Study of Exhaust Throttling Effects on SI Engine Performance

To determine the effects of exhaust heat recovery systems on small engines, an experiment was performed to measure the power losses of an engine with restricted exhaust flow. In cooperation with ASU's SAE Formula race team, a water brake dynamometer was refurbished and connected to the 2017 racecar engine. The engine was mounted with a diffuser disc exhaust to restrict flow, and a pressure sensor was installed in the O2 port to measure pressure under different restrictions. During testing, problems with the equipment prevented suitable from being generated. Using failure root cause analysis, the failure modes were identified and plans were made to resolve those issues. While no useful data was generated, the project successfully rebuilt a dynamometer for students to use for future engine research.