Turbochargers 2
I am a huge fan of technology. If it’s smaller, faster, lighter, I want it. As my understanding of technology grew so did my appreciation for truly innovative technology. Today I want to talk about turbochargers. Not just because the technology is a cool concept, but because it is an innovation that seems perpetually new. (A car is instantly three times as cool after the word ‘turbo’ is placed in front of it. Try it: “Look, there’s a turbo UPS van….) So what keeps the turbo as a ‘new’ technology: the public’s general lack of understanding of how it works. I don’t mean to insult, but there are a lot of people who drive turbo cars that don’t know what’s going on under the hood. By imparting a general idea of how turbos work I hope the world will appreciate them just that much more.
Your typical car engine works by harnessing tiny explosions of gasoline combusting with oxygen. Propeller airplanes work the same way. But way back in the day pilots wanted to fly at higher altitudes because the air is thinner and had less drag on the aircraft. But thin air means less pressure and less oxygen. Then the explosion inside the engine cylinder was smaller and the plane didn’t have as much power. This was a problem. Engineers got it in their head to increase the air pressure artificially (and consequently the amount of oxygen) inside the engine cylinder. But this requires some additional energy.
Once combustion has occurred the exhaust gases are expelled out of the cylinder. These gases can actually be moving quite fast. These engineers designed a wind turbine and stuck it in the path of the exhaust. This rotating turbine was connected to a shaft that eventually delivered power to a compressor which forced additional air (and oxygen) into the engine cylinder. Problem solved! Planes could fly higher and maintain power.
Now imagine Tim Taylor’s grandfather thinking about sticking an airplane turbo on his car engine. (Insert white-man-grunting-like-monkey sound here.) But that’s exactly what somebody did. Now instead of a sea-level amount of oxygen being use for combustion, the engine is performing as if it’s in the oxygen rich environment of 12,000 ft below sea-level (which doesn’t exist). That’s a turbocharger in a nutshell.
How about some variations on the turbocharger? Like why have one turbo when you can have two. Place them in sequence so that the air is compressed twice for extra power. Some higher end BMW 5-series do this. Or mount them in parallel to distribute the work of compressing the air. The new Nissan GTR is a magnificent example. Porsche produces a smart turbo that varies the angle of the blades on the wind turbine in front of the exhaust for increased performance and fuel savings. Yet another reason to salivate over the 911 Turbo. If I had to choose between these three cars I would just take one of each.
So go out and enjoy your turbo power and pretend to be Paul Walker. God bless America.
Update: Check it out, this post inspired a comic at http://zawebcomic.blogspot.com/
