Compressor Modeling for Control of Automotive Two Stage Turbochargers

Abstract: There is a demand for increasing efficiency of automotive engines, and one way to achieve this is through downsizing and turbocharging. In the design compromises are made, for example the maximum power of the engine determines the size of the compressor, but since the compressor mass flow range is limited, this affects the torque for low engine speeds. A two stage system, with two different sized turbochargers, reduces this compromise, but the system complexity increases. To handle the complexity, models have come to play a central role where they aid engineers in the design. Models are used in simulation, for design optimization and also in the control synthesis. In all applications it is vital that the models have good descriptive capabilities for the entire operating range studied.A novel control oriented compressor model is developed, with good performance in the operating regions relevant for compressors in a two stage system. In addition to the nominal operating regime, also surge, choke and operation at pressure ratios less than unity, are modeled. The model structure can be automatically parametrized using a compressor map, and is based on static functions for low computational cost. A sensitivity analysis, isolating the important characteristics that influence surge transients in an engine is performed, and the gains of a novel surge controller are quantified.A compressor map is usually measured in a gas stand, that has different surrounding systems, compared to the application where the compressor is used. A method to automatically determine a turbo map, when the turbo is installed on an engine in an engine test stand is developed. The map can then be used to parametrize the developed compressor model, and effectively create a model parametrized for its intended application.An experimental analysis of the applicability of the commonly used correction factors, used for estimating compressor performance when the inlet conditions deviate from nominal, is presented. Correction factors are vital, to e.g. estimate turbocharger performance for driving at high altitude or to analyze second stage compressor performance, where the variations in inlet conditions are large. The experimental campaign uses measurements from an engine test cell and from a gas stand, and shows a small, but clearly measurable trend, with decreasing compressor pressure ratio for decreasing compressor inlet pressure, for points with equal corrected shaft speed and corrected mass flow. A method is developed, enabling measurements to be analyzed with modified corrections. An adjusted shaft speed correction quantity is proposed, incorporating also the inlet pressure in the shaft speed correction. A high altitude example is used to quantify the influence of the modified correction.