Volume 11 Issue 2 ( June )

The inlet flow characteristics of an automotive turbine rotor have direct influence on turbine efficiency. The objectives of this study are to compare fluid characteristics of two numerical models, a non-coupled (NC) and two-way coupled (2-WC) fluid-structure interaction simulation models at turbine rotor inlet and to assess their significance. Simulations were developed using Finite Volume Method, Finite Element Analysis and Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian formulation via ANSYS. Results show that there is no significant difference between NC and 2-WC models to compute overall turbine performance but show differences of flow characteristics at tongue area and turbine blade structural performance.

Keywords: mixed flow turbine, turbocharger, fluid-structure interaction, CFD, FEA, System Coupling, engineering