Turbocharging of engines with low cylinder numbers: a thermodynamic consideration

In the present investigation, the influence of the number of cylinders on the turbocharger and the pumping losses were determined by extensive simulations in combination with experimental investigations. The turbine efficiency is influenced by the different pulsations as a function of the number of cylinders. In addition, another very serious influence of the number of cylinders on the pumping losses has been found. This effect depends strongly on the exhaust volume before turbine, which is why the topic of constant pressure and pulse turbocharging must be considered in detail. It has been found that a smaller number of cylinders (\(<4\)) has higher pumping losses in principle, even with the same turbocharger efficiencies. The lowest pumping losses can be achieved with four-cylinder engines. It has also been shown that this issue is completely different for diesel and gasoline engines.