The present invention relates to a multi-stage supercharging system and the device and method for controlling the multi-stage supercharging system.
For the purpose of realizing higher output power and lower power consumption, double-stage supercharging systems have been conventionally proposed for internal-combustion engines. For example, PTL 1 discloses a double-stage supercharging system configured such that a cooler is interposed between a low-pressure turbocharger and a high-pressure turbocharger and that a flow of air compressed at the low-pressure turbocharger is cooled at the cooler and then, is supplied to the high-pressure turbocharger.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2012-87737
In the above-described double-stage supercharging system, when the sucked air is cooled by the cooler, moisture contained in the compressed air is condensed to generate water mist. There is a probability that the water mist collides against an impeller of the latter-stage supercharger, leading to damage of the impeller. With damage of the impeller, the efficiency of the supercharger is lowered. In addition, if a broken piece(s) enters a cylinder of an internal-combustion engine, such a broken piece(s) causes, e.g., sliding portion failure or seizure.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described situation, and is intended to provide a multi-stage supercharging system capable of reducing generation of water mist in cooling of compressed air and to provide the device and method for controlling the multi-stage supercharging system.
A first aspect of the present invention provides a control device of a multi-stage supercharging system which includes a first supercharger of a low-pressure side, a cooling unit that cools air discharged from the first supercharger, and a second supercharger of a high-pressure side that compresses the discharged air after cooling and which supplies, to an internal-combustion engine, air compressed in at least two stages. The control device includes an information acquisition section that acquires, as input information, the sucked air temperature, the sucked air humidity, the sucked air pressure, and the discharge pressure of the first supercharger, a water vapor partial pressure calculation section that calculates the water vapor partial pressure of the discharged air of the first supercharger by using the sucked air temperature, the sucked air humidity, the sucked air pressure, and the discharge pressure of the first supercharger as parameters, a target temperature setting section that sets, as a target temperature, a temperature at which the water vapor partial pressure calculated by the water vapor partial pressure calculation section reaches a saturated water vapor pressure, and a cooling control section that controls the cooling unit such that the sucked air temperature of the second supercharger reaches equal to or higher than the target temperature.
For example, in order not to generate water mist from air sucked into the second supercharger, the sucked air temperature of the second supercharger may be simply increased. However, an increase in the temperature of the sucked air leads to lowering of the efficiency of the supercharger. For this reason, it is preferred that a temperature increase is avoided, considering the efficiency. As described above, it is important to control the sucked air of the second supercharger to an optimal temperature, considering generation of water mist and the efficiency of the supercharger.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the water vapor partial pressure in the discharged air of the first supercharger is calculated, and then, the temperature at which such a water vapor partial pressure reaches the saturated water vapor partial pressure is obtained. Subsequently, such a temperature is set as the target temperature of the sucked air of the second supercharger. Since this target temperature indicates the minimum temperature at which no water mist is generated from the sucked air of the second supercharger, generation of water mist can be avoided, and lowering of the efficiency of the supercharger can be reduced as much as possible. As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the suction temperature of the second supercharger can be controlled within a suitable range, considering generation of water mist and the efficiency of the supercharger.
In the control device of the multi-stage supercharging system as described above, the information acquisition section may further acquire, as the input information, the rotation speed or the air flow rate of the first supercharger, and the target temperature setting section may use the water vapor partial pressure calculated by the water vapor partial pressure calculation section and the sucked air temperature, the sucked air pressure, the discharge pressure, and the rotation speed or the air flow rate of the first supercharger to set, as the target temperature, such a sucked air temperature of the second supercharger that a condensed water amount contained in air sucked into the second supercharger reaches a predetermined allowable condensed water amount determined depending on the characteristic of the second supercharger.
According to the above-described configuration, the temperature at which the condensed water amount contained in the sucked air of the second supercharger becomes coincident with the preset allowable condensed water amount is set as the target temperature. For example, in the case of the structure in which an impeller of the second supercharger has a relatively-high strength and a certain amount of condensed water is allowed, entering of condensed water is allowed within an allowable range, and the target temperature of the sucked air of the second supercharger is decreased accordingly. Thus, the efficiency of the second supercharger can be more improved as compared to the case where entering of water mist is prevented.
In the control device of the multi-stage supercharging system as described above, the target temperature setting section uses, as an unknown value, a water vapor partial pressure in the sucked air of the second supercharger to set an expression indicating the condensed water amount contained in the sucked air of the second supercharger, obtains the water vapor partial pressure when the expression is equal to the allowable condensed water amount, and set, as the target temperature, a temperature at which the water vapor partial pressure reaches the saturated water vapor pressure, for example.
A second aspect of the present invention provides a multi-stage supercharging system including a first supercharger of a low-pressure side, a cooling unit that cools air discharged from the first supercharger, a second supercharger of a high-pressure side that compresses the discharged air after cooling, and the control device of the multi-stage supercharging system as described above. Air compressed in at least two stages is supplied to an internal-combustion engine.
A third aspect of the present invention provides a method for controlling a multi-stage supercharging system which includes a first supercharger of a low-pressure side, a cooling unit that cools air discharged from the first supercharger, and a second supercharger of a high-pressure side that compresses the discharged air after cooling and which supplies, to an internal-combustion engine, air compressed in at least two stages. The method includes an information acquiring step of acquiring, as input information, the sucked air temperature, the sucked air humidity, the sucked air pressure, and the discharge pressure of the first supercharger, a water vapor partial pressure calculating step of calculating the water vapor partial pressure of the discharged air of the first supercharger by using the sucked air temperature, the sucked air humidity, the sucked air pressure, and the discharge pressure of the first supercharger as parameters, a target temperature setting step of setting, as a target temperature, a temperature at which the water vapor partial pressure calculated at the water vapor partial pressure calculating step reaches a saturated water vapor pressure, and a cooling control step of controlling the cooling unit such that the sucked air temperature of the second supercharger reaches equal to or higher than the target temperature.
In the method for controlling the multi-stage supercharging system as described above, at the information acquiring step, the rotation speed or the air flow rate of the first supercharger may be further acquired as the input information, and at the target temperature setting step, the water vapor partial pressure calculated at the water vapor partial pressure calculating step and the sucked air temperature, the sucked air pressure, the discharge pressure, and the rotation speed or the air flow rate of the first supercharger may be used to set, as the target temperature, such a sucked air temperature of the second supercharger that a condensed water amount contained in air sucked into the second supercharger reaches a predetermined allowable condensed water amount determined depending on the characteristic of the second supercharger.
In the method for controlling the multi-stage supercharging system as described above, at the target temperature setting step, a water vapor partial pressure in the sucked air of the second supercharger may be used as an unknown value to set an expression indicating the condensed water amount contained in the sucked air of the second supercharger, the water vapor partial pressure may be acquired when the expression is equal to the allowable condensed water amount, and a temperature at which the water vapor partial pressure reaches the saturated water vapor pressure may be set as the target temperature.
According to the present invention, generation of water mist in cooling of compressed air is reduced. Thus, the problem of water mist in a latter-stage supercharger can be solved, and the advantageous effect of avoiding damage of, e.g., an impeller can be produced.
A multi-stage supercharging system of a first embodiment of the present invention and the device and method for controlling such a multi-stage supercharging system will be described below with reference to drawings.
Compressed air discharged from the second supercharger 4 is cooled by an intercooler 6, and then, is supplied to an internal-combustion engine 7. A high-pressure second turbine 10 and a low-pressure first turbine 11 are provided at an exhaust gas pipe 8 though which exhaust gas of the internal-combustion engine 7 is discharged, and are rotated by exhaust gas.
The second turbine 10 is uniaxially connected to the second supercharger 4, and the first turbine 11 is uniaxially connected to the first supercharger 2. Thus, the rotational force of the second turbine 10 and the rotational force of the first turbine 11 are transmitted respectively to the second supercharger 4 and the first supercharger 2, thereby driving the second supercharger 4 and the first supercharger 2.
In this multi-stage supercharging system 1, the sucked air temperature T1 (° C.), the sucked air humidity H1 (%), the sucked air pressure P1 (kPa), and the discharge pressure P2 (kPa) of the first supercharger 2 and the sucked air temperature T2 (° C.) of the second supercharger 4 are detected by sensors (not shown), and then, are output to the control device 5.
The control device 5 controls the intercooler 3 such that the sucked air temperature T2 of the second supercharger 4 reaches a proper temperature, considering, e.g., both of the soundness and efficiency of the second supercharger 4.
The information acquisition section 21 acquires the sucked air temperature T1 (° C.), the sucked air humidity H1 (%), the sucked air pressure P1 (kPa), and the discharge pressure P2 (kPa) of the first supercharger 2 and the sucked air temperature T2 (° C.) of the second supercharger 4, these parameters being detected by the sensors.
The water vapor partial pressure calculation section 22 calculates, using the sucked air temperature T1 (° C.), the sucked air humidity H1 (%), the sucked air pressure P1 (kPa), and the discharge pressure P2 (kPa) of the first supercharger 2 as parameters, the water vapor partial pressure PW2 (kPa) of air discharged from the first supercharger 2.
One method for calculating the water vapor partial pressure PW2 (kPa) of air discharged from the first supercharger 2 by the water vapor partial pressure calculation section 22 will be described below.
First, the water vapor partial pressure PW1 (kPa) of air sucked into the first supercharger 2 is represented by the following function expression (1) using the sucked air temperature T1 (° C.) and the sucked air humidity H1 (%) as parameters.
P
W1
=F
x1(T1,H1) (1)
Specifically, the water vapor partial pressure PW1 (kPa) of air sucked into the first supercharger 2 can be obtained by multiplying a saturated water vapor pressure PW1
Next, the ratio of the water vapor partial pressure to an air pressure is saved before and after compression performed by the first supercharger 2, and therefore, the following expression (2) is established.
P
W1
/P
1
=P
W2
/P
2 (2)
When expression (2) described above is solved to obtain the water vapor partial pressure PW2 (kPa) of air discharged from the first supercharger 2, the following expression (3) is established.
P
W2=(P2/P1)PW1 (3)
As described above, the water vapor partial pressure PW2 (kPa) of air discharged from the first supercharger 2 can be obtained using expressions (1) and (3) described above.
Thus, the water vapor partial pressure calculation section 22 stores, e.g., expressions (1) and (3), and the water vapor partial pressure PW2 (kPa) of air discharged from the first supercharger 2 can be easily obtained by substituting predetermined parameters obtained by the information acquisition section 21 into these arithmetic expressions.
The target temperature setting section 23 obtains a temperature T3 (° C.) at which the water vapor partial pressure PW2 (kPa) of discharged air calculated by the water vapor partial pressure calculation section 22 reaches a saturated water vapor pressure PW2
The valve opening degree control section 24 controls, for example, the opening degree of a flow rate adjustment valve 15 provided at the intercooler 3 such that the sucked air temperature T2 (° C.) of the second supercharger 4 reaches the target temperature Ttg (° C.) set by the target temperature setting section 23. A well-known control method such as feedback control and feedforward control may be optionally used as the method for controlling the sucked air temperature T2 (° C.) to be coincident with the target temperature Ttg (° C.). Adjustment of cooling intensity by the flow rate adjustment valve 15 has been set forth as one example, and for example, other methods may be used to adjust the cooling intensity.
According to the multi-stage supercharging system 1 having the above-described configuration, air compressed at two stages by the first supercharger 2 and the second supercharger 4 is supplied to the internal-combustion engine 7. Waste air in the internal-combustion engine 7 is discharged to the exhaust gas pipe 8, and drives the second turbine 10 and the first turbine 11 provided at the exhaust gas pipe 8. Thus, the second supercharger 4 and the first supercharger 2 each rotate using the rotational force of the second turbine 10 and the first turbine 11 as power.
Further, the sucked air temperature T1, the sucked air humidity H1, the sucked air pressure P2, and the discharge pressure P2 of the first supercharger 2 and the sucked air temperature T2 (° C.) of the second supercharger 4 are detected by the sensors (not shown), and then, are output to the control device 5.
These values detected by the sensors are obtained by the information acquisition section 21 of the control device 5, and then, are output to the water vapor partial pressure calculation section 22. In the water vapor partial pressure calculation section 22, the information input from the information acquisition section 21 is substituted into expressions (1) and (3), and in this manner, the water vapor partial pressure PW2 (kPa) of air discharged from the first supercharger 2 is obtained. The water vapor partial pressure PW2 (kPa) is output to the target temperature setting section 23.
In the target temperature setting section 23, the temperature T3 (° C.) at which the water vapor partial pressure PW2 (kPa) of discharged air obtained by the water vapor partial pressure calculation section 22 reaches the saturated water vapor pressure PW2
The set target temperature Ttg (° C.) is output to the valve opening degree control section 24, and then, the opening degree of the flow rate adjustment valve 15 is controlled based on the target temperature Ttg (° C.). This can reduce, in theory, water mist contained in air sucked into the second supercharger 4 to zero.
As described above, according to the multi-stage supercharging system 1 of the present embodiment and the control device 5 for the multi-stage supercharging system 1, and the method for controlling the multi-stage supercharging system 1, the water vapor partial pressure PW2 (kPa) of air discharged from the first supercharger 2 is calculated, and then, the temperature T3 (° C.) at which the water vapor partial pressure PW2 (kPa) reaches the saturated water vapor partial pressure PW2
The valve opening degree control section 24 does not necessarily control the sucked air temperature T2 of the second supercharger 4 to be coincident with the target temperature Ttg (° C.), and may be control the sucked air temperature T2 (° C.) of the second supercharger 4 to be equal to or higher than the target temperature Ttg (° C.). For example, in the valve opening degree control section 24, a new target temperature may be set by adding a preset certain amount of margin to the target temperature Ttg (° C.), and the valve opening degree control section 24 may control the valve opening degree such that the sucked air temperature T2 (° C.) of the second supercharger 4 reaches the new target temperature. Such control lowers the efficiency of the supercharger to some extent, but is superior in that it can be further ensured that generation of water mist is avoided.
Next, a multi-stage supercharging system of a second embodiment of the present invention and the device and method for controlling such a multi-stage supercharging system, will be described.
In the first embodiment described above, the target temperature Ttg (° C.) is set based on the water vapor partial pressure PW2 (kPa) of air discharged from the first supercharger 2. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, an intercooler 3 is controlled such that the amount of condensed water contained in air sucked into a second supercharger 4 reaches equal to or less than a predetermined allowable condensed water amount preset based on, e.g., the characteristics of the second supercharger 4.
The same points as those of the first embodiment will not be repeatedly described below, and differences will be mainly described below.
The information acquisition section 21′ acquires a rotation speed N1 (rpm) of a first supercharger 2 in addition to the sucked air temperature T1 (° C.), the sucked air humidity H1 (%), the sucked air pressure P1 (kPa), and the discharge pressure P2 (kPa) of the first supercharger 2 and the sucked air temperature T2 (° C.) of the second supercharger 4. That is, in the present embodiment, a rotation speed sensor or an air flow rate sensor which detects the rotation speed N1 (rpm) of the first supercharger 2 is required.
The water vapor partial pressure calculation section 22 calculates the water vapor partial pressure PW2 (kPa) of air discharged from the first supercharger 2 in the manner similar to that of the first embodiment described above.
The target temperature setting section 23′ sets, as a target temperature Ttg (° C.), a sucked air temperature T4 (° C.) at which the amount of condensed water contained in air sucked into the second supercharger 4 reaches a predetermined allowable condensed water amount Gwtg.
The idea on the target temperature Ttg (° C.) of the present embodiment will be described below.
First, considering the state of air discharged from the first supercharger 2, a pressure is P2, and a water vapor partial pressure is PW2 (kPa). When a temperature is decreased to T4 (° C.) in this state, the amount GW of condensed water contained in such air is represented by the following expression (4).
G
W
=P
W
COND
·/P
2)×Ga (4)
PW
P
W
COND
=P
W2(kPa)−PW4
In expression (5), “PW4
Moreover, in expression (4), “Ga” denotes a mass flow rate (kg/s), and is represented by the following expression (6):
G
a
=ρQ=P
1
Q/RT
1 (6)
A measured value may be used as the mass flow rate Ga.
In expression (6), “ρ” denotes a density (kg/m3), and “Q” denotes a volume flow rate (m3/s). The volume flow rate Q is represented by the following expression (7). Moreover, “R” denotes a gas constant (JK−1 mol−1).
Q=Fx((P2/P1),N) (7)
The volume flow rate Q is a value uniquely determined by a supercharger characteristic map, using a compression ratio and a rotation speed in the first supercharger 2 as parameters.
In expressions (4) to (7) described above, the parameters other than the saturated water vapor pressure PW4
For example, when expressions (4) and (5) are solved to obtain the saturated water vapor pressure PW4
P
W4
SAT(kPa)=PW2(kPa)−(Gwtg×P2/Ga) (8)
Thus, the target temperature setting section 23′ stores, in advance, expression (8) and the accompanying arithmetic expressions (e.g., expressions (6) and (7)) for obtaining various parameters used for expression (8), for example. The saturated water vapor pressure PW4
Then, the temperature T4 (° C.) corresponding to the obtained saturated water vapor pressure PW4
The valve opening degree control section 24 controls the opening degree of a flow rate adjustment valve 15 such that an inlet temperature T2 of the second supercharger 4 reaches equal or higher than the target temperature Ttg (° C.) set by the target temperature setting section 23′.
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the opening degree of the flow rate adjustment valve 15 of the intercooler 3 is adjusted such that the amount of condensed water contained in air sucked into the second supercharger 4 reaches equal to or less than the preset allowable condensed water amount. In the case of the structure in which an impeller of the second supercharger 4 has a relatively-high strength and a certain amount of condensed water is allowed, entering of condensed water is allowed within an allowable range, and the temperature of air sucked into the second supercharger 4 is decreased accordingly. Thus, the efficiency of the second supercharger 4 can be more improved as compared to the first embodiment in which entering of water mist is prevented.
The present invention is not limited only to the above-described embodiments. Various changes can be, without departing from the gist of the invention, made by, e.g., partially or entirely combining the above-described embodiments.
For example, the multi-stage supercharging system of the present invention is not limited to the double-stage supercharging system illustrated in
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2013-014282 | Jan 2013 | JP | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/JP2013/083700 | 12/17/2013 | WO | 00 |