Pressure wave technology – An interesting approach in supercharging

Abstract

The current concerns of mankind on reducing the disastrous effects of global climate warming have led to measures that involve improving the performance of internal combustion engines (ICE). Supercharging is one of the methods of increasing efficiency and thus optimizing ICE’s energy management. The pressure wave superchargers (PWS) proved to be an economic solution with a simple geometry and fast operating response. The researchers’ efforts to develop the pressure wave devices, encountered a rather slow progress during more than a century since the first pressure exchanger was proposed, mainly caused by the meticulous calculation and simulation of the complex phenomena occurring inside the rotor channels. Currently, progress in computerized programs has facilitated modeling and understanding of these processes. Continuous incentives for achieving energy efficiency together with replacing the older technology with new and innovative one have stimulated lately new interest in wave rotor technology. This paper is reviewing the main features of the PWS, acknowledging the past laborious work of several researchers, which led to the actual performances of the pressure wave technology applications, especially on the vehicle and aircraft propulsion systems. Also, it is presented a system of equations for non-steady, compressible and viscous flow of fluids working within a PWS.