How does a supercharger work video

That said, turbos are generally easier to package, weigh less, and are more efficient. They are also easier to tune and cost less to replace. Yes, but they are less efficient than turbocharged diesel engines. With the main focus of diesel engines after their torque being fuel economy, supercharged diesels are not common. Generally, a supercharged V8 is the kind that you'll be most likely to have come across, although there have been numerous supercharged V6 models and even supercharged inline engines.

The reason for this is the wealth of low-end torque produced by a V8, which helps offset the power sap that a supercharger causes at very low rpm. V8s also displace a lot of air, and the more air there is to compress, the more impressive the effects of the supercharger will be - assuming that the supercharger is right for the application, of course. What Is A Supercharger?

Read in this article:. What is a Supercharger? How Does a Supercharger Work? Types of Superchargers With turbochargers, there are also various types, but they all work in relatively similar ways; you can read up on everything turbocharger-related here.

Positive Displacement : The positive displacement supercharger is the most common kind and has sub-types that include the Roots, Lysholm twin-screw, sliding vane, and scroll-type, which is also known as the G-Lader.

The Roots-type blower is the oldest of the various types out there and is one of the simplest. Furthermore, it can be very effective at developing positive intake manifold pressure at low engine speeds, thus sacrificing very little in the way of throttle response.

But what you really need to know is the basic principles of positive displacement, not how each type of supercharger works. Two subcategories for positive displacement superchargers are internal and external compression types.

External compression 'chargers transfer air at ambient pressure, so while the supercharger is boosting, the air inside the supercharger remains at ambient pressure and only air downstream of the supercharger is compressed.

Subsequently, these superchargers are very good at moving air at low-pressure differentials. Ultimately, however, positive displacement superchargers work in a linear fashion, so boost at 2, rpm is doubled when the engine reaches 4, rpm. This is good for consistency but means that low-down, you may not have as much power as you would like. Internal compression refers to the air pressure within the supercharger itself.

This air pressure is already at, or close to, boost level and can be delivered in a smooth manner with little or no backflow. Internal compression superchargers use a fixed internal compression ratio, so when the boost pressure is equal to the compression pressure of the supercharger, you get zero backflow. Of course, if the boost pressure rises beyond its target, then you can still get backflow as with a Roots supercharger, but the internal compression ratio of this kind of supercharger can be matched to the targeted boost pressure to optimize mechanical efficiency and rarely deviates above this without errors in tuning.

As you can see, extracting more out of it can be tricky, so this type of supercharger is less suitable for high-horsepower applications, but throttle response is noticeably better here. Dynamic : Dynamic compressors accelerate the air to a high speed and then exchange that velocity for pressure by diffusing slowing down the air. The most common type in the automotive industry is the centrifugal supercharger, which looks very much like a turbocharger.

As the name suggests, it uses centrifugal force to generate pressure, and like a turbo, that centrifugal force is generated by a spinning turbine. In a turbocharger, this turbine is spun by waste exhaust gasses, while in a centrifugal supercharger, the turbine is driven by a belt that is connected to the crankshaft.

Efficiency has both mechanical power consumption and thermal heating of the compressed air factors. A higher efficiency means the supercharger consumes less energy from the engine powering it, and produces less heat. There is substantial heat within an engine compartment, and some supercharger designs allow substantial heat transfer from the engine and other components to the supercharger.

This in turn allows additional heat to be transferred to the air being compressed inside the supercharger, effectively decreasing efficiency. A good illustration of this is comparing a centrifugal supercharger mounted to the side of an engine or in front of the engine, relative to a positive displacement blower mounted on top of an engine.

Comparatively, the centrifugal supercharger has minimal heat transfer from the engine, and is typically positioned in a fresh air stream. The positive displacement supercharger, on the other hand, can heat soak fairly quickly from engine top mounting. Thermal imaging has been used to illustrate this concept well. For street use, it is well known that air-to-air intercooling offers superior performance relative to air-to-water intercoolers.

This is in part due to the fact that air-to-water intercooling for street use involves a secondary heat exchanger, and is actually air-to-water-to-air intercooling. This two-step design limits intercooler system effectiveness relative to air-to-air designs. Positive displacement superchargers, however, are not able to easily utilize air-to-air intercoolers due to their engine-top mounting, and typically utilize air-to-water-to-air intercoolers.

Almost all turbochargers and centrifugal superchargers utilize air-to-air intercooler systems due to their higher effectiveness. Because of their high-efficiency design that includes minimal heat transfer, centrifugal superchargers produce larger power gains than positive displacement blowers.

The ability to utilize highly effective air-to-air intercooling is a further advantage. Relative to turbochargers, centrifugal superchargers will produce larger power gains when running pump gas on the street.

With racing fuel to combat detonation, however, turbochargers can produce large power gains on racing engines. Due to this, for hardcore racing, the primary advantage of centrifugal superchargers in race cars becomes consistency and repeatability. Overall, centrifugal superchargers are an excellent way to boost engine performance in a reliable and street-legal way for a variety of vehicles.

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