[RahulNagaraj]

According to media reports, FCA has filed for a patent with the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) which showcases the turbocharger and the cylinder head combined into a single piece.

FCA's idea is that with the turbocharger cast as part of the cylinder head, the company would save on the material used to make components such as the manifold, bolts, studs and gaskets. Also, combining the turbocharger and the cylinder head would also make the entire assembly more simple as it could effectively delete the exhaust manifold and the additional oil lines.



Reports state that the design integrates the cylinder head with both the compressor and turbine housing of the turbo, while a cartridge would add the wheels and shaft at a later stage. The patent design includes an internal oil channel for the turbo and a single heat shield for the entire turbocharger and wastegate assembly. An Oldham coupling would control the wastegate operation, which will be complemented by a wear washer to improve its longevity.

While the exact details of the turbocharger-cylinder head combination are scarce, doing away with many of the gaskets and seals could potentially improve the part's life.

Having said that, like many other patent filings, it remains to be seen if the new turbocharging assembly actually makes it into production.

Source: CarBuzz

Link to Team-BHP news

[Jeroen]

As you said, remains to be seen if this makes it into the real world. I can see a few challenges for this one in all piece.

It does save weight, but I don’t think that much. The biggest problem with these sort of one piece casts is how they deal effectively with heat and necessary expansion and contraction.

From a casting point of view this thing must be a nightmare!

Also, if you ever have a problem with a the cilinder head or the turbo it is going to get very expensive as you will have to replace this undoubtedly very expensive one in all piece.

We will see

Jeroen

[shibujp]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

It does save weight, but I don’t think that much. The biggest problem with these sort of one piece casts is how they deal effectively with heat and necessary expansion and contraction.

From a casting point of view this thing must be a nightmare!

Wouldn't this also have to manage the heat from being transferred to the intake air as well? Plus what about the impact of the current efforts to make a lot of components non metallic on the intake side?

Drive on,
Shibu

[Maverick_4662]

What about vibrations? Turbines are very sensitive to vibrations. Will any damping arrangement be possible if it is cast in one piece? Won't the vibrations from the engine destroy the turbo?

[ashivas89]

OEMs give a spiel about efficiency and weight reduction and so on.. but typically the savings are marginal.

Often, this is all about recurring revenues and profitability via after sales. More complexity=customer having no choice but to stick to the ASS and genuine spares and paying huge sums to replace entire assemblies.

All this aside, this is just a patent (Patents are more often than not, companies just marking their territories doing something with it is not guaranteed). It remains to be seen if it will truly materialise. As Jeroen mentioned, casting such a complex geometry will be a challenge.

[EV NXT]

There is no FCA anymore, it now goes by the weird name of Stellantis. Fiat are notorious in getting a lot of things wrong - their history in India is a small case in point - collaboration with Tata for dealerships, getting a cricketer to sign on a performance car when they had Michael Schumacher on their rolls (he was with Ferrari which was owned by Fiat), service issues, closing of dealerships and reopening them, etc

Not using brand names that are 212 (Peugeot) and 124 (Fiat) years old and opting for a vague name for the merger (Stellantis) is another case in point. Of course, they also have Chrysler and Jeep and what not so what could they do?

The combined turbo charger if signed off into production will lead to a lot of issues as already indicated - heating, vibration and more importantly costs of replacement. But increasing the cost of replacement is the way most auto companies operate so one cant fault them there. Anyway this is one initiative that will in all likely take the Fiat route.

[GTO]

Mod Note: Thread moved to Tech Stuff!

[scorpian]

Replacement cost for any failure would be a killer.
Excess heat, vibration etc will lead to early part failures.
Instead of re-inventing the wheel they could rather concentrate on making something else better.
It will be a big headache and unwanted cost for customer to replace the part.

[srini1785]

Originally Posted by RahulNagaraj

According to media reports, FCA has filed for a patent with the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) which showcases the turbocharger and the cylinder head combined into a single piece.

Its only a patent. It's a long way from being serialized or even getting it to prototype stages. Decision to get into production will be based on its performance during testing and costs of development. Many inventions have not left the design board after filing for patents. Some are even available on the net for free.