Affiliation:
1. Vanderbilt University School of Engineering, Department of Mechanical
Engineering, USA
Abstract
<div>Assessing the functional quality of an engine lubricant through real-time sensing
could pave the way for development of comprehensive engine health monitoring
systems. In this study, a permittivity-based, commercial off-the-shelf (COTS)
oil quality sensor was implemented in the lubricant flow of a diesel engine
after detailed evaluation on a benchtop test facility. The sensor was mounted on
the oil filter housing of the engine in the post-filter oil flow, and its
implementation required no modifications to the engine block. Simultaneously,
the lubricant flow was visualized by incorporating a novel test cell in the oil
flow path. Both the sensor assembly and the flow visualization cell were fully
characterized on the benchtop facility prior to implementation on the engine. In
these experiments, fresh and used samples of the engine’s recommended oil were
tested, and the sensor’s oil quality measurements showed noticeable differences
between the engine and benchtop studies, a feature attributable to the observed
presence of aeration intrinsic to the engine oil flow. These results prove that
the adaptation of permittivity-based sensors for effective real-time engine
lubricant quality monitoring will require comparative assessment of oil quality
measurements in aerated and nonaerated flow fields.</div>
Subject
General Earth and Planetary Sciences,General Environmental Science