A Multi-Processor Diesel Engine Simulator for Advanced Diagnostics

The paper describes a compact low cost engine simulator used in a diagnostic system for marine diesel engines. It models normal and certain abnormal behaviour modes and can be used with an intelligent health monitor for fault recognition. The mathematical model used is the highly detailed ‘filling and emptying’ method wherein the first order equations which result from the principles of energy, mass and momentum conservation are solved on a degree by degree basis. This allows a number of faults to be simulated, for example, those which affect the airflow such as leaking intake or exhaust manifolds or fouled turbomachines or intercoolers.

A multiprocessor Motorola 68020 computer system is used to allow concurrent solution of the equations for each of the thermodynamic control volumes.