Engine Test using a Dynamometer
Author: Galab Kausik
Team members are as follows:
Ajeesh Suresh Babu
Alexandra Murray
Michael Congelosi
Mohammad Almekhyal
Omkar Aradhye
Pranav Krishna Medarametla
Michael Kanupp
All vehicles require horsepower. Without horsepower, a vehicle would go nowhere. A
dynamometer (dyno for short) is the only tool which is specifically designed to measure the
engine horsepower. It helps isolate and quantify a particular parameter from overall vehicle
performance. A dyno measures force, torque or power.
Testing a car only on a track might not pinpoint the where the problem lies when it comes
to increasing the output of the engine. A dyno helps by pointing us in the right direction
within just a couple of seconds by the pull of the acceleration toggle bar.
Fig 1: Basic Test setup of a test engine using a dynamometer.
Experimental Setup:
The experiment was carried out in the Kulwicki Lab on 19th November 2015. After warm up,
the engine was swept from 2500 rpm to 5000 rpm. This was the baseline. The following data
were collected at 500 rpm increments: engine speed, corrected power, corrected torque,
fuel flow.
The engine speed was controlled by constant throttle and varying the loads.
The data that was collected is shown below:
Baseline
RPM Power (HP) Torque (lbf-ft) Fuel Injected (lb/hr) BSFC (lb/hp-hr)
2500 166.2 349.2 50.4 0.463
2600 174.4 352.3 50.3 0.482
2700 180.7 351.6 50.3 0.495
2800 187.1 350.9 50.3 0.488
2900 193.8 351 50.3 0.485
3000 201.5 352.8 50.3 0.497
3100 209.2 354.4 50.3 0.491
3200 217.2 356.5 50.2 0.512
3300 225.1 358.2 50.2 0.502
3400 232.8 359.6 50.2 0.49
3500 240.3 360.6 50.2 0.482
3600 248.1 362 50.2 0.474
3700 255.9 363.3 50.2 0.477
3800 264.3 365.3 50.2 0.465
3900 271.4 365.5 50.1 0.469
4000 276 362.4 50.1 0.469
4100 282 361.3 50.1 0.472
4200 290.4 363.1 50.1 0.489
4300 296 361.6 50.1 0.486
4400 300.6 358.8 50 0.485
4500 303.7 354.5 50.1 0.473
4600 305.8 349.2 50 0.471
4700 308.2 344.5 50 0.478
4800 308.4 337.4 50 0.476
4900 309.1 331.3 50 0.497
5000 309 324.6 50 0.498
10% less AF
RPM Power (HP) Torque (lbf-ft) Fuel Injected (lb/hr) BSFC (lb/hp-hr)
2500 166.4 349.6 50.3 0.556
2600 174.8 353.2 50.3 0.583
2700 180.9 351.8 50.3 0.572
2800 186.4 349.7 50.2 0.57
2900 192.7 349.1 50.2 0.567
3000 200.9 351.8 50.2 0.549
3100 210.2 356.2 50.2 0.567
3200 218.3 358.3 50.2 0.562
3300 225.9 359.6 50.2 0.547
3400 233.3 360.4 50.1 0.548
3500 240.6 361.1 50.1 0.546
3600 249.9 364.6 50.1 0.533
3700 258.2 366.6 50.1 0.52
3800 265.7 367.3 50.1 0.537
3900 273.8 368.7 50 0.54
4000 278.4 365.6 50 0.535
4100 284.5 364.5 50 0.544
4200 290.3 363 50 0.548
4300 296.4 362.1 50 0.57
4400 300.1 358.2 50 0.535
4500 302.2 352.7 50 0.549
4600 304.2 347.3 49.9 0.577
4700 305.5 341.3 49.9 0.549
4800 304.9 333.6 49.9 0.552
4900 304 325.8 49.9 0.565
5000 304.1 319.4 49.9 0.579
10% more AF
RPM Power (HP) Torque (lbf-ft) Fuel Injected (lb/hr) BSFC (lb/hp-hr)
2500 167.7 352.3 50.3 0.439
2600 175.6 354.8 50.4 0.44
2700 181.7 353.4 50.3 0.452
2800 187.4 351.6 50.3 0.451
2900 194 351.4 50.3 0.451
3000 201.5 352.7 50.2 0.506
3100 210.4 356.4 50.2 0.469
3200 218.2 358.2 50.2 0.443
3300 223.6 355.8 50.2 0.419
3400 229.4 354.3 50.2 0.442
3500 235.8 353.9 50.2 0.448
3600 243.2 354.8 50.2 0.427
3700 251.9 357.6 50.2 0.44
3800 257.7 356.2 50.2 0.422
3900 263.6 355 50.2 0.437
4000 270.7 355.5 50.1 0.468
4100 277.8 355.9 50.1 0.456
4200 287 358.9 50.1 0.473
4300 293.4 358.4 50.1 0.456
4400 298.4 356.2 50.1 0.459
4500 301.6 352.1 50.1 0.458
4600 304 347.1 50.1 0.457
4700 306.5 342.5 50 0.46
4800 306.2 335 50 0.468
4900 305.9 327.9 50 0.498
5000 307.5 323.1 50 0.511
10% less spark
RPM Power (HP) Torque (lbf-ft) Fuel Injected (lb/hr) BSFC (lb/hp-hr)
2500 166.7 350.2 50.3 0.52
2600 175.1 353.7 50.3 0.541
2700 181.6 353.3 50.3 0.532
2800 187.6 351.9 50.3 0.52
2900 194.2 351.7 50.3 0.517
3000 201.1 352.1 50.2 0.522
3100 209.5 354.9 50.2 0.501
3200 218 357.8 50.2 0.499
3300 225.8 359.4 50.2 0.503
3400 233 359.9 50.2 0.518
3500 240.7 361.3 50.2 0.508
3600 249.8 364.5 50.2 0.507
3700 257.9 366.1 50.1 0.509
3800 265.3 366.7 50.1 0.505
3900 271.6 365.7 50.1 0.498
4000 279 366.3 50.1 0.494
4100 286 366.3 50 0.499
4200 292 365.2 50.1 0.484
4300 296.2 361.8 50 0.494
4400 300.5 358.7 50 0.508
4500 302.9 353.5 50 0.503
4600 303.7 346.7 50 0.505
4700 304.4 340.1 50 0.508
4800 305.6 334.4 50 0.509
4900 305.5 327.4 50 0.511
5000 304.6 320 50 0.524
10% more spark
RPM Power (HP) Torque (lbf-ft) Fuel Injected (lb/hr) BSFC (lb/hp-hr)
2500 169.8 356.7 50.3 0.489
2600 177.5 358.6 50.3 0.519
2700 183.9 357.8 50.3 0.539
2800 190.8 358 50.2 0.52
2900 197.1 356.9 50.2 0.511
3000 204.7 358.3 50.2 0.53
3100 212.3 359.7 50.2 0.523
3200 219.9 361 50.2 0.53
3300 228.9 364.4 50.2 0.521
3400 237.3 366.6 50.1 0.508
3500 245.5 368.4 50.1 0.498
3600 253.2 369.4 50.1 0.507
3700 260.8 370.2 50.1 0.517
3800 268.4 371 50.1 0.514
3900 276.3 372 50.1 0.525
4000 283.9 372.7 50.1 0.503
4100 290.1 371.6 50 0.492
4200 294.8 368.7 50 0.498
4300 299.5 365.8 50 0.489
4400 303.6 362.4 50 0.504
4500 306.3 357.5 50 0.495
4600 308.9 352.7 50 0.499
4700 311.1 347.6 50 0.519
4800 311.1 340.4 49.9 0.532
4900 311.5 333.9 49.9 0.532
5000 312.2 327.9 49.9 0.525
The graphs were plotted and are shown as below:
Fig 2: Graph for the Baseline with RPM vs Corrected Power and Torque
From the graph above we can see that with the increase in RPM, the Corrected Torque
decreases whereas the Corrected Power increases.
Fig 3: Graph of RPM vs Corrected Power for all the runs
From the graph above we can see that there is not much difference between the baseline
from the other runs. All the values increase with the increase in RPM.
Fig 4: Graph of RPM vs Corrected Torque for all the runs
From the graph above we see that after a certain level, all the points decrease. But the 10%
more spark run goes to the highest level and then converges.
Fig 5: Graph of RPM vs Fuel Flow
From the graph we can see that the run with 10% more AF increases suddenly and then
drops with the others. But the 10% less AF and 10% more Spark goes to the lowest value.
Fig 6: Graph of RPM vs BSFC
From the graph above we can see that the run with 10% less AF has the highest value of
BSFC and the run with 10% more AF has the lowest value of BSFC.