Detecting Damage Using Acoustic Emission During Evaluation of High-Pressure Fuel Pump Durability with Low-Viscosity Fuels

This study looks at the effects of low-viscosity fuel on high-pressure fuel pump durability. Several high-pressure fuel pumps were allowed to operate with low-viscosity fuel on a custom test stand until failure. Fuel-pumps lasted 0.3-294 hours before failure. The fuel pumps failed by experiencing a sharp rise in the low-pressure outlet fuel temperature due to scuffing of the camring-bucket interface. We describe a technique for analyzing acoustic emission sensor data to monitor the status of the fuel pump. Acoustic emission signals were able to detect a two-stage failure process of scuffing initiation on a single camring-bucket interface to propagation of damage to the other interfaces.