A methodology for turbocharging single cylinder four stroke internal combustion engines

Abstract

This thesis presents a method for turbocharging single cylinder four stroke internal combustion engines, a model used to evaluate it, an experimental setup used to test it, and the findings of this experiment. A turbocharged engine has better fuel economy, cost efficiency, and power density than an equivalently sized, naturally aspirated engine. Most multi-cylinder diesel engines are turbocharged for this reason. However, due to the timing mismatch between the exhaust stroke, when the turbocharger is powered, and the intake stroke, when the engine intakes air, turbocharging is not used in commercial single cylinder engines. Single cylinder engines are ubiquitous in developing world off grid power applications such as tractors, generators, and water pumps due to their low cost. Turbocharging these engines could give users a lower cost and more fuel efficient engine. The proposed solution is to add an air capacitor, in the form of a large volume intake manifold, in between the turbocharger compressor and the engine intake to smooth out the flow.