ECONTECHMOD. AN INTERNATIONAL QUARTERLY JOURNAL – 2017, Vol. 06, No.

1, 123–132

Application of the LabVIEW environment in testing automotive

thermoanemometric flow meters

A. Boguta

Department of Computer and Electrical Engineering, Lublin University of Technology,

20-618 Lublin, Nadbystrzycka 38A,
e-mail: [email protected], [email protected]

Received: April 03.2017; Accepted: April 27.2017

Summary. With the advancement in technology in Figure 1 shows a block diagram of the internal
the automotive industry and with the continuous combustion engine and the location of the air flow
development of electronics there is a problem related to meter. The purpose of the air flow meter is to measure
the diagnostics of components and electronic circuits the mass of air supplied to the engine cylinders during
used in today's automotive technology. One example of operation, processing that information into an electrical
this type of system is the new generation air flow meters signal that is sent to the engine control unit. The control
that are responsible for the composition of the air/fuel computer compares the results obtained with the flow
mixture. The purpose of the flow meter is to accurately meter characteristics stored in its memory. Based on
measure the mass of the air stream drawn by the engine, data from the flow meter and other sensors, it
depending on the load on the motor and the rotational determines the optimum fuel dose. In gasoline injection
speed and to convert that value into an electrical signal systems, the information obtained through the flow
that is transmitted to the control unit [5, 16]. An on-board meters allows to calculate the exact fuel injection
computer based on the flow meter characteristics stored duration and the ignition timing. In automatic ignition
in the controller memory and current measurements from engines, information from flow meters is mainly used
an air flow meter, shaft position sensor and temperature for exhaust gas recirculation control, injection time
sensor determines the fuel dose that is responsible for the correction and peak fuel dosing.
proper operation of the drive unit.
In order to optimise as well as quickly and
accurately diagnose the whole system or an element,
specialised structures and information systems are used.
Examples of such systems are various diagnostic testers
and interfaces that, by working with appropriate
software, can exclude or identify a defective
component. We can also use the LabVIEW environment
for the diagnostics of vehicle electronics. With this
program we can perform system simulations and
compare and analyse the obtained characteristics and Fig. 1 Fig. 1 Location of the air flow meter in the
results of measurements. Thanks to this solution and the intake manifold: 1 – air filter breather, 2 – air filter,
cooperation of devices with a computer we can examine 3 – air flow meter, 4 – throttle, 5 – intake manifold,
a number of systems without having to dismantle them. 6 – crankcase venting system, 7 – exhaust gas
Key words: anemometer, LabVIEW, flow meters. recirculation system, 8 – recirculation valve [1]

The most common type of flow meters are air flow

INTRODUCTION meters with an HLM thermoanemometer. They are
mainly used in spark ignition engines. The operation
Air flow meters are used in air intake systems, both principle of this flow meter is based on the
in diesel engines and in spark ignition engines, without measurement of the current that is needed to maintain
which control of their operation would be very difficult. the constant temperature of the electrically heated
element which is cooled by the flow of air.
124 A. BOGUTA
The basic element of the HML flow meter is a 70μm
platinum wire, which is fixed perpendicular to the
direction of the flow of air. Inside the cylindrical casing

Output signal Uw [v]

flows the air that cools the wire placed there, heated by
the current flowing through it. The platinum wire is
protected by a metal mesh from mechanical damage Flow towards the engine
caused by the ingress of contaminants into the intake
manifold.[6,7,9]
The biggest advantage of this HLM flow meter is the
small resistance to the flow of air in the engine intake
system compared to the flap flow meter. Reducing the
resistance of the intake manifold will improve the
Air stream Qm [kg/h]
performance of the combustion engines. To accurately
determine the mass of sucked air, the electrical signal Fig. 3. Characteristics of flow meter with HLM
from the thermoanemometer must be recorded at very thermoanemometer [7]
short intervals and the results obtained must be
processed in real time at high frequencies.[10,12,17] A newer flow meter with a similar operation pattern is
The HLM air flow meter is shown in Figure 2. the HFM type flow meter with a lamellar laminar
thermoanemometer. Its construction is based on a sensor
that resembles a very thin membrane, also called a film, on
which the measuring circuits are placed. On both sides of
the diaphragm there are resistors measuring their resistance
depending on the temperature. When the flow meter does
not flow through the air, the resistance of both resistors is
the same because their temperature is the same. As the air
starts to flow towards the engine, the heating element
causes a temperature difference on these resistors.
The function of the electronic system in this flow
meter is to keep the heating element temperature higher
than the flow air temperature. The heat transferred from
Fig. 2. Air flow meter with HLM thermocanometer [7]
the heating element to the moving air depends on the
airflow. Changing the temperature on the resistor
Figure 3 shows the characteristics of the output
measured independently of the incoming air temperature
voltage derived from the HML sensor depending on the
is a mass measure of the air flow delivered to the
airflow flowing through the flow meter in the engine
internal combustion engine, and on this basis an output
intake system.
signal is generated. These flow meters can measure the
negative airflow towards the air filter.
The design of the HFM flow meter is shown in
Figure 4.

Fig. 4. Bosch HFM flow meter: a) general view 1 – housing, 2 – sensor, 3 – inlet grille, b) sensor, 4 – measuring
element, 5 – electronic circuit, 6 – digital interface [2]
 ECONTECHMOD. AN INTERNATIONAL QUARTERLY JOURNAL – 2017, Vol. 06, No. 1, 123–132
The dependence of the input signal on the flowing
air stream is shown in Figure 5.

Flow towards the engine

Output signal Uw [v]

Flow towards
the air filter
Fig. 6. National Instruments NI USB-6008 card [4,11]

The measurements were carried out at the measuring

station shown in Figure 7. The station was equipped
with a data acquisition module read from the HFM flow
Air stream Qm [kg/h] meter using the LabVIEW development environment.
Thanks to the program's capabilities, an existing
Fig. 5. HFM flow meter characteristics [2]
workstation can be integrated with a measurement card
and the results analysed on the computer, and air flow
meters installed directly in a vehicle can also be tested.
MEASUREMENT SYSTEM
The measuring stand consists of:
• 1400W single phase commutation motor,
The NI USB-6008 measurement card, which acts as
• 12V/0.5A stabilised power supply,
an intermediary between the physical object and the
• speed controller,
data acquisition and processing system, is used for the
• Siemens HLM thermoanemometer,
test. The main task of a data acquisition card is the role
• air filter,
of an interface between an analogue signal source
• inlet system,
coming from a physical object and a digital signal that is
• NI USB-6008 data acquisition module,
compatible with computer hardware and software.
• PC.
The popular National Instruments NI USB-6008
measurement card, shown in Figure 6, was selected.

Fig. 7. View of the air flow meter test stand

126 A. BOGUTA
The block diagram of the test bench is shown in
Figure 8

Flow meter test

NI USB-6008 PC
stand
measurement card Fig. 10. Flow meter connection diagram with data
Fig. 8. Flow chart of the thermo-anemometer flow acquisition device [11]
meter [11]
In order to carry out the measurements used for the
The NI 6008 USB data acquisition card has a USB analysis, a data acquisition system was built. This
communication port and two terminal blocks for system was created based on the DaQ Assistance
connecting input and output devices. program which offers the opportunity to create a virtual
Correct operation of the module is signaled by an measuring instrument that works with the NI 6008 USB
LED, whose cyclical flashing informs about proper module. The system creation window is shown in
operation. The card is equipped with modular Figure 11, where the physical channel of the NI USB
connectors; each of the module connectors is the type 6008 card is selected.
of signal that can be connected. The first connector
with pin numbers 1-16 allows for the analogue signals
to be connected to the module, and the 17-32
connector does that for the digital signals. Analogue
inputs AI 0-7 enable simultaneous measurement of
four voltages up to a maximum of 20V in the DIFF
mode or up to eight voltages, but for a maximum of
10V in the RSE asymmetric mode with respect to the
GND mass. Fig. 11. Window of a new physical channel
Each input channel can be configured configuration creator in DaQ Assistance
independently, as symmetric (DIFF) and asymmetric
(RSE). Symmetric inputs allow for greater selection of During the virtual configuration of the instrument,
measuring ranges and measurement of larger voltage the most important parameters of the test signal are set,
signals. The distribution of analogue inputs for such as voltage range, sampling frequency or signal
individual signals for symmetric and asymmetric amplitude. Once the configuration of the virtual
operation is shown in Figure 9. measuring device has been completed, we get the icon
shown in Figure 12. It enables the test device to work
with the data acquisition card, which is compatible with
LabVIEW and its software for analysing and
interpreting the results obtained. [15,14,15]

Fig. 9. Connection of the signal to the RSE and DIFF

card [11]

At the measuring station, the source of the signal is

the voltage coming from the air flow meter. In order to
ensure reliable measurement, the test flow meter Fig. 12. Graphical interpretation of a virtual instrument
should be connected to the module as shown in Figure in a LabVIEW environment
10.
 APPLICATION OF THE LABVIEW ENVIRONMENT 127
The installed software and the program for the
configuration of the data acquisition card allows the
user to test the module during the initial configuration
of the device. Thanks to this device and software
specification, the user can exclude and eliminate any
errors in the initial programming stage.

STRUCTURE OF THE TEST STAND PROGRAM

The structure of the program written in a graphical

language is based on a virtual measuring instrument that Fig. 14. Operator terminal of the test stand
works with an NI USB 6008 measurement card, which,
after proper configuration, works with the rest of the
program. The purpose of the program is to calculate the MEASUREMENT RESULTS FROM THE AIR
mean value of the results obtained during the air flow FLOW METER TESTED
meter test, to plot the flow rate characteristic of the flow
meter as a function of time, and to display the calculated The designed stand was used to test the HFM air
instantaneous value of the flowing air through the flow flow meter with the thermoanemometer used in Vag
meter tested. In addition, it includes the calculation and diesel engines. The measurements were carried out in an
display of the mass flow of air through the system as operational and working vehicle under appropriate
well as the engine speed. The next step in the flow of conditions. The engine of the tested car was heated and
information in the program is writing it to the file. The unloaded to provide the most accurate and stable
structure of the program is shown in Figure 13. measurement of the flow meter voltage value and the
The operator panel was built to provide an intuitive reading of the amount of air flowing through the engine
readout of the parameters obtained during the intake system at various engine speeds. The results of
measurement of the flow meter. It is shown in Figure the measurements are shown in Table 1.
14.

Fig. 13. Program code fragment in LabVIEW environment with subprograms supporting the NI USB 6008
measurement card
128 A. BOGUTA
Table 1. Results of measurements from an anemometric air flow meter in a 1.9 TDI engine
Lp. Voltage meter Air speed Air mass flow
--- [V] [m/s] [kg/h]
1 1,10 7,01 153,14
2 1,45 9,24 201,73
3 1,53 9,69 211,58
4 1,60 10,14 221,44
5 1,62 10,27 224,26
6 1,65 10,27 224,26
7 1,70 10,49 229,19
8 1,76 11,17 243,97
9 1,84 11,65 254,53
10 1,90 11,65 254,53
11 1,95 12,07 263,69
12 1,98 12,40 270,73
13 2,03 12,85 280,59
14 2,07 13,14 286,93
15 2,11 13,14 286,93
16 2,15 13,36 291,85
17 2,19 13,59 296,78
18 2,24 14,17 309,46
19 2,28 14,46 315,79
20 2,30 14,59 318,61
21 2,33 14,75 322,13
22 2,33 14,78 322,83
23 2,36 14,98 327,06
24 2,37 15,04 328,47
25 2,38 15,07 329,17
26 2,39 15,07 329,17
27 2,39 15,14 330,58
28 2,41 15,24 332,69
29 2,44 15,46 337,62
30 2,47 15,65 341,84
31 2,49 15,82 345,37
32 2,52 15,94 348,18
33 2,53 16,01 349,59
34 2,55 16,14 352,41
35 2,57 16,27 355,23
36 2,58 16,34 356,63
37 2,64 16,69 364,38
38 2,73 17,27 377,05
39 2,74 17,37 379,16
40 2,76 17,50 381,98
41 2,78 17,59 384,09
42 2,79 17,66 385,50
43 2,88 18,27 398,88
44 2,92 18,49 403,81
45 2,91 18,40 401,70
46 3,05 19,33 422,12
47 3,10 19,66 429,16
48 3,14 19,88 434,09
 APPLICATION OF THE LABVIEW ENVIRONMENT 129
49 3,18 20,14 439,72
50 3,19 20,24 441,83
51 3,22 20,37 444,65
52 3,28 20,79 453,80
53 3,41 21,63 472,11
54 3,49 22,14 483,37
55 3,53 22,37 488,30
56 3,59 22,72 496,05
57 3,64 23,04 503,09
58 3,65 23,14 505,20
59 3,67 23,24 507,31
60 3,68 23,30 508,72
61 3,69 23,37 510,13
62 3,70 23,43 511,54
63 3,71 23,49 512,91
64 3,72 23,56 514,36
65 3,72 23,59 515,06
66 3,73 23,65 516,47
67 3,75 23,75 518,58
68 3,76 23,85 520,69
69 3,77 23,88 521,40
70 3,79 23,98 523,51
71 3,79 24,01 524,22
72 3,79 24,04 524,92
73 3,81 24,11 526,33

Figures 15, 16 and 17 show the waveform of the

flow meter signal at various engine speeds.

Fig. 15. Amplitude of signal from air flow meter at Fig. 16. Amplitude of signal from air flow meter at
idling engine increasing engine speed
130 A. BOGUTA
time, as well as outlining the amplitude characteristics
of the signal.

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 APPLICATION OF THE LABVIEW ENVIRONMENT 131
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