Asee peer logo

A Portable Engine Dynamometer Test Cell for Studying Spark-ignition Engine Performance and Mechanical-Electrical-Thermodynamic Energy Conversion

Download Paper |

Conference

2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Salt Lake City, Utah

Publication Date

June 23, 2018

Start Date

June 23, 2018

End Date

July 27, 2018

Conference Session

Division for Experimentation & Lab-oriented Studies Technical Session 1

Tagged Division

Experimentation and Laboratory-Oriented Studies

Page Count

19

DOI

10.18260/1-2--29712

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/29712

Download Count

967

Paper Authors

biography

Gene L. Harding Purdue Polytechnic Institute

visit author page

GENE L. HARDING is an associate professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology at Purdue University, where he has taught since 2003. He has three years of industrial experience with Agilent Technologies, 28 years of combined active and reserve service in the United States Air Force, holds an MSEE from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, and is a licensed professional engineer.

visit author page

biography

Megan Prygoski Purdue University, West Lafayette

visit author page

Dr. Prygoski teaches Mechanical Engineering Technology at Purdue University's South Bend campus. She has her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Arizona and a M.S. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame. Her teaching focuses on energy transfer and thermodynamics and well as introductory mechanics classes such as Statics and Dynamics. Her personal interests are in Orthopedics which she uses as teaching examples in the mechanics classes.

visit author page

biography

James Burns Purdue Polytechnic Institute Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-2624-1123

visit author page

Jim Burns, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Technology Leadership & Innovation
Bio: Jim joined the faculty at Purdue Polytechnic in 2015 after completing a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from Western Michigan University, and has more than 10 years industry experience in the manufacturing sector in a variety of roles including process engineering, operations management, and technical sales. His area of expertise centers on applying OR/MS and Simulation techniques to Supply Chain & Operations Management problems, and has also conducted research in the areas of Human Factors and Work Design for evaluating time and motion efficiencies of operations. Jim also holds an undergraduate IE degree and a Six Sigma Greenbelt.

visit author page

biography

Brian Jeffrey Carmichael Security Automation Systems

visit author page

Brian is a recent graduate of Purdue University's Electrical Engineering Technology program. He lives and works in Indianapolis, Indiana.

visit author page

biography

Matthew S. Engstrom Purdue University

visit author page

Matthew Engstrom is an undergraduate student at Purdue Polytechnic Institute working towards a Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering Technology.

visit author page

Download Paper |

Abstract

Automotive spark-ignition engines are great platforms for studying a variety of sensors, actuators, and control algorithms, but the size, expense, and maintenance required for an automotive engine coupled with a dynamometer test cell are impractical for many engineering and engineering technology programs. This paper proposes a portable engine-dynamometer test cell using a one-cylinder all-terrain vehicle (ATV) engine driving a set of high-current alternators. Engine loading is to be accomplished with a set of electric resistance heaters and a power switching array.

Although associated with a large university, this project is being undertaken by a satellite campus with limited space and financial resources. The plan is to implement the Engine-Dyno Project in phases over a period of years using primarily undergraduate students working on directed projects. The planned phases at this time are as follows: 1. Build a sturdy but portable cart to hold the engine, load cell, accessories, and controls. (This phase is complete.) 2. Install the engine and get it running with no load (complete). 3. Construct a thermoelectric loading system and test the engine using manual switching of the electrical load. 4. Implement and test an electronic control system to dynamically adjust loading. 5. Implement and test a dynamometer control and data acquisition system to perform automated test runs while recording data. 6. Convert the engine to electronic ignition and fuel injection and run baseline tests. 7. Design and implement an engine control system with user-programmable ignition and fuel system parameters, and appropriate test points for monitoring sensor data and controlling actuators. 8. Develop labs for the following courses: Introduction to Automotive Electronics, ECET 38501 (lecture) and ECET 38502 (lab), Heat and Power, MET 22000, and Applied Thermodynamics, MET 32000. The paper begins with background information about how the Engine-Dyno project came about along with a high-level description of the concept, requirements, and estimated timeline. It then lays out details for each project phase and the current project status, including photographs of the construction thus far.

Harding, G. L., & Prygoski, M., & Burns, J., & Carmichael, B. J., & Engstrom, M. S. (2018, June), A Portable Engine Dynamometer Test Cell for Studying Spark-ignition Engine Performance and Mechanical-Electrical-Thermodynamic Energy Conversion Paper presented at 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Salt Lake City, Utah. 10.18260/1-2--29712

ASEE holds the copyright on this document. It may be read by the public free of charge. Authors may archive their work on personal websites or in institutional repositories with the following citation: © 2018 American Society for Engineering Education. Other scholars may excerpt or quote from these materials with the same citation. When excerpting or quoting from Conference Proceedings, authors should, in addition to noting the ASEE copyright, list all the original authors and their institutions and name the host city of the conference. - Last updated April 1, 2015