Converting an automobile turbocharger into a micro gas turbine

Abstract

A low cost micro turbojet made by using an automobile turbocharger and other automobile components for research is presented in this paper. The machine comprises mainly of three main assemblies, the compressor & turbine assembly, the combustion chamber and the lubrication & cooling accessories. Carefully selected turbocharger with correct compressor & turbine combination by taking into account their efficiencies and losses associated with their small size and suitably designed combustion chamber results in a self-sustaining turbojet. The combustion chamber is composed of a combustion liner/flame tube and an outer cylinder. The flame tube is divided into three different zones to allow complete combustion and cooling of hot gases. The fuel used is liquid petroleum gas (LPG). The maximum pressure recorded in the combustion chamber was 11.5 psi and a pressure loss of about 4%. The maximum rpm (revolutions per minute) of the engine ranged to 84000.