Numerical and experimental investigation of turbocharged diesel engine power recovery at high altitudes

The performance of turbocharged diesel engine at high altitudes can be improved by improving the power recovery of diesel engines at high altitudes. The performance of an air cooled diesel engine with a turbocharger and cooler system was investigated experimentally and analytically at sea level and high altitudes. Two methods were developed to improve the power recovery. One method reduced the turbine through-flow area from 16 cm² to 11 cm². The other method was to design a variable geometry turbocharger system. The experimental results show that the high altitudes greatly influence the engine performance. The simulation results show that both methods can improve the diesel engine performance at high altitudes and realize the target of obtaining 85% of the sea-level power at 4500 m.