Numerical Investigation on Material Optimization of Turbocharger

This research investigates about a critical area of turbocharger failure and tends to study the impacts of stresses on turbine wheel. As the turbine wheel of a turbocharger is one of the highly stressed components in automotive engines, it is commonly subjected to creeps and deformations which lead to the failure of the turbocharger and, in turn, damages the engine. Hence, to study these phenomena and to identify the regions of failure, a 3D model of a Turbocharger is designed in Creo 8.0, followed by a comprehensive Thermo-Structural analysis conducted using Ansys 2023 R1. This coupled Finite Element Analysis proved to be instrumental in accurately determining the thermal stress induced warpage due to heat transfer, enabling the consideration of this factor in evaluating three critical mechanical characteristics - Total Maximum Deformation, Equivalent Strain and Equivalent Stress. The localization of stress-induced failures is validated by comparing the numerical results with real-world observed failures as well as aligning them with existing research. The derived data were then subsequently compared across three different materials that are commonly used in the manufacturing of turbine wheels. The unique chemical composition of Mar-M246, featuring 10% Cobalt, 10% Tungsten, and a higher proportion of Carbon content compared to Inconel 713C and Inconel 783, contributes to its impressive high temperature strength, lower ductility, enhanced hot hardness, improved creep and oxidation resistance. This formulation results in minimal deformation of just 0.648 mm in turbine wheel when the turbocharger is operating at 95,000 rpm. On the basis of the comparison deduced, this study concludes that Mar-M246 outperforms the other two materials.