Burning desire: The Ultra Boost project

Imperial College London is undertaking the first stage of the project by leading the selection and testing of the boosting technology. The team is faced with the challenge of specifying a system that not only increases the air density, but also has sufficient transient response without a significant increase in engine size or weight. Dr Ricardo Martinez-Botas, who is heading the team at Imperial, said they were focusing on a limited number of boosting options.

“We can now go a lot closer to the boundaries of extreme combustion conditions than before”
DR SAM AKEHURST, BATH UNIVERSITY

The first is a well-established two-stage turbo-charging system adjusted to the demands of Ultra Boost. The approach would use a high-pressure turbocharger combined with a low-pressure turbocharger. This allows the engine to breathe at a low engine rpm, while at a high engine rpm it will bypass the high-pressure system and run as a standard turbocharger. A combination of a single-stage turbocharger with a supercharger is another option that will provide similar results but a better transient response.