Anyone read up on hybrid turbochargers? they sound very promising! any thoughts?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_turbocharger

 

I would say, 'unnecessarily complicated for the output'. What is the main advantage, again? With a conventional turbo, you are converting 100% waste energy into useful energy, it is totally free.....and very simple to manage. This hybrid system seems...like extra steps to achieve the same thing, to me.

 

my understanding is with a conventional turbo you are not converting 100% of the available energy into useful energy (ie wastegate, parasitic losses in impeller driveshaft). Furthermore, because the angular velocities of the turbine and impeller are constrained by the driveshaft coupling them together. Separating them by replacing the driveshaft assembly with electrical connections allows them to rotate at different speeds, reducing lag and increasing efficiency. Also plumbing complexity will be decreased as it wouldn't be necessary to pipe all the way from the intake to the exhaust. And the use of a quick-discharging storage medium would allow the impeller to spin up rapidly when starting from a stop, making power available immediately.

I don't have any problem with conventional turbos, I would take one in a heartbeat. I don't think hybrid turbos will hit the market anytime soon, not for any reasonable price anyway, but I'm intrigued by the technology and consider hybrid turbos to be an improvement in almost every way (except cost) over a conventional turbo

 

Compressors are so inefficient, I can't imagine there being any improvements over a traditional setup. A similar setup using the actual engine power to run the generator isn't practical, so i'm sure this isn't either.

 

from the wiki article:

The electrical motors run at speeds in excess of 120,000 rpm and when used as generators, generate electricity at 98.5% electrical efficiency

I don't trust that 100% as it is wikipedia, but I'm impressed. Also I imagine the freedom of the turbine and impeller to operate at different speeds allows them to each operate in their speed range of greatest efficiency -- another gain over the conventional setup

 

From the Wiki page:

This article relies largely or entirely upon a single source. Please help improve this article by introducing appropriate citations to additional sources.

Any guesses on what that single source is? If you guessed Aeristech, the device's developer, you get a cookie!

Looks like a reprint of a press release to me. That doesn't automatically discredit the technology, but it surely gives one pause.

 

I'm not saying it's gospel truth but it's an interesting development and will be interesting to watch. who knows, if their claims of increased efficiency are even partially true and the price tag isn't too painful we might be seeing hybrid turbos on future ecoboost engines

 

I agree, it could be very valuable tech...just hard to judge from the info from the developer that is currently looking for funding.

Plus, everyone will soon learn that I am the resident skeptic.

 

tbh I'm very excited about the concept - the principle seems to be the same as a diesel-electric locomotive (ie diesel engine acting as a generator electrically powering a motor powering the wheels is more efficient than a diesel engine mechanically powering the wheels). The main difficulty seems IMO to be scaling this down to a unit small enough for automobile applications and simple enough to not cost an arm and a leg. But I think the principle is sound

 

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2010...-20100826.html

This looks cool..