Turbocharger including cast titanium compressor wheel
AssigneeBorg-Warner Corporation
InventorsDavid Decker, Stephan ROBY
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An air boost device such as a turbocharger, wherein the compressor wheel thereof is re-designed to permit die inserts (20), which occupy the air passage and define the blades (4, 5) during a process of forming a wax pattern (21) of a compressor wheel, to be pulled without being impeded by the blades. This modified blade design enables the automated production of wax patterns (21) using simplified tooling. The compressor wheel improves low cycle fatigue, withstands high temperatures and temperature changes, and permits operation at high boost pressure ratio while, on the other hand, having low weight, low inertial drag, and high responsiveness.
Claims20
An air boost device comprising:
- a compressor housing having an air inlet and an air outlet;
- and
- a compressor wheel mounted for rotation within said compressor housing, wherein said compressor wheel is a titanium centrifugal compressor wheel including:
- a hub defining an axis of rotation, and
- a plurality of backswept aerodynamic blades carried on the surface of said hub and defining air passages between adjacent blades,
- wherein each of said air passages is definable by from one to three solid die inserts which can be inserted between and pulled from between said blades without deformation of said dies or blades.
A turbocharger comprising:
- a turbine housing including an exhaust gas inlet and an exhaust gas outlet;
- a turbine wheel rotationally mounted within said turbine housing;
- a compressor housing including an air inlet and an air outlet;
- and
- a titanium centrifugal compressor wheel rotationally driven by said turbine wheel, wherein said titanium centrifugal compressor wheel comprises:
- a hub defining an axis of rotation, and
- a plurality of backswept aerodynamic blades carried on the surface of said hub and defining air passages between adjacent blades,
- wherein each of said air passages is definable by from one to three solid die inserts which can be inserted between and pulled from between said blades without deformation of said dies or blades.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.