Cambered vane for use in turbochargers

A turbocharger assembly comprising:

• a turbine housing having an exhaust gas inlet and an exhaust outlet, and a volute connected to the inlet;
• a turbine wheel carried within the turbine housing and attached to a shaft;
• a plurality of vanes disposed within the turbine housing between the exhaust gas inlet and turbine wheel, each vane comprising:
• an inner airfoil surface;
• an outer airfoil surface oriented opposite the inner airfoil surface, the inner and outer airfoil surfaces defining a vane thickness;
• a leading edge positioned along a first inner and outer airfoil surface junction;
• a trailing edge positioned along a second inner and outer airfoil surface junction, the leading and trailing edges defining a vane length;
• an axial surface disposed between the inner and outer airfoil surfaces;
• a pin projecting outwardly from the axial surface;
• and
• an arm attached to an end of the pin opposite the vane and comprising a single outer end;
• a first ring attached to a portion of the turbocharger and comprising a plurality of openings, wherein the vanes are rotatably mounted on the first ring by engagement of the pins within the openings;
• and
• a second ring disposed within the turbocharger and positioned adjacent the first ring, the second ring being rotationally movable relative to the first ring and including a plurality of slots, each vane arm outer end being disposed within a respective slot;
• wherein the inner airfoil and outer airfoil surfaces define a camberline positioned therebetween and extending from the leading edge to the trailing edge, wherein the camberline includes a curved section, and is substantially flat along at least about the first five percent of the vane length moving from the leading edge, and wherein the leading edge is defined by a radius of curvature that is in the range of about 10 to 30 percent of the maximum vane thickness;
• and
• wherein the vane has a thickness at a location on the vane a distance from the leading edge of approximately three quarters the vane length that is no less than about 40 percent of the vane thickness at a location on the vane a distance from the leading edge of approximately one-half the vane length.