A turbocharger is an auxiliary component that helps to improve internal combustion engine power density and efficiency by recovering and reusing exhaust gases. This helps to make the engine it’s attached to considerably more efficient, with multiple benefits that include the ability to use a much smaller engine delivering the same power output as a naturally aspirated engine, better fuel consumption and a substantial reduction in CO2.

The turbine within your turbocharger recovers a part of the exhaust energy which would have been otherwise lost, by expanding exhaust gases around a rotating wheel. This turbine wheel is driven into rotation and its mechanical power is transmitted to the compressor, which vacuums fresh air from ambient and compresses it toward the engine intake receiver. This gives the engine a higher air mass per cycle.

When you start to drill down into the numbers, turbocharging can offer unbeatable value for customers. For example, turbochargers for two-stroke engines commonly used in container, tanker and bulker ships can provide up to 400% more power at a price that’s considerably less than 1% of the vessel’s cost. Turbochargers on both two-stroke and four-stroke engines can provide up to 75% of the engine’s power, despite equating to around 10% of the overall engine cost.

Using an example of an average 2,000 kW engine with a 25-year lifecycle at 50% load, CO2 emissions are likely to see a 14% decrease, with the ship owner/operator saving 23,000 tons of CO2 over 25 years simply by opting for a turbocharged engine. NOx emissions are reduced by 9%, at 2,900 tons compared to 3,200 tons.

Using an example of an average 2,000 kW engine with a 25-year lifecycle at 50% load, there’s a huge difference between turbocharged and naturally aspirated engines when it comes to fuel efficiency. The turbocharged version is likely to be around 14% more efficient, requiring 41,600 tons of fuel compared to 48,200 tons for the naturally aspirated version. This is impressive enough on a single engine and vessel but imagine the potential for fleet owners.

When properly maintained, turbochargers can last for decades, helping to make engines more efficient for the lifetime of your equipment. Global towage operator Svitzer has run some of Accelleron’s turbochargers on its fleet of 440 vessels for more than 30 years, and the Accelleron RR221-14 turbochargers aboard the Svitzer Sarah are a great example of what can be achieved when equipment is properly maintained, with the Accelleron RR turbocharger a mainstay of the marine world for an incredible 50 years.

While the principle of recovering exhaust gasses remains the same, not all turbochargers are created equal Two-stage turbocharging provides even more scope for efficiency than a traditional turbocharger, featuring two compressor and turbine stages rather than a single solution. The initial low-pressure stage feeds a high-pressure stage, enabling engine builders to increase compression ratios far higher. Thanks to the additional thermodynamic benefits of intercooling between both compressors, two-stage solutions such as Accelleron’s Power2 provide turbocharging efficiency above 75%, compared to 65% for conventional turbochargers.

It’s critical that a turbocharger matches your engine and requirements perfectly if you want the best results, and that’s where compressor maps come in. A compressor map basically shows the operating area of a turbocharger’s compressor, providing transparency over how the turbocharger is performing, and in turn enabling us to turn data into actionable insights. This can make a huge difference, whether it’s picking the best turbocharger for your requirements or ensuring the equipment you have is running properly and efficiently over its entire lifetime.

Alfred Büchi patented a ‘highly supercharged compound engine’ in 1905, describing an axial compressor, a radial piston engine and an axial turbine on the same shaft. The idea of using turbomachinery to recover exhaust energy to drive the supercharging compressor was born. Not long after, while Büchi was still making a name for himself, engineering pioneer Auguste Rateau began working with a company called BBC (Brown, Boveri & Cie) – which would eventually become the Accelleron you know today – to build and test some of the world’s first turbochargers.

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Diesel engines can be split into three different types: High-speed, medium-speed and low-speed. So, what’s the difference? High-speed engines run at around 1200rpm or more and are generally found in smaller applications such as cars, trucks or construction vehicles, or powering generators. As the name suggests, medium-speed engines sit between high and low-speed engines, running at around 400rpm or more. These are often used in larger applications including smaller boats and larger electrical generators. Low-speed engines run at less than 400rpm and are most typically found in larger ships.

While the majority of modern ships run on diesel, there are plenty of downsides and challenges as we look towards a more sustainable world, not least when it comes to emissions and upcoming legislation. This has resulted in the shipping industry looking at alternative fuels, including LNG, methanol, hydrogen and ammonia. We’ve also seen electric and nuclear used in more specific applications, and we’ll be looking at all of these fuels in depth here on charge! magazine.

Turbochargers have been making internal combustion engines more efficient for more than a century, and their application can be found across a huge range of industries. Accelleron has been creating turbochargers for the maritime industry for decades, but outside of ships our turbochargers can also be found on construction equipment, trains, power stations, and plenty of more unusual industries. Turbochargers are also commonly found on millions of cars and trucks around the world.

With the ability to turn often unexpected and untimely capital costs into more predictable and manageable operating costs, a service agreement can make all the difference to the success of your company. Not only will a service agreement help you to budget more efficiently, it can also make a big difference when it comes to preventing unplanned downtime. Find out more about service agreements here.

Unplanned downtime can cost businesses a huge amount of money in lost revenue, fines or other costs, which is why we’ve seen our customers go to great lengths to carry out maintenance without disruption to existing schedules. There are multiple ways you can help to avoid unplanned downtime, including following general service and maintenance schedules, monitoring for vital warning signs, and making upgrades to your equipment. Find out more about avoiding unplanned downtime here.

Cleaning your turbocharger delivers plenty of benefits, including improved scavenge air pressure and lower exhaust gas temperatures, resulting in more efficient performance and a longer lifetime for parts. Cleaning can include wet cleaning the turbine and nozzle ring on four-stroke engines, dry cleaning the turbine and nozzle ring on two-stroke engines, and cleaning the compressor during operation for two and four-stroke engines. Find out more about cleaning your turbocharger here.

Put simply additive manufacturing involves printing components using thin layers of materials that are meticulously layered on top of each other. It’s also more popularly known as 3D printing, and provides the potential to revolutionize turbocharger manufacturing and every other industry. Find out everything you need to know about additive manufacturing here.

Surging is a disruption of the airflow within the turbocharger, where increased backpressure can create turbulence that prevents efficient running, with the potential to cause unwanted oscillations, vibrations and increased wear on the parts. If ignored surging can cause major issues to other components, and should be investigated immediately. Find out everything you need to know about surging here.

Although buying third-party components can seem like a cheaper, more attractive option when it comes to maintenance, there are also risks to consider, as well as additional costs further down the line. These include the potential for lower grade materials, poor tolerances, greater wear and tear, corrosion, and out of balance or worn parts. If running your business efficiently matters to you, the benefits of buying OEM service parts are easy to see – find out more here.

A microgrid is a self-sufficient energy source that’s generally designed to serve local power needs. Despite the name, there are no constraints on size, with the ability to connect clusters of microgrids to create larger, more powerful, systems. A microgrid could provide power to just a couple of homes, or it could also be used to provide electricity to thousands. Find out more about microgrids and how they often benefit from turbochargers here.

Turbochargers used in power generation are often more cost-effective than solutions found in applications such as marine, oil and gas. They’re not subjected to the same wear and tear, so can feature simpler, more affordable components, such as their bearing housings.

Turbochargers used for marine, oil and gas often include more sophisticated components, including a bearing housing with water cooling, for example. This is more orientated towards applications that run for longer hours. It’s also better suited to an application that will need to be serviced and where operational costs play an important part.

Like marine, oil and gas, turbochargers used in mining and rail applications also require more sophisticated components than those found in power generation applications. These include a water-cooled bearing housing, but Accelleron’s turbochargers for mining and railway applications also feature special wear protection and sealing elements, which result in a very durable product that can operate in particularly harsh conditions.

Through digital technology such as Tekomar XPERT, Accelleron enables the sustainability transformation of its customers in marine and power generation. Accelleron provides the capability to make data-driven decisions, through measurements, alerts and advice, helping customers to reduce their engines’ over-consumption of resources.