Early Supercharger Designs
Although engine superchargers date to the 19th century, the first practical application for an automobile wasn't common until the 1920s. Early designs include the Roots blower, the centrifugal blower and the twin-screw supercharger.
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Roots
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The Roots supercharger dates to 1900, and is identified by the large top portion that rises above the hood on contemporary cars. The blower features meshing lobes that spin to trap and pump compressed air into the intake manifold, according to Chevy High Performer. The blower features a pulley mounted on the crankshaft that drives a belt to spin the intermeshing rotors to compress the air. Forcing compressed air into the manifold improves combustion of the air/fuel mixture that translates to greater power.
Twin-Screw
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The twin-screw version improves on the Roots supercharger because it features an internal compression blower with rotors featuring tighter clearances to compress even more air into the combustion chamber. The air is forced through the rear of the engine, giving it a shorter distance to travel and minimizing friction, turbulence and reducing heat by 50 percent. The twin-screw is belt-driven.
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Centrifugal
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Duesenberg popularized the centrifugal supercharger in the 1920s and 1930s with such cars as the 1935 Duesenberg SJ Mormon Meteor Speedster. The compact centrifugal supercharger uses a step-up drive unit to increase the speed of the engine's impeller to force air into a compressor housing and then push the air into the combustion chamber.
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