I am starting to get concerned with Jal as he does not want to put in 100% effort and seems to want to prioritize doing something menial to doing our project. In these 9 weeks we have only seen Anura 3 times. I keep telling him that we now have to see him twice a week but he always winds up being 'Busy' I'm not concerned about the project not being finished. I am however concerned about the amount of meetings that we need to have with Anura is very slack.
There was no need to go to class today so for that reason neither me nor Jal went to uni. I had decided to do some work for the project today but having some complications with my car meant nothing was achieved. I do feel as if my effort into this class is suffering as well. These holidays I really need to pull finger and get some good work done, there are to be no excuses this time.
Tuesday, 24 September 2013
Technology Project Class 8
For today's class there was the second group of people doing their presentations that did not do their presentations last week. This meant that there was no real need for Jal and I to go to class.
However we had been slacking somewhat to seeing Anura on our progress for the technology project. For this reason I pushed for the decision to go and see him today. Once again we had encountered a few problems with cooling the exhaust brake. However Anura told us that since there is no cooling system on standard exhaust brakes then this should not be a problem for our exhaust brake. This certainly makes the design concept on solid works much easier for us.
The other issue that we discussed was that Gerry told us that the turbo's oil seals would not be capable of handling the exhaust back pressure. However since these seals are made of aluminium alloys they are in-fact very strong. Anura said that the issue of back pressure on the oil seals is not actually and issue at all which is certainly relieving.
Lastly Anura told us that we should have some tangible data to use for our project. For this reason he said we can do exhaust pressure testing on the Mercedes diesel engine that is located at building 100. This will certainly make doing our calculations much easier than before as we now are able to have a starting point.
However we had been slacking somewhat to seeing Anura on our progress for the technology project. For this reason I pushed for the decision to go and see him today. Once again we had encountered a few problems with cooling the exhaust brake. However Anura told us that since there is no cooling system on standard exhaust brakes then this should not be a problem for our exhaust brake. This certainly makes the design concept on solid works much easier for us.
The other issue that we discussed was that Gerry told us that the turbo's oil seals would not be capable of handling the exhaust back pressure. However since these seals are made of aluminium alloys they are in-fact very strong. Anura said that the issue of back pressure on the oil seals is not actually and issue at all which is certainly relieving.
Lastly Anura told us that we should have some tangible data to use for our project. For this reason he said we can do exhaust pressure testing on the Mercedes diesel engine that is located at building 100. This will certainly make doing our calculations much easier than before as we now are able to have a starting point.
Wednesday, 4 September 2013
Technology Project Class 7
Today we had to present our second presentation for technology project and the progress that we have made with it. The first group that went up was Simon and Vadim and after their presentation on their ECU and the progress that they have made I felt as if we hadnt made enough of an effort.
However after a few more people had presented I had concluded that our progress was much the same to the rest of the class. It seemed as though Jal was quite a bit more nervous than I was about the presentation and at a few points ran out of ideas to say so I had to jump in to complete what he was trying to say. Surprisingly I wasnt as nervous as I first thought I would be.
After our presentation we had a few more curve balls thrown at us for our exhaust brake project. The first curve ball stating the complete opposite of what I had researched. Gerry told us that if the exhaust brake is located behind the turbo then the turbo will spool up faster and faster and with little oil being supplied will actually burst. He likened this comparison to a vacuum cleaner and having your hand placed over the nozzle it causes the motor to spin faster.
Other issues included heat dissipation, a much larger area for exhaust gases to by pass than I first thought and a safety system that makes sure that the exhaust flap does not fully close in case of failure so is that the car is still drive-able.
Now that I have solid works on my computer Jal and I can finally begin the design process of the exhaust brake and start doing calculations to either prove or disprove our idea from working.
Anura was not in class today so we could not go and see him to review what we have done so far so we will have to see him on Thursday so he can help us decide on whether or not we are on the right track or not. And help us decide what step to take from here.
However after a few more people had presented I had concluded that our progress was much the same to the rest of the class. It seemed as though Jal was quite a bit more nervous than I was about the presentation and at a few points ran out of ideas to say so I had to jump in to complete what he was trying to say. Surprisingly I wasnt as nervous as I first thought I would be.
After our presentation we had a few more curve balls thrown at us for our exhaust brake project. The first curve ball stating the complete opposite of what I had researched. Gerry told us that if the exhaust brake is located behind the turbo then the turbo will spool up faster and faster and with little oil being supplied will actually burst. He likened this comparison to a vacuum cleaner and having your hand placed over the nozzle it causes the motor to spin faster.
Other issues included heat dissipation, a much larger area for exhaust gases to by pass than I first thought and a safety system that makes sure that the exhaust flap does not fully close in case of failure so is that the car is still drive-able.
Now that I have solid works on my computer Jal and I can finally begin the design process of the exhaust brake and start doing calculations to either prove or disprove our idea from working.
Anura was not in class today so we could not go and see him to review what we have done so far so we will have to see him on Thursday so he can help us decide on whether or not we are on the right track or not. And help us decide what step to take from here.
Technology Project Class 6
For our sixth class Jal and I decided we would be far more productive at home so we did not come into class with the plan of seeing our technical advisor on thursday. We worked on our presentation for next weeks class, trying to gather information to try and see whether or not this idea of ours would actually work.
With the brief amounts of information we have gathered so far I am somewhat skeptical of our project simply because it seems as though the exhaust pressures achieved would be far to great and the variety among manufacturers makes it hard to set a safe point. Or a point where all engines benefit from the exhaust brake without issues occurring.
I feel that with New Zealands small motor fleet our exhaust brake may not be effective enough to be viable. Other retro fit kits out there are used on large diesel motors which are 3 litres and greater in capacity with atleast 6 cylinders. In New Zealand we have many 2 litre 4 cylinder diesel engines, so is there going to be enough exhaust pressure created? It is something we will have to investigate.
As for the progress of our first presentation I felt as if we didnt have much and I would have loved to have solid works on my computer so is that I can start conceptualizing ideas for how our exhaust brake will look. For now I added in a very simple sketch on how it will look, but will most likely evolve significantly from my first primitave sketches.
With the brief amounts of information we have gathered so far I am somewhat skeptical of our project simply because it seems as though the exhaust pressures achieved would be far to great and the variety among manufacturers makes it hard to set a safe point. Or a point where all engines benefit from the exhaust brake without issues occurring.
I feel that with New Zealands small motor fleet our exhaust brake may not be effective enough to be viable. Other retro fit kits out there are used on large diesel motors which are 3 litres and greater in capacity with atleast 6 cylinders. In New Zealand we have many 2 litre 4 cylinder diesel engines, so is there going to be enough exhaust pressure created? It is something we will have to investigate.
As for the progress of our first presentation I felt as if we didnt have much and I would have loved to have solid works on my computer so is that I can start conceptualizing ideas for how our exhaust brake will look. For now I added in a very simple sketch on how it will look, but will most likely evolve significantly from my first primitave sketches.
Technology Project Class 5
For our fifth class for Technology Project my group member Jal and I finally presented last weeks presentation on our idea for the technology project. The general consensus for our presented idea, is that it is a good idea, however there are a few issues to cover.
The first issue that was presented to us by the class was the issue of how the pressure would affect the pistons and combustion chamber area. Our technical advisor Anura quickly dismissed any doubts we had by telling us that the pressures of combustion in a diesel would be far greater than any pressures achievable by the exhaust brake.
Other issues included a by-pass area that had to be created so that exhaust gases can carry on flowing even though the exhaust flap is closed. This is to prevent the build up of exhaust pressure as exhaust gases would have no where to flow when the exhaust flap is closed. The last issue also refers to exhaust pressure in that making sure that the exhaust valve does not open because of the excessive pressure in the exhaust manifold. Other wise we have to make sure that the valve does not hit the piston if it is being held open. However due to clearances in the diesel engine this is extremely unlikely.
All in all I felt our first presentation went really well. Our technical advisor Anura gave us some good research ideas for the future including how to switch off fuel injectors when the exhaust brake is activated and brake pedal activation as the way for the exhaust brake to activate when the brake pedal is depressed.
This technology project is turning out to be far more involved then I first thought it would be but I am relishing in the idea of a challenge.
The first issue that was presented to us by the class was the issue of how the pressure would affect the pistons and combustion chamber area. Our technical advisor Anura quickly dismissed any doubts we had by telling us that the pressures of combustion in a diesel would be far greater than any pressures achievable by the exhaust brake.
Other issues included a by-pass area that had to be created so that exhaust gases can carry on flowing even though the exhaust flap is closed. This is to prevent the build up of exhaust pressure as exhaust gases would have no where to flow when the exhaust flap is closed. The last issue also refers to exhaust pressure in that making sure that the exhaust valve does not open because of the excessive pressure in the exhaust manifold. Other wise we have to make sure that the valve does not hit the piston if it is being held open. However due to clearances in the diesel engine this is extremely unlikely.
All in all I felt our first presentation went really well. Our technical advisor Anura gave us some good research ideas for the future including how to switch off fuel injectors when the exhaust brake is activated and brake pedal activation as the way for the exhaust brake to activate when the brake pedal is depressed.
This technology project is turning out to be far more involved then I first thought it would be but I am relishing in the idea of a challenge.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)