In situ oil flow measurements in fired engine compared to one-dimensional lube circuit simulation

Abstract

This article describes the measurement methodology employed to determine oil mass flowrate through internal combustion (IC) engine oil circuits. Comparisons with one-dimensional (1D) simulations of oil circuits are shown and potential applications to the development of optimized oil circuits are outlined.

Lubricant mass flowrates at different lube circuit locations are not well known. For optimized engine friction development, oil mass flowrates have been measured along the engine lube circuit in motored and fired engine to better understand the real oil feeding conditions of the main mechanical parts. These measurements show that not only oil mass flowrates, but also oil distributions in the lube circuit evolve with the engine speed and load. This has to be taken into account for engine mechanical part design. The constant temperature anemometry method, used in this study, proved to be an appropriate way to better investigate engine lube circuit behaviour.

A 1D fluid-flow model of the engine lube circuit has been made and results were compared to measurement data. Simulation results were found to be consistent with measurement data.