Design and Manufacture of a Mobile Dynamometer

DIT has competed for a number of years in the Formula Student competition with petrol engine propelled vehicles. Dynamometer testing on these engines was traditionally outsourced. In 2017/2018 a decision was made to commence the design of an electric vehicle. Access to a suitable dynamometer for regular testing became more important than ever in order to fully characterise the electric motors the gearbox combinations and optimise the performance of the formula student electric vehicle. This paper deals with the design and manufacture and component selection for a mobile dynamometer that can accurately simulate racetrack conditions and apply typical loading cycles to a motor producing torque, power and speed values from a typical drivetrain. The dynamometer described uses a particle brake to apply the loads, a datum M425 torque transducer to measure torque and a National Instruments LabVIEW interface to display and store data during testing. Safety is of vital importance and this paper describes the high-safety standards applied during the design and manufacture phase. With the implementation of an electronic control circuit, motor characteristics charts are produced, analysed and utilised for calibration and benchmarking for future motor test runs. Aim: Design & Manufacture of a mobile dynamometer unit to produce torque, speed and power values from the drive train of a motor.