A method for determining turbocharger performance on installations in an engine test bench is developed and investigated. The focus is on the mapping of compressor performance but some attention is also given to the turbine mapping. An analysis of the limits that an engine installation imposes on the reachable points in the compressor map is performed, in particular it shows what corrected flows and pressure ratios can be reached and what these limitations depend on. To be able to span over a larger region of the corrected flow a throttle before the compressor is suggested and this is also verified in the test bench.
Turbocharger mapping is a time consuming process and there is a need for a systematic process that can be executed automatically. An engine and test cell control structure that can be used to automate and monitor the measurements by controlling the system to the desired operating points is also proposed.
In experiments, used for constructing the compressor speed lines, it is virtually impossible to control the turbocharger to the exact corrected speed that is postulated by the speed line. To overcome this two methods that compensate for the deviation between measured speed and the desired speed are proposed and investigated. Detailed data from a gas stand is used to evaluate the measurements compared to those that are generated in the engine test cell installation. The agreements are generally good but there is more noise in the engine data and there are also some small systematic deviations.