Investigation of Gas Blow-by Through Turbocharger Sealing System Using Advanced Computational Simulations

Gas blow-by flow through a turbocharger sealing system has a significant effect on lubricant consumption and the formation of particles. This paper presents an experimentally validated computational model to quantify the mass flow of gasses through a sealing system as a function of operating conditions. The computational model is applied to a truck engine turbocharger and the results are verified experimentally. The results show that the gas blow-by is not only influenced by the geometrical parameters of the lubrication system but is controlled by the thermo-mechanical loading of the turbocharger, with a non-negligible influence of the radial dynamics of the rotor.