What is a turbocharger? And how does it work?
‘A small turbine turned by the waste gases from an engine that pushes the fuel and air mixture into the engine at a higher pressure, so increasing the power produced by the engine’ [1].
Naturally aspirated engines take air from the surroundings into the engine, where it mixes and ignites with the fuel to produce power. A turbocharger uses waste exhaust gases to spin a turbine connected to a compressor. The compressor wheel compresses the air and feeds more air back into the engine. With more air expansion, the engine gains more power. The turbine and compressor are connected by an adjoining shaft. As the turbine rotates, it subsequently turns the compressor wheel and is designed to rotate at over 100,000rpm. An oil lubricant is used on the shaft and connecting bearings to reduce the friction between components as they rotate [2].
The Ideal gas law states, with a constant volume and increasing pressure, the temperature must increase proportionally. Therefore, before the air in the compressor can be fed into the engine, an intercooler must be introduced to reduce the temperature of the air.