Detection Of Surge Precursors In Locomotive

Turbocharger
Anthony Furman, Michael Krok
GE Global Research, Niskayuna.

Shishir Menon,
GE Global Research, Bangalore.
Shishir.Menon@geind.ge.com

Abstract- Locomotive engine performance depends among operating point of the turbocharger depends on the engine
other factors on turbocharger efficiency and operating range. exhaust flow, temperature, pressure and engine breathing
The turbocharger operating range can be constrained at high characteristics. In certain operating regions of the compressor,
pressure ratio by flow induced instabilities, namely surge, in the* X
centrifugal compressor. The resulting loss of flow results in especially at low flow rates coupled with highpressure ratio or
degraded engine performance, higher exhaust emissions, high during transients, flow induced instabilities can occur, leading
turbocharger vibration and can lead to mechanical damage on the to surge.
compressor and adjoining air handling equipment. While surge
Fig.1 depicts a typical performance map for a centrifugal
avoidance methods are available to restrict the operating point to
lie well within a static surge-avoid-line of the compressor, these com sor, sowingpressur
as au i on
methods can unnecessarily restrict the operating range, resulting flow for a range of compressor speeds.
in loss of overall performance and fuel efficiency. Surge detection
and control is a closed loop strategy where a surge avoidance
Compressor Map wth Surge Line
system starts acting if the onset of surge is detected. Use of such a
Surge line
S line
strategy allows running at reduced surge margin to permit higher
*i
pressure ratio across the compressor, at potentially higher
compressor efficiency, and yields increased power output fromm
the engine at reduced emissions and improved fuel efficiency. This
Surge-avoid line
paper discusses a systematic approach adopted to detect
precursors to the surge phenomenon, based on experiments on
9Lfull-scale turbochargers and the use of a real-time wavelet
algorithm to detect precursors.
l

I.

Fig.

INTRODUCTION

Recent development activities for locomotives have focused

on reducing emissions, increasing fuel efficiency, and
maximizing overall system reliability. This places a higher
performance demand on all components of the locomotive
system. Tighter emissions regulations coupled with the desire
for improved efficiency place increased demands on the
turbocharger in terms of higher boost levels and air mass flow.
Higher pressure ratios can push the turbocharger closer to
surge, however, which can have damaging effects to the turbomachinery as well as severely degrade engine performance. A
method to allow the turbocharger to run close to the surge line
for high performance but prevent dropping into surge through
measurement of precursors would be useful.

Overview of turbocharger
Turbochargers in diesel locomotives use the residual energy
in the engine exhaust to drive a compressor to provide higher
mass flow of air at elevated pressure to the combustion
chamber. The turbocharger consists of a turbine and a
compressor connected by a common shaft. The exhaust gas

A.

"b the11 turbine,

from the' engine expands%, throughI
providing
r"

t'% 11 "

rotational~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
enrgdrv.hopesr.Teabetari
to ~

compressed and leaves at a higher pressure and mass flow for

improved engine combustion and increased power. The

1-4244-0726-5/06/$20.OO '2006 IEEE

1.

Typical compressor flow map and surge line

The map indicates that there are limits on the operating

range of such a compressor as defined by the surge line at the
left of the speed lines. Operation to the left of the surge line is
unstable and must be avoided.
B. Surge phenomenon
Surge is a flow induced instability. It restricts the
performance (pressure rise) and efficiency (specific power
consumption) of the compressor. With too small a mass flow
and too high a pressure ratio, the flow can no longer adhere to
the suction side of the blades, with the result that the discharge
process is interrupted. As the flow through an impeller is
reduced below its design capacity, which is a function of inlet
area and rotational speed, more flow enters the impeller than
can leave the discharge of the impeller. Therefore, at low-flow,
high-pressure conditions, some flow starts exiting the suction
side of the impeller in the reverse direction until a stable
pressure
ratio with positive volume flow rate is reached. The
pp
pressure builds up again and the cycle repeats. This flow
instability continues at a fixed frequency and the resultant flow
disturbance is known as "surge". The surge frequency depends
on the slope of the compressor characteristic in such a way that
aseprsoelast oe rqec,adals te lp
ledtohgrfeqnc[12

3067

The unsteady fluid dynamic excitation results in additional

periodic loads on the blades, causing blade vibrations and
fatigue and may even cause severe damage to the machine due
to unacceptable levels of system vibrations [1].
Prediction and detection of surge is the first step towards the
control or real-time avoidance of surge. Accurate and reliable
prediction can be accomplished if the compressor exhibits mild
anomalous behavior prior to the full onset of surge. This "mild
anomalous behavior" is referred to as a precursor to the surge
event. Precursors can be anomalous pressure, temperature, or
'
.
'.
.
.
.
flow. Previous efforts to predict incipient
surge in axial
compressors of gas turbines concentrated on dynamic pressure
measurements [3,4]. This paper discusses a systematic
approach adopted to detect precursors to the surge
phenomenon in a centrifugal compressor of a loco
turbocharger, based on lab experiments on turbochargers and
the use of a real-time wavelet algorithm to process temperature
and pressure sensor data.
II. SURGE DETECTION

flow rate, engine exhaust and manifold pressures), the

underlying methods for surge precursor detection [3,4] shall be
applicable with additional measures for handling transient
conditions.
This work draws its basis from [3,4] and uses the wavelet
method to analyze the presence of surge precursors for a
centrifugal compressor of a turbocharger used in locomotives.
B. Approach
In order to understand the transient behavior of the
compressor during surge, experiments were conducted in a
full-flow, two-loop turbocharger test stand, schematically
shown in Fig. 2. located at GE Global Research, Niskayuna,
NY. Preheated compressed air is used to drive the turbine
through a modulating valve for speed control. The compressor
.
circui is ineedn an ispoie.ihaakrsueo
surge valve to control discharge conditions on the compressor.
Closing the valve moves the compressor towards the surge
line. Fully opening the valve moves the compressor further to
right on the compressor map (Fig. 1.) towards conditions of

A. Surge detection strategy

Several measures are used to cope with surge. Open-loop
Surge Avoidance methods avoid operating the machine near
and beyond a fixed surge-avoid-line to keep sufficient surge
margin. This can prohibit operation at maximum pressure rise
and efficiency, and unnecessarily restrict the operating range of
the compressor.
Surge detection and control is a closed loop strategy where
the surge avoidance system starts acting if the onset of surge
(or significantly high precursors) is detected. This strategy
allows operation very close to the surge line for maximum
efficiency and engine performance while providing protection
to the turbo-machinery and air handling equipment by altering
system operation just prior to surge to prevent the loss of
performance and potential equipment damage than can
accompany hard surge.
The onset of surge (defined as mild surge) is characterized
by increasing amplitudes of the pressure and temperature
fluctuations in the compressor flow path.
Present state of the art for surge detection in a loco
turbocharger and centrifugal compressor stops at detecting
surge when it happens (not precursors), while several methods
have been reported for axial compressors for detecting
precursors. One such work on axial compressor of Gas Turbine
[3,4], involves processing of dynamic pressure and temperature
signals using multiple methods such as Temporal Finite
Fourier Transform (FFT), Kalman filter, matched filter
observer, Auto-regression and Wavelet Transform, and then
applying suitable data fusion techniques on these results to
reliably predict surge and Surge Margin, a measure of the
available entitlement of the equipment from its present

lower pressure and higher mass flow. For test purposes, the
operating point on the compressor was changed so that the
turbocharger was intentionally put in and out of surge at
various operating speeds typical of locomotive operation. The
turbocharger was equipped with dynamic pressure transducers
located in the compressor throat, diffuser and discharge volute.
High response thermocouples were also installed in the throat
(inlet) and outlet of the compressor to detect flow reversal
during early and full surge.
Pressure at the diffuser and discharge volute, and dynamic
temperature at the inlet and outlet is measured and logged into
the data acquisition system as shown in Fig.2. The pressure and
temperature is then analyzed to capture the key behavior of the
compressor during surge for accurate signature detection.
High
Ambient air
pressure air_
_
Diffuser
(nlet)
Discharge

operating*condition.

While a loco turbocharger undergoes greater transients

compared to power generation equipment, (such as speed
change, notch change, and associated variations in the volume

le

Compres

Turbine

valve

Exhaust _remp, Pressu'e

j Sensors
Data Acquisition
System

Compressed
Air

Fig. 2. Lab set-up for conducting surge experiments on a turbocharger.

C. Signal analysis

Thejor fre

tpereiand terb atre

signals recorded during normal operation of the turbocharger

are different from that during surge. Fig. 3 shows the
compressor map, surge line and the movement of compressor
operating point from right to left
As surge is approached moving from the right of the
compressor map to the left in Fig. 3, flow instabilities are

3068

perceived as increased vibration and sounds emanating from

the turbocharger.
Standard temperature and pressure
measurements done at the inlet and outlet paths did not reveal
the onset of flow anomalies. However, the signals obtained
from unique sensors embedded in the compressor flow path
exhibited appreciable correlation with surge behavior. A
frequency analysis of measurements made shows presence of
low frequency components when operating at the right of the
compressor map, near the surge line. During mild surge
conditions, a frequency of approximately 6 - 7 Hz appears.
When the turbo is in deep surge, a significant portion of the
frequency band between 0 and 12 Hz exhibits highly
anomalous perturbations. This is shown in Fig. 3, as one moves
from the 4th (bottom right) power spectrum to the Ist (bottom
left) power spectrum.
The signals are non-stationary in nature and exhibit dynamic
changes during transients. Wavelet methods are known for
their advantages in processing non-stationary signals and can
be used to extract precursor information from the measured
signals. [5]

frequency of interest can then be reconstructed by using

reconstruction filters.
The implementation of real-time wavelet algorithm is shown
in Fig. 5. The inputs are the pressure and temperature signals
from the sensors fitted in the turbocharger. This data was
processed by Discrete Meyer wavelet to extract information at
surge frequencies of 0-12Hz.

Signal, f, = 400 Hz
cA 1
0-100 Hz

cA2
0-50 Hz
cA3

cD2
50-1 00 Hz
cD3

0-25 Hz

25-50 Hz

cA4

_N

cD 1
100-200 Hz

cD 4

0-1 2.5 Hz

1 2.5-25 Hz

PR
N

1(0

Duringsuge

>

~~~Flow rate

Precursor

80M

.1 s 1 . . .

..

ormaloperation

Fig.

4. Wavelet multi-level

decomposition

tree for

400Hz to extract signal at frequencies of interest.

The number of coefficients of the

signal sampled

at

(fs)

decomposition and
optimized for faster computation

- w I I 8reconstruction filters was

speed. The re-constructed signals were processed for RMS
values
and passed through an appropriate low pass filter. The
20
RMS values of the extracted signals represent the strength of
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 4 6 8 10 4 6 8 10 4 6 8 10 ptransient fluctuations and would give an indication of the
Frequency (Hz) Frequency (Hz) Frequency (Hz) Frequency (Hz
proxinmuty of the operating point to the surge line. These signals
can be used as surge precursors. The precursor amplitude ancan
60t

1
V' 403
40

1 -1
...._

; 60

Fig. 3. Turbocharger compressor map and the movement of the operating point
from right of the surge line to the left (top). Frequency analysis of the data

obtained from a pressure sensor on the diffuser as operating point is moved

from no-surge to deep-surge (bottom).

D. Signal extraction using wavelet

Wavelets are useful in extracting the frequency information
in a signal without losing the time information.
The main advantage of using wavelet transform over
traditional short-time Fourier Transform is their effectiveness
in representing non-stationary signals. Rather than breaking a
signal into its harmonics which are sinusoidal global functions
continuing in time, the signal is conditioned by breaking it into
a series of local basis functions called wavelets. The basis
functions are obtained from a single prototype wavelet by
dilation and translation. This method gives better timefrequency resolution, and is computationally more efficient
compared to short-time FFT.
In Discrete wavelet transform the dilation is done in dyadic
scales. By doing a multi-level decomposition, the frequency of
interest 0-12 Hz can be obtained by repeated application of

wavelet.
deopsto

fite

assoni

i.

4Te

**

bencompared

wt

differentrsolds topredict sure

quantify the available surge margin.

Data frcm DAQ(Pfessure, Temperatufe)

@ 400 Hz

buffer

z (

-- o signals

1 secdata
block

parameter

Wavelet

FiltitrCoefofiient
block

RMSvalue

signal
Mov Avg

IF

Crossing

Fig. 5. Schematic shows the Implementation of Real-Time wavelet

algorithm that produces a surge precursor signal.

3069

Threshold

III. SURGE EXPERIMENTS AND RESULTS

Tests were conducted in two size ranges of loco

turbochargers. The turbocharger was fitted with dynamic
pressure transducers and open-bead thermocouples at the inlet
and outlet of the compressor. The signals from these were
processed by a high performance industrial computing system,
dSpace [6], at 400 Hz sampling frequency after appropriate
signal conditioning. The wavelet algorithm was coded as an sfunction in Matlab/Simulink and ported to dSpace hardware.
Two different sets of tests were conducted:
1) Surge sweep tests in which the compressor was moved
into and out of surge rapidly. These tests were used to confirm
existence of precursor information as well as measure the leadtime in detecting imminent surge.
2) Surge amplitude correlation tests, in which the
compressor was gradually moved towards surge over about a 5
minute period. These tests provide data on magnitude of the
precursor signal both in and out of surge and establish its
correlation with turbo speed and proximity to the surge line.
This data is useful in developing an algorithm that can scale
the precursor signal magnitude based on speed. Also, the
available surge margin can be obtained as a function of surge
precursor amplitude.
The surge point was approached by varying the backpressure
on the compressor through modulation of the surge valve
located at the compressor exit. After sufficient data was
acquired, the operation was shifted to the normal region, by
opening the discharge valve to a stable operating point of lower
pressure and higher mass flow.
A. Surge sweep tests
The compressor was moved into and out of surge by varying
the mass flow rate, pressure ratio and speed. Fig. 6 shows the
precursor signal recorded for the different sensors during the
transient. This test was conducted at a turbo speed typical of
mid power operation on the locomotive. The large amplitudes
of the signals at approximately the 57 sec mark is indicative of
operation in the surge region. The surge region is preceded by
increasing amplitude of the signals. All sensors that were
processed through the wavelet algorithm gave a good lead-time
of the onset of fully developed surge. It is interesting to note
that the operation of the compressor in terms of bulk mass flow
and pressure ratio is stable up to the 57 sec mark, making it
very difficult to detect upcoming surge with normal discharge
and temperature measurements.

0.3

diffA4

pesudinch
letA4
pressure

-_-temp outlet
Surge eve: t

P0.15 ---------------Pretursurstgti----X
i

----

incr-ases

Time in ses.

6.

Precursors -Surge approached by adjusting surge valve closure

0.03---Surge.event

0.03

Eb0.025

..............

50 0.015

incra ses

2-----

.--------

30
Fig.

0 05

--

disch
press precursor
throat

.r_

press precursor

Precusrsength

oo0

A.....

50 Time in se100

4 x 10

inletTCIprecursor

inletTC2precursr

Surge event

Precursor strength
iIncreases

150

Fig 7(a)

3_

3.

__,__

50 Time in sec100
150
Fig. 7(b).
Fig. 7(a), 7(b). Precursors - Surge approached by adjusting turbocharger
speed.
Fig. 8(a) and 8(b) show the signals when the operating point
. .
iS. sufficiently
far from the surge region.

0.015
:

.0

throatprissprecursor
..

Flow stable but inlet pressure

Fig. 7(a) shows the precursors from pressure sensors and

o
Fig. 7(b) from the temperature sensors when the compressor is X .oos
taken into and out of surge. Surge in this case was induced by
increasing the speed of the turbocharger at a fixed surge valve
setting to simulate a locomotive engine notch change. All the
sensors gave a good lead-time from onset of surge.

l-

givesafalsepositive otier
~~~~~~signals ar~well-behaved.
;..,.*

3070

1001o50
Time in secs.
Fig. 8(a).

200

0-=

3.5

5
5

10-4

3 .
.>.s........

...T......................... _At

higher

speeds,

is

outlet TC pr.ecurs.or
2 ...........

2................................................................... .....................

50

...............

100

Time in secs.

..

200

150

8(b)ecs,
Fig. 8(b)

Fig.

precursor signals

Fig. 8(a), 8(b). Analysis

This was done to study the robustness of the precursor
signals in terms of their ability to differentiate between nosurge and mild-surge operation. It is seen that the inlet pressure
signal does not differentiate between normal operation and
mild-surge condition especially at higher turbo speeds, (their
amplitudes was as high as 0.015 as during surge shown in Fig.
7(a)), while the temperature signals and the discharge pressure
of Robustness of

signal performs satisfactorily.

Surge amplitude correlation tests

In this test sequence, the compressor was taken slowly
..
.
values of
at discrete
towards surge, and allowed to stabilize

B.

flow

rate. The

average

amplitude of the

precursor

signals

at

flchow erate. Th average campultude othprcsrigast

pointhe wacalculriated.
Fmpig.de
thven typflow diation.
g

of theprecursorsignal

120

2m._! -

200
60

the

in-

~~~~~~~~~~IV.
CONCLUSIONS
ILIi 1One of the major constraints of the compressor operation,
namely surge, can be effectively managed if imminent surge
can be detected. Asystematic approach was developed to
successfully detect precursors to the surge phenomenon based
on experimental data obtained on actual locomotive scale
turbochargers.

..............................

0.5
1
...............

and

surge amplitude of the precursor signals also increases.

inlet TC precursor

violent

Average Amplitude of the precursor signal

Surge
1||.PdischargE
-

40

20

P diffuser

..... ,==.=*T outer

T

No Surge

nner

The tests were conducted on two turbochargers of

different ratings used in commercial locomotive engines. Surge
conditions were generated in a manner similar to that, which
could be encountered in a locomotive. The precursor
information was obtained from pressure and temperature
measurements taken from unique sensors placed in the
compressor inlet and discharge. The data was processed using
the Wavelet technique. The wavelet algorithm was optimized
for accuracy and computational speed and was implemented in
real-time to allow precursor detection with reasonable leadtime.
The work shows existence of useful precursor information
based on dynamic temperature and pressure measurements.
of these precursors increases with their
~~~~~The
T ssignal strength
s
proximity to the surge line. The precursor signal magnitude
shows correlation with turbo speed. This information would be
useful in developing a surge precursor detection algorithm that
compares the precursor signal magnitude scaled based on
speed with an appropriate threshold level indicative of surge.
The available surge margin can be obtained as a function
of surge precursor magnitude. This information can be used by
the engine control to make best use of the compressor map.
With such a strategy in place, it is possible to operate the
turbocharger under reduced surge margins without
encountering damaging surge, thereby producing larger
pressure ratios required by today's emissionized engines for

optimum performance.

o Distance from Surge (% surge margin) 100

REFERENCES

Fig. 9. Precursor signal and surge margin

[1]

The amplitude increases as the operating point is moved

towards surge, reaching a maximum at the surge point. This
trend is seen for all the precursor signals. The amplitude of the
signals can be used to find the proximity of the compressor
operating point relative to the surge line or in other words, to

find the true surge margin of a specific turbocharger versus

using an estimated fleet average.
Analysis of the recorded data at different speeds also showed
that the precursor signal had direct correlation with
turbocharger speeds.

Bram de Jager, "Rotating stall and surge control: A survey", Proceedings

of the 34th Conf. on Decision & Control. New Orleans, LA, 1995.

[2] Jan Tommy Gravdahl, "Centrifugal Compressor Surge and Speed

Control", IEEE Trans. Control Systems Technology, Vol.7, No.5, Sep

[3]

1999.

M.Krok, K. Goebel, "Prognostics for Advanced Compressor Health

Monitoring", SPIE AeroSense Apr 21-24, 2003.

[4] "Method and apparatus for continuous prediction, monitoring and control
of compressor health via detection of precursors to rotating stall and

surge", US PAT 6,532,433.

[5] Olivier Rioul, Martin Vetterli, "Wavelets and Signal Processing", IEEE
SP Magazine, 1991.

[6]

3071

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