A turbo-compound engine is a reciprocating engine that employs a blowdown turbine to recover energy from the exhaust gases. The turbine is usually mechanically connected to the crankshaft but electric and hydraulic systems have been investigated as well. The turbine increases the output of the engine without increasing its fuel consumption, thus reducing the specific fuel consumption. The turbine is referred to as a blowdown turbine (or power-recovery turbine), as it recovers the energy developed in the exhaust manifold during blowdown, that is the first period of the exhaust process when the piston still is on its expansion stroke (this is possible since the exhaust valves open before bottom dead center).
When a blowdown turbine is attached to an engine it will not reduce power due to exhaust gas flow restriction, since a blowdown turbine is a velocity turbine, not a pressure turbine as is a turbo supercharger. The exhaust restriction imparted by the three blowdown turbines used on the Wright R3350 is equal to a well-designed jet stack system used on a conventional radial engine. However, the blowdown turbines recover about 550 hp (410 kW) at METO (maximum continuous except for take-off) power.
Turbo-compounding was used on on several airplane engines after World War II, including the Napier Nomad[1][2] and the Wright R3350[3][4] being examples. In the case of the R-3350, maintenance crews sometimes nicknamed the turbine the "Parts Recovery Turbine" due to its negative effect on engine reliability. Turbo-compound versions of the Napier Deltic, Rolls-Royce Crecy, and Allison V-1710 were constructed but none was developed beyond the prototype stage. It was realized in many cases the power produced by the simple turbine was approaching that of the enormously complex and maintenance-intensive piston engine to which it was attached. As a result, turbo-compound aero engines were soon supplanted by turboprop and turbojet engines.
Some modern heavy truck diesel manufacturers have incorporated turbo-compounding into their modern designs. Examples include the Detroit Diesel DD15[5][6] and Scania[7] in production from 2001 [8]
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