THE CHALLENGE

The U.S. Army wanted to equalize the power-balance between cylinders of their ground vehicles’ multi-cylinder Diesel engines, but had no practical way to measure it during field operation.

THE SOLUTION

Nanohmics developed SmartBalance™, an Adaptive Inter-Cylinder Output Balancing System (AICOBS), which was based on a digital signal filter that analyzed variations in the per-cylinder expansion phase periods in the internal combustion engine’s existing speed/timing. Using the engine’s existing sensors, Nanohmics AICOBS was able to detect inter-cylinder power variation as small as 2% of indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP). This digital filter was successfully demonstrated live on a Caterpillar C12 diesel engine.

BENEFIT TO CLIENT

Nanohmics AICOBS can be implemented in a standalone device, or integrated with an OEM engine controller. Either way, it offers breakthrough capability to monitor instantaneous engine performance, as well as characterize long-term changes in inter-cylinder performance that can be used for advanced service prognostics.