TCR turbochargers with a pressure ratio up to 5.4

Last year PBS Turbo unveiled a new optimised compressor that allows TCR series turbochargers to be used on engines requiring a pressure ratio of up to 5.4. A wide variety of tests were carried out over two years, culminating in matching trials on engines from market leading manufacturers.

As well as enabling this higher pressure ratio, PBS Turbo has implemented a solution that prolongs the life of the compressor wheel, using new technology developed by MAN Diesel & Turbo. The compressor wheel is made of an aluminium alloy capable of withstanding high circumferential speeds and elevated temperatures without negatively affecting the charging efficiency. PBS Turbo uses this technology in the turbochargers that it manufacturers, enabling it to keep prices affordable for customers while considerably increasing usage value.

Water-cooled bearing housings, including the technology of compressor wheel cooling developed by MAN, and improved rotor seals, have also been subjected to a long test programme. This technology, together with new materials for parts on the turbine side, extends the suitability of turbochargers for engines with high exhaust gas temperatures.

Another important success achieved by PBS Turbo has been the widening of the TCR range of turbochargers to include smaller sizes. In 2009, following the successful launch of TCR12, the development of TCR10 was accomplished in record time. Turbochargers have undergone many developments at PBS Turbo over the last few years, and are now available to cover engines in the 300–450kW range with mean effective pressure of up to 26 bar.

PBS Turbo has also been engaged in long-term research. The company has completed all the stages of development of a variable turbine area turbocharger and has already begun field installations. Significant progress has been achieved to meet regulation, with research now complete in the field of changing the compressor surge limit position and testing the variable turbine area of the nozzle ring.

Testing has begun on a new generation of turbochargers designed for the two-stage charging group. A new test stand has been built for such tests. The pilot project was TCX14 which is now ready for running tests on engines.

In addition to its own research and development programmes, PBS Turbo is participating in a number of development projects, including turbochargers for high pressure ratios (under the aegis of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic) and the Hercules-B project (under the aegis of the European Commission).

Overview: PBS Turbo

PBS Turbo has been manufacturing turbochargers for 50 years. To maintain its competitiveness the company has embarked on a new strategy that has already seen the introduction of new processes, optimisation of corporate logistics and more efficient management of new technologies.

Some of the new processes have already proven effective in helping the company counter challenging market conditions brought about by the recent global economic downturn. By implementing a policy of flexibility, together with a new layout of the entire production process, the company is able to offer its customers delivery terms for series production products with a considerably reduced lead time.

The turbocharger assembly shop is organised in independent assembly cells able to produce a wide variety of models in any sequence. This delivers the flexibility that is needed to maintain unit quantities as well as consistently high quality.

From the customer’s point of view the crucial aspect is the product: its technical parameters, durability, reliability, compactness, maintenance requirements and through-life service costs. In this respect, PBS Turbo has notched up some notable achievements in recent years, which would not have been possible without the support provided by parent company MAN Diesel & Turbo. It has also benefited from a close relationship with its customers, which has been especially useful for testing new products. For several years, PBS Turbo has been actively involved in the development of the latest generation of MAN Diesel & Turbo turbochargers TCR series. The small models have been produced in Velká Bíteš in the Czech Republic since 2004. WTG