Home » Projects

Dynamometer: SCADA System for Automated Race Engines Testing

Interface fig.1 

Engine under test fig.2 

General parameters fig.3 

Engine parameters fig.4 

Configure channels fig.5

Engines. Complex electro-mechanical systems require lots of testing before it can be considered safe and ready-to-go (wherever it needs-to-go). Engines are no exception. No one want to stop in the middle of the highway and, what is more important, no one wants to stop in the middle of the race because of the engine malfunction. And it was exactly this, race cars' engines, that our customer wanted to test.

Race engines are expensive, very powerful and sometimes irreplaceable. When the engine is being tested, it resides in a room surrounded by ten inch concrete and can only be seen thru five-inch-thick, double pane, reinforced glass. The door to the room is six inch steel. Looking at all this, it is easy to realize safety is a major concern.

Price of operation of this set-up is another consideration. Testing can easily reach a couple thousand dollars a day, which leads us to two more key points: (1) the system should be operable in a timely and efficient manner and (2) test data should be stored securely.

XInstruments have automated a dynamometer, supporting the testing of combustion engines up to 1,000 HP and up to 15,000 RPM.

To address safety, speed and data security, we have developed the complete SCADA system that takes care of safety while giving operator all the tools to perform any test required. Customizable alarms and visual/sound real-time warnings give operator exact knowledge of what value is out of range. Over RPM protection gives the operator liberty to leave the test unattended, knowing the engine will be stopped if the RPM exceeds set limitations.

One can save time with the simultaneous usage of four monitors (rather than switching screens), allowing the operator to monitor all input channels, perform tests and configure the system without loosing control over the engine.

Obtained data is saved at run-time into a MySQL database, securing test results. Another software component displays (or even replays) stored data for inspecting results or for comparing one test result to others.

As a result software from XInstruments has successfully solved the customer's problems, allowing him to run tests in safe and time efficient manner.

If you are interested in custom software, please contact us. If you want to know more about our work, please look into our Projects folder.