Estimation of Turbulent Length Scales at a Turbocharger Inlet Using Particle Image Velocimetry

Stereoscopic Particle Image Velocimetry measurements are carried out at the inlet of a turbocharger compressor at four different shaft speeds from 80,000 rpm to 140,000 rpm and over the entire range of flow rates from choke to mild surge. This paper describes the procedure used in processing the PIV data leading to the estimates of turbulent length scales – integral, Taylor, and Kolmogorov, to enhance the fundamental understanding and characterization of the compressor inlet flow field. The analysis reveals that at most operating conditions the three different length scales have markedly different magnitudes, as expected, while they have somewhat similar qualitative distributions with respect to the duct radius. For example, at 80,000 rpm and at a flow rate of 15.7 g/s (mild surge), the longitudinal integral length scale is of the order of 15 mm, the Taylor scale is around 0.5 mm, and the Kolmogorov scale is about 10 microns. With the onset of flow reversal, the turbulent kinetic energy and turbulent intensity at the compressor inlet are observed to increase rapidly, while the magnitudes of the Kolmogorov scale and to a certain extent, the Taylor scale are found to decrease suggesting that the increased turbulence gives rise to even smaller flow structures. The variation of length scales with compressor shaft speed has also been studied.