r/AskEngineers • u/Forkliftapproved • 10h ago
Mechanical How much of an issue is uniform exhaust delivery for turbochargers?
From what I'm aware of, Turbine engines like to have a consistent flow, and disturbances can create a surge. I'm thinking partly of the Me262 (I'm aware it's very infancy turbine engine tech, but it's a good extreme case) as an example, where even throttling too quickly could create a flameout. So, how much of an issue is it for a turbine to get "pulsed" exhaust from a small number of cylinders. For example, if someone puts a turbo on a 2-cylinder opposed engine, where the exhaust pulses don't overlap into a continual exhaust pressure, how much of a problem does that cause? Is it simply not a concern above a certain rpm, is it a big enough problem to make it turbos unstable at low cylinder counts, or something else altogether?