Investigations of Solid Particle Erosion on the Flow Channel Walls of a Radial Turbine for Diesel Engine Applications

Carbon particles, a primary component of diesel engine emissions, cause persistent erosion in the exhaust piping system, inevitably leading to performance degradation. This erosion can result in reduced fuel economy and increased emissions. The effects of three key parameters including solid particle size, turbine U/C operating conditions and rotational speed on the erosion characteristics of the flow channels of a radial turbine for vehicle diesel engine applications and their impact on performance were investigated through numerical simulations in the study. The findings indicate that larger particle size and higher rotational speed can significantly lead to the higher erosion rate density of the volute channel and casing wall surfaces. Reducing U/C does not substantially affect the distribution of erosion rate density. Centrifugal force will play an important role in the variation of erosion distribution characteristics. Compared to U/C, the other two key parameters are sensitive factors affecting turbine performance degradation. Under the same condition for operating 5000 h, 10 μm particles cause a 7.5-fold increase in efficiency loss change rate compared to 0.5 μm particles. The efficiency loss at 140 krpm is 16 times greater than that at 40 krpm.