New 48v Electric Supercharger Launched
Advanced, low-cost motor technology delivers pioneering continuous high pressure boost
Kenilworth, UK, 31st July 2015 – High-tech innovation company, Aeristech, has developed the first electric supercharger capable of continuous operation at high boost levels. Independently validated by Ricardo[1] and MAHLE Powertrain UK[2], the technology provides greater efficiency and easier packaging than a mechanical supercharger or a two-stage turbocharger.
Aeristech has overcome the thermal management issues that can restrict other electric boosting devices currently available on the market to only transient operation by using permanent magnet motor technology in place of the more usual switched reluctance type. This has been made cost-effective by developing a patented control and switching technology that enables the use of many cost-competitive components.
“Our system can deliver over 2.5 Bar of boost pressure continuously, setting it apart from other systems which only offer short duration boost assist for improving the engine transient response,” says Aeristech C.E.O. Bryn Richards. “By using a 48v architecture, we have provided a solution that is easily implemented and competitive in cost for the growing numbers of hybrid and mild-hybrid vehicles that will be launched in the next few years.”
Aeristech’s 48v eSupercharger has already been demonstrated by MAHLE Powertrain UK in a D-segment appraisal vehicle using its downsized 1.2 litre, 3-cylinder gasoline engine. The engine achieved 33 Bar BMEP at 2000rpm – an astonishing 313Nm for an engine of this capacity - and a maximum power output of 193kW.
“By replacing the smaller turbo in a two-stage turbocharging arrangement with our eSupercharger, MAHLE Powertrain UK was able to increase the size of the main turbo without concerns over driveability and transient response,” explains Bryn. “The eSupercharger can not only help increase specific output but is also much easier to accommodate within the engine compartment than a second stage turbocharger because it has greater layout flexibility.”
In a separate programme using WAVE simulation, Ricardo carried out detailed modelling of a 221kW 2.0 litre gasoline engine with a single-stage turbocharger. Adding a 48v Aeristech eSupercharger enabled the turbine to be increased in size by 80 percent, improving BSFC (Brake Specific Fuel Consumption), torque and transient response throughout the engine speed range. Ricardo concluded that without the eSupercharger only a larger engine could have met the requirements, if relying on a conventional single-stage turbocharger.
Using an eSupercharger also has advantages for emissions control. Because it is applied to the inlet side of the engine, it reduces the thermal mass in the exhaust stream which helps to maintain catalyst temperature, especially at lower speeds and loads.
Aeristech’s motor control strategy separates commutation and power control which means the electrical switching frequency need be no higher than running speed. This fundamentally new approach dramatically reduces the cost of many key switching components while ensuring exceptionally accurate high-transient speed control.
The company’s expertise in permanent magnet e-machine design means the motor has class-leading power density and low inertia. The eSupercharger operates at up to 150,000 rpm with a transient response of idle-to-target speed in under 0.4 seconds.
“We are the first company to make high performance permanent magnet motors sufficiently cost-effective for eSupercharger application,” says Bryn. “It means we completely avoid the thermal issues that arise with switched reluctance motors, enabling us to provide continuous high boost levels. Together with the imminent arrival of 48v architectures throughout the industry, this will enable more downsizing and higher engine efficiencies, leading in turn to vehicles with lower CO2emissions and better driveability.”
About Aeristech
Aeristech is a British clean technology innovation business that is developing a range of electrically driven pressure charging technologies that will help to solve the driveability, emissions, integration and cost challenges facing the next generation of high efficiency petrol and diesel engines. Validated by highly regarded technology specialists, MAHLE Powertrain UK and Ricardo, Aeristech’s patented technologies provide both transient and continuous levels of boost, which is unlike any other product currently on the market.
The company was founded around an innovative permanent magnetic switching architecture that has enabled Aeristech to produce the most power dense electric motor of its type currently available. This core technology forms the basis of the company’s range of products, which include an electric supercharger, full electric turbocharger, fuel cell air compressor and turbine generator.
The drive to reduce emissions ahead of the EU 95g/km 2020 legislation is leading to a growth in hybridised vehicles and as a result, a rise of 48V electrical systems in vehicles. Aeristech’s proven technologies take advantage of this trend and are helping vehicle manufacturers make step-change efficiency improvements to their existing powertrains.
As a one-stop-shop for electrically driven pressure charging solutions, Aeristech designs, tests and develops every aspect of the system, from the bearings to the compressor wheel, to suit the customers’ individual application. The company is working with vehicle manufacturers and suppliers to licence innovative proprietary technologies to reduce tailpipe emissions, increase fuel efficiency and heighten driving characteristics of the next generation of ‘right-sized’ diesel and gasoline engines.
[1] http://www.aeristech.co.uk/userFiles/iceev_paper.pdf
[2] http://www.aeristech.co.uk/userFiles/esupercharging_for_downsized_engine__sia_v12.pdf
Press contact:
Richard Doherty at Market Engineering
+44 (0)1295 277 050
richard.doherty@m-eng.com
Market Engineering is Europe’s leading specialist in media relations and communications for the automotive industry.
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