“There are particular challenges when testing metal and plastic components for direct injection of gasoline”, says Johannes Montag, Head of Sales at Poppe + Potthoff Maschinenbau (Tube 2016, Hall 03/B01, Automotive Testing Expo 2016, Stand 1104). “The permanent pressure strength of the components needs to be tested considering varying bio-ethanol content in gasoline. Thereby, pressure cycling tests must take place under special precautions to safely prevent the development of an explosive mixture of petrol and air. ”
The new impulse testing stand of Poppe + Potthoff is extremely compact. It has a safety chamber with nitrogen flushing for safe testing in gasoline and optionally a second chamber with a separate test circuit for simultaneous pressure-testing with oil. It allows for validating common rails, injection lines, injectors, pumps and other metal and plastic components with up to 2,000 bar at a pulse frequency of 2 Hz to 10 Hz, depending on the pressure unit.
During the development of the new system, the specialists for high-pressure technology benefitted from their extensive experience with diesel injection systems. Poppe + Potthoff tests these with up to 6,000 bar pulses at 1-30 Hz. In addition, the machine builders from Nordhausen (Germany) offer equipment for tests under positive (up to 15,000 bar) and negative pressure (up to -0.7 mbar) at stable or changing climatic conditions (-40 ° C to + 180 ° C).
The measurement data acquisition and visualization is done with LabVIEW applications by National Instruments. All test procedures and data are automatically stored on the system and can be exported into the network for further analysis. Single and combined test systems for metal and plastic components, autofrettage systems with up to 16,000 bar, high pressure units and compressors, fully automated test and measurement systems and comprehensive testing services round off the portfolio.
