Thursday, May 17, 2018


CHAPTER 1- Transient Dynamometer

1.1  Introduction:


 

The word transient means passing with time or state of being brief and short lived. It is also known as lasting only for a short time; impermanent. Transient state is defined as transient state when a process variable has been changed and the system has not yet reached steady-state. In transient testing there are mainly two primary variables i.e. speed and torque. When speed or torques is measured for an every sudden change of state then it is called as transient measurement. A transient event is a short-lived event in the system caused by a sudden change of state. In this short lived window of time frame a measurement of parameters such as speed and torque are performed. Transient means changing. Transient state is an interval of time in which the system is either "warming up" or taking its time to respond to a disturbance.

 

 

The transient condition may occur due to:

1.      The vehicle experiencing the load changes on the road even if the throttle is constant.

2.      The change in the fuel pump rack position (throttle) resulting in change in speed of the engine there by affecting change in vehicle speed.

3.      Cold or hot starting.

 

The combination of above three conditions results in

1.      Changes in speed and load.

2.      Gear shift to cater the speed torque demand of the vehicle.

3.      Transient cycles of speed and torque.

 

Steady is the opposite of transient. Steady state is a condition where the system continues with an easily predictable behavior and few values of it are changing if any.

 

Transient state response is a description of how the system functions during transient state. Steady state response is a description of how the system functions during steady state. The difference between a steady state simulation and marching a transient solution to steady state is that the Steady state simulation ignores many of the higher order terms dealing with time. These terms all go to zero in steady state so they don't affect the steady state result. The transient simulation includes all these terms. Usually this means the steady state model has an easier convergence as there are less terms to model and some transient non-linearities are removed, but in a few models these non- linearities help convergence. Transient

It is important to determine the emissions, fuel economy and durability of modern internal combustion engines which are the main prime movers of today’s automobiles. In many countries these tests are required to get government certifications of the engines under regulations of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). These tests can be performed by following three unique methods.

1.      Running the car (automobile) on the test track or proving grounds. These tests are most cumbersome and rarely repeatable. In this case the vehicle under test is required to be driven by a trained driver, whose sole aim is to carry out the assigned set of tests with precision. The test track conditions are variable in nature and are governed by temperature pressure and humidity. Moreover the size of the car under test limits the mounting of various sophisticated instrumentation to perform the acquisition and logging of the important and necessary data.

2.      Another popular method is use of Chassis Dynamometer to simulate the road load in the laboratory or test cell. This method offers repeatability and precision of measurement compared to test track method, an entire vehicle is required to be engaged on chassis dynamometer. The installation of chassis dynamometer requires substantial space and may occupy larger portion of the testing laboratory. The testing of vehicle in the laboratory has inherent problems associated with it such as vibrations, tire noise, clamping of the vehicle.

3.      This method employs an Alternating Current machine capable of running in all the four quadrants and Instrumentation and control system capable of simulating road load characteristics and drive cycle simulation accurately and precisely. This method eliminates the extraneous variables contributed by driver and vehicle under test. This set up is called AC dynamometer or Transient dynamometer.

The main objective of the transient dynamometer is to simulate the test system which eliminates the need to test on the chassis dynamometer or testing tracks. A transient works by creating a load that accurately reflects the real world in terms of the mass a motor has to accelerate rather than a fixed weight that might be found on chassis dynamometer. The transient load is set to mimic exactly what an engine would see if it was on the actual race track. A transient measures directly from the engine to the and not through any transmission, final drives or tires and eliminates the variables that can contaminate chassis results.

The basic premise is that the transient dynamometer can simulate all the road loads on the engine as if the car would encounter on road. It can simulate the going downhill events by adding the energy or can simulate uphill climbing by adding the extra load.

The modern fast microprocessors, governed by real-time circuit and vehicle simulation, assure realistic demands on the engine. The modern control systems assure response times of well under half second and required by many transient test cycles. It can load or motor the engine to follow any desired speed and acceleration profiles for real-world applications.

1.2  Construction of transient dynamometer


 

The entire base plate is supported by the pneumatic cylinders at the four corners. The engine and dynamometer are mounted over this base plate. Since both the engine and dynamometer are mounted on same plate, the amplitude of vibration is same for both engine and dynamometer. This prevents the misalignment in connecting shaft due to vibration. The whole system is isolated from the ground level and surrounding structures. This air cushion system is interlocked with the test cell control system.

 


 

Figure 1.1- Transient Dynamometer

 

1.3  Testing on Transient dynamometer:


 

Transient dynamometer is used to simulate vehicle modeling on an engine test bed.

 

Transient testing is done to replicate the conditions seen by the engine when located in a vehicle.  Transient dynamometer is used to carry out following type of testing.

 

1.      Simulation of shift for manual transmissions

2.      Different shift styles for example racing shift.

3.      Drive cycle simulation

 

The test setup on transient dynamometer requires information about following vehicle parameters to simulate the vehicle conditions on engine test bed.

 

Vehicle Parameters:


 

Road Load Model

 

  ……………………… 1

 

Where:







n = Velocity Exponent, variable 1 to 3


W= Weight of vehicle


1.4  Relation between Wheel torque and Engine torque


 

The primary purpose of having a transmission or gear box with multiple gears is to match the torque and speed demand of the car while traveling in different terrain such as flat road, inclined road or slope. In first gear, there is plenty of acceleration because of the torque multiplication, but very little speed which is the requirement of moving the car from steady state. In second gear, there is slightly less acceleration, but a slightly higher speed. This trend of higher speed and lower acceleration continues through each gear in the transmission. The following figure shows a typical powertrain arrangement.

 


Figure 1.2 – Power train of automobile.

 

 

Where: 

 

TE = Torque at flywheel

TT= Torque output at gear box.

TD= Torque output at differential

TW= Torque at wheel

 

   

The force on the road or the force at tire surface FW is given by following formaula:

 

Let:-

 





 

  …………………………………..2

 


 

Figure 1.3 - Torque at wheel

 


 


 

Similarly, the speed relation is worked out

Let:





 

 

Vehicle Speed VS is given by following relation:

 


 


 


 

Therefore,


 

Power at Wheel (PW)

Let:




 


 

 

The road load equation determines the force required to be simulated at wheel considering various resistances such rolling resistance, wind resistance, gradient. This can be established by equation 1. Based on the road load the torque to be simulated at flywheel or at transmission output can be established considering the transmission and axle ratios while testing the engine on transient dynamometer.

1.5  Characteristics of transient dynamometer


The transient dynamometer should have following inherent characteristics to achieve transient control and measurement.

 

1.      Fast response and low inertia

Response of the transient dynamometer is directly proportional to the inertia of rotating elements of dynamometer. The response time of typically 200 ms for torque reversal from-100% to +1005 is desirable. This is achieved by selecting hydrostatic hydraulic dynamometers, AC and eddy current dynamometers.

 

2.      Motoring capability

 

Motoring capability of transient dynamometer is essential to simulate the down slop road simulation or negative torque simulation. This can easily be achieved if dynamometer under consideration is AC or DC electric machine. In case of eddy current dynamometer an electric motor connected in tandem can to the function of motoring. Eddy current dynamometer in conjunction with electric motor is also a favorable configuration of transient dynamometer. This is most popularly known as hybrid dynamometer.

 

3.      Feedback control:

The dynamometer should be able to be controlled in closed loop so that various loading models can be implemented through the software control system

 

 

1.6  Power envelope of transient dynamometer.


 

The power envelope of transient dynamometer is power envelope of the AC machine used as dynamometer.

 


 

Figure 1.4 AC MACHINE POWER ENVELOPE

1.7  Transient /dynamic Test Cells


Transient dynamometer is used to simulate the vehicle road load on engine. These test cells can be further augmented by installing emission measurement devices to allow the running of all dynamic emission test cycles required by certification authorities such as EPA or other customer specific transient cycles.

1.8  Closure:


The AC transient dynamometer is a most modern versatile dynamometer. It can be used for steady state testing of the engines or dynamic simulation of road load conditions.  The transient dynamometer can simulate all the road loads on the engine as if the car would encounter on the road. It can simulate the going downhill events by adding the energy or can simulate uphill climbing by adding the extra load. Transient dynamometer is really a boon to the development engineers as they can simulate the vehicle conditions even before the car is built. It is possible to predict the emissions and fuel economy of the car by simulation the conditions on engine transient test stand.

 

Ref:

1.      Diesel Engine Transient Operation: Principles of Operation and Simulation Analysis by Constantine D. Rakopoulos, Evangelos G. Giakoumis.


 

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