ENGINE PERFORMANCE TESTING The theoretical predictions from the previous section do not take into account effects

that occur in real engines. In particular, real engines encounter mechanical friction between their moving parts and experience heat loss as a consequence of engine cooling. Engine performance testing indicates the difference between theory and practice. Engines are tested in order to answer questions like :(1) How does TORQUE output vary with speed (RPM)? NB - From full or part-throttle performance we can also derive Power/ Speed curves. This data is needed for load matching. (2) Is it's mechanical integrity good? Wear, Failure, Performance loss with time , Systems O.K.? (3) Is it's noise and vibration levels acceptable ? (4) How efficient is it ? (5) What is the nature of it's exhaust emissions ? (6) How stable and controllable is it ? Research engines also investigate fuels, the nature of combustion process, pollutants, etc.

(1) Basic torque/speed, power/speed curves. static friction

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RPM Power is derived directly from torque and speed power = torque x RPM x 2p / 60 Basic test rig: Fuel Coolant in out Engine Drive shaft Air

Dynamometer or Brake

Exhaust

(2) Mechanical Efficiency (mechanical integrity). The mechanical efficiency of an engine is defined as :Mechanical Efficiency (hmech) = Shaft Power Indicated Power

Shaft Power = torque x speed (rad/s) Indicated Power = Power produced by the expanding gases (IP) on the face of the piston. = {Indicated Work/cycle/cylinder} x No. cylinders x No. of power strokes/sec/cyl.
RPM/60 for a two-stroke RPM/120 for a four-stroke !

Note: Shaft Power may also be referred to as Brake Power because the shaft power output is measured by a brake or dynamometer. The Mechanical Efficiency of an engine is an indicator of the amount of power lost to friction, or used to drive auxiliary devices (oil pump, valves, alternator, water pump) within the engine.

Indicated work/cycle If we can measure the pressure volume relationship within the cylinder we can measure the indicated work/cycle. p

Power loop

Pumping loop

V Indicated work = Area of p-V loop , hence we can find the IP. Indicated Mean Effective Pressure (IMEP or pm) Because the cylinder pressure continuously varies we define a mean pressure which, if it acted over the whole stroke, would do the same work as the varying pressure. [Link]/cycle = pm x stroke x cyl. face area = pm x L x A Indicated work/cycle has to be measured using high speed pressure transducers and fast transient data recorders. Otherwise we must resort to 'dodges' such as the MORSE test. It follows that the Indicated Power of an engine is given by: pm x L x A x N or IP = PLAN where N = total number of power strokes /second

Morse test If we are testing a multi-cylinder engine an alternative method for estimating the Indicated Work/cycle (and hence the Mechanical Efficiency) consists of cutting out each cylinder in turn & measuring the shaft power, keeping the engine speed the same. It is based on the assumption that:Output power = Indicated power - Friction power All cyls. or Cyl.1 cut out Cyl.2 cut out Cyl.3 cut out Cyl.4 cut out W = I1 + I2 + I3 + I4 - Wf W = IP - Wf W-1 = W-2 = I1 W-3 = I1 + I2 W-4 = I1 + I2 + I3 I2 + I3 + I4 - Wf + I3 + I4 - Wf + I4 - Wf - Wf (i)

Adding the above 4 eqns gives:W

= 3 I1-4 - 4 Wf = 3 IP - 4 Wf

(ii)

Eliminating Wf from eqns (i) and (ii) gives:IP = 4 W - W(-)

Willan's Line Test (Diesel Engines only)

In testing diesel engines (at a constant speed) it is found that the torque output increases linearly with fuel consumption over a reasonable power range This characteristic can be used to estimate its mechanical efficiency by effectively finding the internal frictional torque by plotting torque output against fuel flow.
Fuel flow (mFuel)

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Constant speed test

mFuel required to provide FP Torque ( )

At a given torque output :

mech

(3) Noise / Vibration Noise :- measured directly - subject to noise regulations. Vibration : can be detrimental, leading to failure of major and auxiliary engine parts; engine must be dynamically balanced anti - vibration mounts prevent vibration transmission ; field of study in it's own right

(4) Engine Efficiencies Mechanical efficiency ( as above ) Volumetric efficiency (a measure of how well the engine 'breathes') Vol. eff. (h vol) =
3 Induced air volume flow rate (m /min) 2-stroke 4-stroke

Engine capacity x RPM RPM/2 W Thermal efficiency (h th) = m x LCV fuel

In practical terms an engine's fuel efficiency is measured by it's Specific Fuel Consumption (SFC), also called BRAKE Specific Fuel Consumption (BSFC), recognising that the engines power output is measured using a 'brake'.

BSFC =

Fuel flow (kg/h) Brake Power (kW)

[kg/kWh]

NB: Engine capacity = total swept volume of the engine = L x A x n (n = number of cylinders)

(5) Exhaust Emissions The nature of the exhaust emissions is dependent upon the fuel used, the quality of the combustion process, and the presence of contaminant substances such as sulphur or oil additives. Most IC engine fuel molecules consist of approximately equal numbers of Carbon and Hydrogen atoms - and can be represented by the chemical formula C6H6 The combustion process consists of these fuel molecules breaking down and combining with the oxygen of the air to give energy (in the form of the heat of combustion) and the products of combustion. If the combustion process were ideal or complete all of the carbon would oxidise to CO2, and all of the hydrogen would oxidise to give water (in the form of steam) H2O. As a chemical equation we would write: C6H6 + y (0.21O2 + 0.79N2) > a CO2 + b H2O + c O2 + d N2 molecule of fuel molecule of air excess oxygen

air/fuel ratio (molecular) The value of y is critical to the combustion process. The chemically correct value which results in complete combustion and no excess oxygen is known as the stoichiometric air/fuel ratio (AFR). Above this value the peak combustion temperature reduces; below this value partially oxidised products are formed in particular pure carbon (soot) and carbon monoxide CO.

(6) Stability / Controlability Usually has to be evaluated in conjunction with the load it is driving Engine / Load Matching torque/speed characteristic of a ship

Stable operating points

torque

torque/speed characteristics of the engine at different throttle settings (or gears) speed unstable operating point (stall!)