Once the exhaust temperature is at or below the manufacturer’s limit, the
turbocharger drain can be opened and fresh water admitted to the turbine casing.
 Water should be admitted slowly until water appears at the drain, then the water
flow can be increased.
 Washing should continue until the drain water is clear, usually 10 to 15 minutes.
 The water supply can then be closed off and the drain left open.
 Once the water has stopped the turbocharger speed can be increased, then the
drain closed.

2. Dry cleaning:
 The turbocharger speed does not have to be reduced when dry-cleaning.
 A container is filled with the correct amount of cleaning material, either ground
nutshells, activated carbon or small grains of rice.
 The valve from the container should be opened to blow the material into the turbine
casing.
 After a couple of minutes, the valve can be closed. This should be carried out every
day or at least every two days.
 No solvents should be used for cleaning the turbine, and if the turbocharger has not
been cleaned for a long time it should not be cleaned in service. Deposits may not be
evenly removed, risking unbalance.

AIR COOLER:

As the turbocharger compresses the air, an increase in charge air temperature will occur. This will
reduce the density of the air entering the engine. To reduce this effect, the air is cooled which by the
charge air cooler.

Maintenance:

1. Cleaning the air and water sides of the tubes and inspecting the anodes in the water
headers.
2. The air side will gradually become fouled with oily deposits, which can be monitored by
measuring the air differential pressure. Manufacturers have limits for the differential
pressure indicating when the cooler should be cleaned.
3. The air side can be cleaned on a regular basis. The small dosing pots can be filled with
diluted air cooler cleaner.
4. The air cooler cleaner can be circulated in undiluted form and should be circulated for at
least 12 hours, depending upon the degree of fouling.
5. The air cooler should be hosed with clean fresh water after cleaning.
6. On the water side the tubes should be cleaned by brushing through with special tube
brushes.
7. This is ideal for removing soft deposits and slime.
 8. If the tube has scale on inside or hard marine growth, it may require cleaning with a high
pressure hose or de-scalant.

Air Cooler Cleaning System

Air Cooler Problems:

Charge air temperature too high High engine room temperature

High sea water temperature
Cooling system out of balance (low flow)
Fouled air cooler tubes (Air side)
Fouled air cooler tubes (Water side)

Charge air temperature too low Defective cooler controller

Sea water temperature too low

High pressure drop on air side Air cooler fins fouled

Defective pressure gauge

High pressure drop on water side Fouled air cooler tubes on water side
High coolant flow
Defective pressure gauge

External water leakage Leaking joint on tube plate or pipe connection

Internal water leakage Leakage between tube and tube plate

Holed tube