DETERMINING THE KNOCK RATING OF LIQUID SPARK-IGNITION ENGINE FUELS

摘要

A system and method for determining the octane rating of a fuel from a plurality of measurements at a test engine. The measurements may include a plurality of measurements regarding individual knock events, from which waveform attributes regarding the knock events can be determined and used in the calculation of the octane rating. The measurements may also include one or more environmental measurements, such as temperature, humidity, exhaust oxygen, etc., according to which the octane rating may be normalized or that may otherwise be applied into the calculation of the octane rating. The measurements may also include one or more engine property measurements corresponding to the condition of the test engine, according to which the octane rating may be normalized or that may otherwise be applied into the calculation of the octane rating, and that may be used to advise of maintenance events.

主权项

1. A method of determining the octane rating of a fuel, comprising the steps of:
running a test engine on the fuel under conditions that cause the engine to knock; during the running step, measuring a plurality of measurement parameters at the engine, the plurality of measurement parameters comprising a plurality of waveform attributes corresponding to at least one knock event, the measuring step comprising:
sensing a time-varying signal from at least one knock event sensor at the engine, the signal including a plurality of values obtained for each of at least one knock event; andanalyzing the time-varying signal to determine the plurality of waveform attributes; and numerically processing data corresponding to the measurement parameters according to relationships of values of those measurement parameters to known octane ratings, to determine the octane rating of the fuel.