B
:B
/E
S
G
Mayim Moore, Tyler Schell, Aaron Ladeau
Introduc on
The ul mate vision for this project is the crea on of a
two tank vegetable oil system that can be mounted on
any of the diesel engines currently u lized by our client,
Ma Walsh, in Mahadaga, Burkina Faso. At this stage in
the project, we are working to create a reliable system
for tes ng engine efficiency with different biodiesel
blends. The current mix of vegetable oil and diesel fuel
raises a few problems. One of the byproducts of burning
this fuel mix is a par culate matrix that tends to gouge
out the walls of the engine’s piston casing. Addi onally,
there is an appreciable difference in the viscosity be‐
tween the current biodiesel mix and standard diesel.
This creates some difficul es in spraying the fuel into the
combus on chamber. With this in mind, it is our
immediate goal to find ways to minimize these issues
while increasing engine efficiency.
The plan is to find the vegetable oil‐to‐diesel ra o
that provides us with a maximum power output for an
engine of this caliber. This semester, our team has
sought to prepare our engine for the tes ng process and
generate a reliable procedure for measuring engine
torque with our par cular brand of dynamometer.
Prototyping
Immediate Goals
On the le is the performance curve for the dynamome‐
ter provided by the manual. Previously, the plan was to
connect the dynamometer directly to the engine flywheel
to measure its torque. The engine runs at an average
RPM of 2200 and 24 hp, however, and this does not align
well with the dynamometer performance curve. This mo‐
vated the need to construct a chain drive that would in‐
crease the RPM delivered to the dynamometer so that we
could obtain accurate performance readings on our en‐
gine. Further research was also conducted into the fol‐
lowing areas:
6 4 5 7 3 1 2 6 1. Understanding the physics underpinning the dynamometer
opera on and figuring out how to implement a proper pump
system for running it.
This is the current engine setup for our opera on. The engine is similar to the engines available to our cli‐
ent in Burkina Faso, and is therefore appropriate to use in our biodiesel tests. This semester, our primary
concern was to create a stable means of gathering data on engine performance using a Land‐and‐Sea dyna‐
mometer. Our ini al concern was that the engine rota on was not high enough to obtain a good response
from the dynamometer. To achieve this, we increased the RPM delivered to the dynamometer from 2200
to 3950 RPM by construc ng the chain drive pictured above. When we begin tes ng in earnest, the dyna‐
mometer will be connected to the sha at the le of the engine and supported with an addi onal mount
and pump system. Addi onal modifica ons to the engine setup have been as follows:
2. Gaining knowledge of the electrical and sensory connec‐
ons required to run the dynamometer.
3. Obtaining the appropriate so ware packages for transla ng
the data relayed by the dynamometer.
1. A chain drive and sha with two milled keyways designed to increase RPM for the dynamometer.
2. A metal base designed to stabilize the engine and dampen vibra ons during opera on. Cross‐beam de‐
sign also allows for greater ease of transporta on via jack li .
3. Rubber pads between the engine mounts and stand created to further dampen engine vibra on and de‐
crease fric on‐induced wear on the stand.
4. A 45 tooth steel sprocket a ached to flywheel with a milled steel plate designed to ensure that the sec‐
ond sprocket and sha will spin true to the flywheel.
Conclusions
7. Graduated cylinder provides us with a precise way of delivering quan zed fuel amounts to the engine.
With our current modifications, the project is set to move forward with the development of a reliable
testing procedure. Pending further work with the dynamometer setup, the chain drive should be sufficient to generate the requisite RPM and we will be able to begin testing with the dynamometer in the
upcoming fall semester.
Future Work
Acknowledgements
Once the procedure for testing with the dynamometer has been completed and debugged, our
team will commence testing with various biodiesel blends. As it stands, the dynamometer
still requires a stable mount and a water pump system specifically tailored to the dynamometer’s braking demands. The primary goal for the fall semester is to finalize and implement
the testing setup, after which we will begin the process of optimizing our biodiesel formula.
We would like to acknowledge the indispensable contributions of Lindsey Barner, Andrew Gates, and
Andrew Russell to this project over the course of this semester. We also wish to thank Dr. Timothy
Whitmoyer and Dr. Douglas Phillippy for the invaluable mentorship they have provided throughout the
development process. A special thanks goes out to Steve Marquis, a long-time supporter and mentor for
our team.
5. 50 ANSI chain connec ng the 45 tooth sprocket to the 25 tooth sprocket, enabling us to increase RPM
6. New, transparent tubing for the fuel lines allows us to visually gauge fuel flow.
Client
Matt Walsh and the people of Mahadaga, Burkina Faso