UCSD FSAE Engine Dynamometer

Triton Racing is the University of California, San Diego's Formula SAE team circa 1997. We want to continue producing cutting edge race cars. To do so, testing to improve performance is a priority and the first focus for the team is to measure and optimize engine performance. The solution is to build an engine dynamometer for the Spring 2017 quarter.

What is a Dynamometer?

The engine dynamometer 'dyno', is a device that measures an engine’s parameters, specifically engine torque and rpm and give real-time data visualization. After careful consideration, our team decided to build a water brake dyno, because this system would best suit our project goals in the ten week project period. A CAD drawing of a water break (pictured on the right) dyno was created to illustrate what our dynamometer will look like once completed.

Project Objectives

The initial objective is to build a working engine dynamometer that will measure an engines output. Safety is critical to the design to ensure the safety of the operator. The water brake dyno must be able to measure a maximum of 120Hp, and perform a sweep of motor rpm from 3,000-16,000 RPM. This must be performed with an accuracy of +/- 0.5 Hp with a repeatability of +/- 0.1 Hp at a sustained load of 50% duty cycle for one minute.