Internal Combustion Engine Test Kit Cylinder Parasitic Loss Filtering
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing test kits for internal combustion engines struggle to accurately identify faulty cylinders due to parasitic losses, leading to unreliable test results and unnecessary replacement of parts.
Innovation Solution
A test kit with a programmed test module that measures engine performance values under varying fuel conditions and discards tests if parasitic losses exceed a threshold, distinguishing between component failures and parasitic losses during idle periods, thereby filtering out unreliable results.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If individual cylinder tests are performed to identify faulty cylinders, then cylinder health assessment capability is improved, but test reliability deteriorates due to parasitic losses from accessories like air compressor, airco, and coolant pump
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary checks before executing individual cylinder tests to detect the presence of parasitic losses. By measuring engine performance parameters before the actual cylinder tests, the system can identify conditions where accessories like air compressor, airco, or coolant pump are causing abnormal losses, and prevent unreliable tests from being executed
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors engine performance parameters during idle periods and uses this feedback to determine whether conditions are suitable for accurate cylinder testing. If parasitic losses are detected through feedback from performance measurements, the system adjusts by either correcting the test conditions or preventing the test execution to maintain reliability
2Ease of repair
If extensive repair activities are performed based on negative cylinder test results, then potential cylinder issues are addressed, but time and resources are wasted when tests produce false positives due to parasitic losses
Solution Approach 1:
Before initiating repair activities, the system performs preliminary validation to ensure that negative cylinder test results are genuine and not caused by parasitic losses. This preliminary check prevents technicians from performing unnecessary repair activities on healthy cylinders, thereby avoiding waste of time and resources
Solution Approach 2:
The system converts the potentially harmful effect of parasitic losses causing false test results into a beneficial filtering mechanism. By detecting parasitic losses and preventing test execution under such conditions, the system ensures that only reliable test results trigger repair activities, thus eliminating false positives and unnecessary repairs
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention concerns a test kit comprising a testing program programmed to control an internal combustion engine for testing the internal combustion engine with the engine kept at a fixed load condition, provided with - a test module programmed execute a sequence of individual cylinder tests, wherein the test module comprises first computer code for measuring, in each cylinder test, a first engine performance value and further comprises second computer code for providing an amount of fuel to one cylinder under test to differ from an amount of fuel provided to the rest of the plurality of cylinders; and - a further test module programmed to measure, in an idle period between subsequent individual cylinder tests of said sequence of individual cylinder tests, a second engine performance value; and said further test module comprising third computer code to discard at least some of the individual cylinder tests if the second engine performance measured by the further test module value passes a threshold.