Implementation of a 3.5 kW resistive load bank for a single-cylinder diesel engine test bench

This article presents the implementation of a 3.5 kW resistive load bank applied to a four-stroke single-cylinder diesel engine test bench that operates with an alternator. With this experimental test bench, it is possible to perform mechanical, thermodynamic, and polluting emissions studies in compression-ignited or induced internal combustion engines. Applying the quantitative research methodology, the design of the electric charging system is carried out. Power control circuits and safety elements are designed for the load back. CAD software is used to design the structure and casing considering anthropometric measurements. Also, finite element analysis (FEA) is incorporated to verify the structural and thermal design criteria. he implementation of an electrical and instrumentation acceleration system for sensing power and torque in low-displacement engines showed a measurement error of less than 1%. Similarly, the FEA allowed to quantify the maximum efforts and guarantee a safety factor above 5. With the characterization of the implemented sensors, a correlation coefficient of up to 99.97% was achieved. The power measurement displayed an error lower than 3%, which leads to a high characterization capacity of any thermal machine with equal power or less than the designed one.