A Study on the Effect of Turbocharger Wheel Aerodynamic Characteristics on Thrust Bearing Thrust by Using CFD Aerodynamic Performance Method

The turbocharger is a device that turns the turbine with engine exhaust gas flow energy, turns the compressor with this torque, and maximizes the performance of the engine by pushing the intake air to a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure. During turbocharger rotation, thrust is generated by the aerodynamic forces of the wheel. And thrust is transmitted in the axial direction of the rotor dynamical system. At this time, a thrust bearing supporting the thrust generated in the axial direction is required. Therefore, for the thrust bearing design, it is required to calculate the thrust force that can be supported. The CFD analysis is used to calculate the thrust of the wheel and to find out how to predict the bearing thrust through the matching of the compressor and the turbine wheel. Through this study, we investigate the effect of wheel thrust on thrust bearing and establish the development process of thrust bearing.