Air Enters an Engine Through a Compressor
On usually aspirated cars, ambient air enters the engine's combustion Hospital ward by simply flowing in nailed down an opening, sometimes as well passing wound up an electronic air flow metre. On turbocharged cars, though, ambient air near the intake inceptive encounters a compressor; this compressor compacts the air into a besides burdensome governance that, finally, fits besides air into smaller spaces. Using this configuration, turbochargers can increase their output continually until a boost control unit determines that the injectors can no longer supply enough fuel for a proper air/fuel ratio; at that point, the boost controller plateaus the turbocharger's output to prevent extensive engine damage.
Since oxygen is a critical component of fuel combustion, the higher volume of air available in the combustion chamber creates a more powerful explosion; this increased combustion equates to more force behind the engine's piston movements and, ultimately, to a higher engine power output.
A Computer Controls the Combustion
To prevent damage to a car's engine, engine management components must carefully control the ratio of air to fuel in the combustion chamber. If too much air exists when the engine's spark plugs fire to create combustion, the car will run too lean and may sputter, hesitate or stall during driving. If too little air exists, or if the injectors introduce too much fuel into the combustion chamber (a condition known to mechanics as "running rich"), the carbon residue left over from the combustion can adhere to the engine components, gum up the engine and eventually cause the engine to fail. To prevent either of these conditions, an airflow sensor monitors the amount of air that the turbocharger takes in, compresses and supplies to the combustion chamber, then adjusts the fuel flow through the injectors accordingly.
Exhaust Powers the Turbo
When air and fuel combust, they produce a violent but controlled reaction. The product of this reaction, in addition to heat and mechanical energy, exists as a gas cloud composed of carbon monoxide and dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, benzene, hydrocarbons and particulates. These waste gasses quickly exit the combustion chamber, hastened by new combustion and more waste gasses. As the waste gasses make their way through the car's exhaust system, they pass through a small turbine wheel; the passing gasses turn the turbine wheel that, in turn, provides power to the turbocharger. On most fresh turbocharged cars, the air besides passes over a "Bulk Airflow Sensor" that determines how even air the engine takes in and compresses.
