Turbocharger Rotors
A spectacular application of advanced ceramics, involving a complex shape (shown in Figure 9-8) and high stresses, has been for turbocharger rotors. These rotors were introduced in 1988, in Japan, as an outgrowth of the development of silicon nitride gas turbine engine components.
Located in the engine exhaust, a turbocharger extracts some of the energy from the hot engine gases, which normally would be wasted, and uses that energy to boost the power and performance of the car's engine.
Turbochargers with metal rotors had been standard equipment on trucks for many years and were Introduced to some cars in the 1970s and 1980s.
The sales appeal of a turbocharger was that the extra energy boost it supplied would give a four-cylinder engine as much zip as a six-cylinder engine.
Drivers weren't as impressed as the auto manufacturers expected, though. The metal rotor was so heavy that it caused a lag or hesitation, when the driver stepped on the accelerator, rather than allowing the car to immediately leap forward with maximum power.
At about one-third the weight of a metal rotor, a silicon nitride ceramic rotor could accelerate to speed much more quickly and thus didn't irritate the driver with hesitation or lag.
Turbochargers with ceramic rotors became very popular in Japan, where approximately 30,000 ceramic turbocharger rotors were produced per month starting in 1988.
Turbocharger Rotors
A spectacular application of advanced ceramics, involving a complex shape (shown in Figure 9-8) and high stresses, has been for turbocharger rotors. These rotors were introduced in 1988, in Japan, as an outgrowth of the development of silicon nitride gas turbine engine components.
Located in the engine exhaust, a turbocharger extracts some of the energy from the hot engine gases, which normally would be wasted, and uses that energy to boost the power and performance of the car's engine.
Turbochargers with metal rotors had been standard equipment on trucks for many years and were Introduced to some cars in the 1970s and 1980s.
The sales appeal of a turbocharger was that the extra energy boost it supplied would give a four-cylinder engine as much zip as a six-cylinder engine.
Drivers weren't as impressed as the auto manufacturers expected, though. The metal rotor was so heavy that it caused a lag or hesitation, when the driver stepped on the accelerator, rather than allowing the car to immediately leap forward with maximum power.
At about one-third the weight of a metal rotor, a silicon nitride ceramic rotor could accelerate to speed much more quickly and thus didn't irritate the driver with hesitation or lag.
Turbochargers with ceramic rotors became very popular in Japan, where approximately 30,000 ceramic turbocharger rotors were produced per month starting in 1988.
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