Abstract
Stricter laws and regulations with regard to C02 and fuel consumption reduction increase the pressure to develop engines even faster, with strongly increasing measuring efforts at the same time. The development engineers of diesel and gasoline engines are increasingly forced to perform measurements in automatic operation with ever shorter measuring times or in transient measurements. Modern combustion engines offer an increasing number of variation parameters. Transient measuring methods are increasingly being utilized with engine calibration in order to still be able to deal with the vast number of measuring points in a reasonable time frame. Fuel Measurement Devices have to provide continuously precise momentary values, and thus enables a reduction of the overall testing times, for instance in the measurement of the engine’s air charge determination. With regard to transient fuel consumption optimization in the scope of legal driving cycles, a fast and precise fuel consumption measuring signal is also indispensable in order to reduce consumption peaks during transient transitions. Engines for alternative fuels increase the complexity of the application, and additionally require fuel consumption measurement systems to be compatible for biodiesel or alcohol admixtures of up to 100%. The purpose of the paper is to describe the existing and upcoming measurement requirements and applications and to outline solutions allowing both the reduction of engine development time and at the same time increasing the test bed efficiency. Appropriate Fuel Consumption Measurement Systems will be introduced and along with measurement results the capabilities of reducing the overall testing time will be shown.
Keywords: Fuel Consumption Measurement, Fuel Economy, CO2 Legislation, Measurement Accuracy, Fuel Temperature Control, Engine Calibration, Transient Measurement