A theoretical-experimental study is presented in the paper, whose objective is to propose a method that allows determining the average efficiency of the radial turbines, usually employed in the internal combustion engines, under real operating conditions.
Due to the unsteady behaviour of the exhaust gasses flow, the efficiency information obtained from steady flow tests cannot be considered when the turbine is connected to an internal combustion engine. The efficiency differences between steady and unsteady flow patterns, can be obtained by testing the turbine, connected to the engine, under real pulsating flow conditions.
For the correct turbine workflow characterisation, a wave action model has been used, together with information obtained from engine tests. The engine test cell includes a specific measuring device for this purpose. The results obtained have been compared with those provided by the turbine manufacturer. In this way, it has been possible to quantify the efficiency differences due to the pulsating behaviour of the exhaust gases flow.