An engine test stand is a facility used to develop, characterize and test engines. The facility, often offered as a product to automotive OEMs, allows engine operation in different operating regimes and offers measurement of several physical variables associated with the engine operation.

A sophisticated engine test stand houses several sensors (or transducers), data acquisition features and actuators to control the engine state. The sensors would measure several physical variables of interest which typically include: A sensor is a technological device or biological organ that detects, or senses, a signal or physical condition. ... A transducer is a device that converts one type of energy to another, or responds to a physical parameter. ... Data acquisition is the sampling of the real world to generate data that can be manipulated by a computer. ... An actuator is the mechanism by which an agent acts upon an environment. ...

• crankshaft torque
• angular velocity of crankshaft
• intake air and fuel consumption rates, often detected using volumetric and/or gravimetric measurement methods
• air-fuel ratio for the intake mixture, often detected using an exhaust gas oxygen sensor
• concentration of environment pollutants in the exhaust gas e.g. carbon monoxide, different configurations of hydrocarbons and nitric oxides, sulphur dioxide, particulate matter
• temperatures and gas pressures at several locations on the engine body e.g. engine oil temperature, spark plug temperature, exhaust gas temperature, intake manifold pressure
• atmospheric conditions such as temperature, pressure, humidity

Information gathered through the sensors is often processed and logged through data acquisition systems. Actuators allow for attaining a desired engine state (often characterized as a unique combination of engine torque and speed). For gasoline engines, the actuators may include an intake throttle actuator, a loading device for the engine such as an induction motor. The engine test stands are often custom-packaged considering requirements of the OEM customer. They often include a microcontroller based feedback control system with following features: Crankshaft, pistons, and flywheel Continental engine marine crankshafts, 1942 For the comic strip about an old, curmudgeonly bus driver, see Crankshaft (comic strip). ... In physics, torque can be thought of informally as rotational force. The SI units for Torque are newton meters although centinewton meters (cN·m), foot-pounds force (ft·lbf), inch pounds (lbf·in) and inch ounces (ozf·in) are also frequently used expressions of torque. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... Crankshaft, pistons, and flywheel Continental engine marine crankshafts, 1942 For the comic strip about an old, curmudgeonly bus driver, see Crankshaft (comic strip). ... It has been suggested that Fuel mixture be merged into this article or section. ... Carbon monoxide, chemical formula CO, is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and highly toxic gas. ... In chemistry, a hydrocarbon is a cleaning solution consisting only of carbon (C) and hydrogen (H). ... Sulfur dioxide (or Sulphur dioxide) has the chemical formula SO2. ... Particulates, alternately referred to as Particulate Matter (PM) , aerosols or fine particles are tiny particles of solid or liquid suspended in the air. ... Temperature is the physical property of a system which underlies the common notions of hot and cold; the material with the higher temperature is said to be hotter. ... Pressure (symbol: p or P) is the measure of the force that acts on a unit area. ... Motor oil is a type of liquid oil used for lubrication by various kinds of motors, especially internal combustion engines. ... This article or section should include material from Spark gap A spark plug is an electrical device that fits into the cylinder head of some internal combustion engines and ignites compressed aerosol gasoline by means of an electric spark. ... Exhaust gas is gas which occurs as a result of combustion of fuel such as gasoline/petrol, diesel or coal. ... Humidity is the concentration of water vapor in the air. ...

• closed loop desired speed operation (useful towards characterization of steady-state or transient engine performance)
• closed loop desired torque operation (useful towards emulation of in-vehicle, on-road scenarios, thereby enabling an alternate way of characterization of steady-state or transient engine performance)

Categories of engine test stands depending on their purpose

• Research and Development of engines, typically at an OEM laboratory
• Tuning of in-use engines, typically at service centers
• End of production line at an OEM factory

Engine testing for R&D

HORIBA engine test stand type TITAN

Research and Development activities on engines at automobile OEMs have necessitated sophisticated engine test stands. An automobile OEM is interested in developing engines that serve the following three-fold objective:

• as much high fuel efficiency as possible
• as much better drivability and durability as possible
• comliance to relevant emission legislations

Consequently, an R&D engine test stands allow for a full-fledge engine development exercise through measurement, control and record of several relevant engine variables.

Examples for typical tests include:

• tests to determine fuel efficiency and drivability: torque-speed performance test under steady-state and transient conditions
• tests to determine durability: aging tests, oil and lubrication tests
• tests to determine compliance to relevant emission legislations: volumetric and mass emission tests over stated emission test cycles
• tests to gain more knowledge about the engine itself: engine mapping exercise or development of multidimensional input-output maps among different engine variables. e.g. a map from intake manifold pressure and engine speed to intake air flow rate.

See also

• Air flow meter
• Driveshaft
• Dynamometer
• Emission standard
• Engine cart
• Electromagnetic_brake Article about eddy current dynos

An air flow meter, also know as air consumption meter, is a device that measures how much air is flowing through a tube. ... Cardan driveshaft with universal joints A driveshaft or driving shaft or Cardan shaft is a mechanical device for transferring power from the engine or motor to the point where useful work is applied. ... A dynamometer, or dyno for short, is a device used to measure RPM and torque from which power produced by an engine or other rotating device can be calculated. ... Emission standards are requirements that set specific limits to the amount of pollutants that can be released into the environment. ... Electromagnetic brakes seek to cause deceleration in a moving system. ...

External links: companies

• ACS
• AVL
• Dynaspede
• Dynomerk Controls
• FEV
• Froude Hofmann
• HORIBA Automotive Test Systems
• Kahn Industries
• KS Engineers
• Land and Sea DYNOmite
• Luoyang
• Piper
• Rototest
• SAJ Test Plant
• Superflow
• Taylor Dynamometer
• Technogerma

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