Hi there,

My name is Zack, it is nice to meet you all. I am working with a team of engineers on a lightweight composite turbine/compressor rotor technology. I am posting this because I am trying to assess the potential for this technology in the turbocharger field. We have a manufacturing process of using a composite material that is 8 times less dense than steel. My understanding of turbo lag is that using a lighter rotor for the turbine or compressor will result in reduced response time/turbo lag. My understanding is that some companies have manufactured turbine/compressor wheels for turbochargers using ceramic materials, but these can shatter. We would not have this problem with what we are developing, and we aim to have our rotor wheels 1/2 the weight of the ceramic wheels as well resulting in even better performance. Being as I am new to the field of turbochargers, I am not sure what the implications/concerns for using lighter weight rotors would be, or whether or not this is an opportunity worth pursuing. For example, if a new turbocharger option from a new company came around advertising that their turbochargers have 30% of the turbo lag of traditional metal turbochargers with the same boost performance, would this be a major selling point/advantage?

Also any of you would like to talk to me on the phone or via PM, I would love to talk to someone to get a better handle on the turbo lag situation.

Any comments/thoughts on the implications of lighter rotors would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

 

Welcome theZack I don't have enough knowledge on the turbo itself to make a proper comment but to me as a first time turbo guy , would be looking at pricing as well as quality . if your products could be produced ( as well as any type of company ) at a reasonable compared price with proven dependability people would buy. Myself as a novice I can't afford a 1300.00 turbo or any TOP NOTCH product and still keep my project on the table .. Heck if you really want to impress someone produce a proven hot side that doesn't weigh 12 pounds with the with the new light turbines in both sides IMO you would have a winner overnight .
Many people go to great lengths to drop a pound or two from their entire vehicle mass weight .. If those same people could drop 6-7 pounds or more (( and still have the reliability of what they had before )) well it would be a win , win .. .. From what I loose in lag I gain in enthusiasm . Again welcome and Good luck .

 

There is a certain stigma of plastic failing when exposed to heat cycles. The drive hub will need to be isolated from the heat some how. It will need to be positively driven, Square or spline possibly. I see no reason the compressor housing could not be composite to reduce weight. I can see where the turbine could be larger, more boost , without adding weight

 

I am familiar with the new composites my concerns are price vs. other options. Variable Geometry Turbos handle lag problems well. What market are you going after and how do you plan handle the design aspect of compressor wheels. There could be a market if you keep cost low enough and production costs low enough. But it would be such a niche market.

 

I've got a good friend that may be interested in what you are doing. His name is Reed Patridge @ Workturbochargers. Shoot him an email

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, I'll tell him to look out for it.

Tommy

 

Thanks everyone for your replies and thoughts. We are considering a composite housing along with the composite wheels. As for the target market we are going after, we are not sure at this point, any thoughts on where this would be most needed would be greatly appreciated. We are experienced when it comes to the design of the wheels itself, we have aerodynamic experts on our team. Our primary question at this point is what kind of value this could have in different areas of the turbocharger market.

Thank you very much for the connection pe_turbo, I will be emailing him soon.

 

depends on dependability and performance vs. $$

 

What type of composite are you using that can handle 2000* temperatures? With the loads and temperature ranges of a turbo hotside, i can't see any composite holding together. Even the F1 guys aren't using composite turbines.


I could see CNC compressor wheels and housings selling well as long as you could keep the price in the ballpark of the billet compressors.

 

I was thinking about this, and isn't in SOME cases a little weight here a good thing to keep the "flywheel effect" going? Probably more for on/off situations like manual trans cars.

 

The composite we are using can handle the compressor side, however the turbine side is an area of active development for us. It may not be possible using the methods we are working on, but we have some plans for making a durable turbine side we will be testing.