The power of turbocharging

SAE 100 Future look: Today, exactly 100 years later, more than 50% of all newly registered passenger cars in Europe are turbodiesels.

In 1905, Alfred J Buchi, a Swiss engineer, filed the first patent for turbochargers to be applied to internal-combustion (IC) engines. Due to its superior performance and reliability, the turbodiesel dominates the European luxury vehicle market. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), four of the top 10 most fuel-efficient vehicles for sale in the U.S. for the 2005 model year are turbodiesels. Indications are that the turbodiesel will see a growth rate in the U.S. similar to that in Europe in the coming years.

Internal-combustion engines use a lot of air-about 9000 L per liter of gasoline and about 20,000 L per liter of diesel fuel. As a result, ensuring proper supply of air is critical for fuel-economy improvement and emissions control. Since the filing of the first patent, turbochargers have kept pace with IC engines with innovations such as pulse turbocharging, divided scrolls, wastegates, higher speeds, lighter materials, variable-geometry turbines, and compressors.