Measuring Diesel Fuel Consumption in a Laboratory Setting

Several improvements in diesel engines attribute from additional hardware and calibrations. To continue the improvement of diesel engines, it is necessary to study these increasingly complex systems with accuracy. Specifically, measuring engine fuel consumption requires a system that can account for any fluctuations in fuel properties (e.g., temperature and pressure) to yield accurate results. Current fuel consumption measurement systems on the market are accurate, however they are expensive. This research develops a more affordable design that is capable of measuring fuel consumption at equal accuracy. In this study, an older, retail fuel measurement system was used as a comparison with the newly designed fuel measurement system. A bill of materials was recorded during the building process. For precautionary measures, a controlled amount of water was run through the new measurement system to test safety and functionality. The new measurement system was then attached to a diesel engine, and fuel consumption was measured using the gravimetric method at controlled speeds/torques to test repeatability. Finally, fuel consumption was compared with previously acquired data from the old measurement system to test for accuracy. Results show the new measurement system is about 10 times cheaper than the old measurement system. The new measurement system has a repeatability error of 0.66%, while the old fuel measuring system has a repeatability error of 0.77%. By providing a more cost-effective product for engine testing, a larger range of researchers can conduct engine testing in a laboratory setting. This creates potential for further improvements to be made in diesel engines