SUPERCHARGING
Both turbochargers and superchargers are
called forced induction systems. They
compress the air flowing into the engine
The advantage of compressing the air is that it
lets the engine squeeze more air into a
cylinder, and more air means that more fuel
can be added. Therefore, you get more power
from each explosion in each cylinder. A
turbocharged engine produces more power
overall than the same engine without the
charging. This can significantly improve the
power-to-weight ratio for the engine
The key difference between a turbocharger
and a supercharger is its power supply.
Something has to supply the power to run the
air compressor. In a supercharger, there is a
belt that connects directly to the engine. It gets
its power the same way that the water pump or
alternator does. A turbocharger, on the other
hand, gets its power from the exhaust stream.
The exhaust runs through a turbine, which in
turn spins the compressor.
In theory, a turbocharger is more
efficient because it is using the "wasted"
energy in the exhaust stream for its power
source. On the other hand, a turbocharger
causes some amount of back pressure in the
exhaust system and tends to provide less boost
until the engine is running at higher RPMs.
Superchargers are easier to install but tend to
be more expensive.
Types of supercharger
There are two main types of superchargers
defined according to the method of
compression: positive displacement and
dynamic compressors. The former deliver a
fairly constant level of pressure increase at all
engine speeds (RPM), whereas the latter
deliver increasing pressure with increasing
engine speed.[5
Positive displacement
Positive-displacement pumps deliver a nearly
fixed volume of air per revolution at all speeds
(minus leakage, which is almost constant at all
speeds for a given pressure, thus its
importance decreases at higher speeds). The
device divides the air mechanically into
parcels for delivery to the engine,
mechanically moving the air into the engine
bit by bit.
Major types of positive-displacement pumps
include:
Roots
Lysholm twin-screw
Sliding vane
Scroll-type supercharger, also known
as the G-Lader
Compression type:
Positive-displacement pumps are further
divided into internal compression and external
compression types.
Roots superchargers are typically external
compression only (although high-helix roots
blowers attempt to emulate the internal
compression of the Lysholm screw).
External compression refers to pumps
that transfer air at ambient pressure
into the engine. If the engine is
running under boost conditions, the
pressure in the intake manifold is
higher than that coming from the
supercharger. That causes a backflow
from the engine into the supercharger
until the two reach equilibrium. It is
the backflow that actually compresses
the incoming gas. This is a highly
inefficient process, and the main factor
in the lack of efficiency of Roots
superchargers when used at high boost
levels. The lower the boost level the
smaller is this loss, and Roots blowers
are very efficient at moving air at low
pressure differentials, which is what
 they were first invented for (hence the
original term "blower").

All the other types have some degree of

internal compression.

Internal compression refers to the

compression of air within the
supercharger itself, which, already at Major types of dynamic compressor are:
or close to boost level, can be
delivered smoothly to the engine with Centrifugal
little or no back flow. This is more
effective than back flow compression Multi-stage axial-flow
and allows higher efficiency to be
achieved. Internal compression
Pressure wave supercharger
devices usually use a fixed internal
compression ratio. When the boost
pressure is equal to the compression Supercharger drive types
pressure of the supercharger, the back
flow is zero. If the boost pressure Superchargers are further defined according to
exceeds that compression pressure, their method of drive (mechanicalor
back flow can still occur as in a roots turbine).
blower. Internal compression blowers
must be matched to the expected boost Mechanical
pressure in order to achieve the higher
efficiency they are capable of, Belt (V-belt, Synchronous belt, Flat
otherwise they will suffer the same belt)
problems and low efficiency of the
roots blowers. Direct drive

Dynamic Gear drive

Dynamic compressors rely on accelerating the Chain drive

air to high speed and then exchanging that
velocity for pressure by diffusing or slowing it Exhaust gas turbines
down.
Axial turbine

Radial turbine

Other

Electric motor

Auxiliary Power Unit in some large

industrial applications