Unit-5

ENGINE INSTRUMENTS
• The tachometer, or tach, is an instrument that indicates the speed of
the crankshaft of a reciprocating engine.
• It can be a direct- or remote-indicating instrument, the dial of which
is calibrated to indicate revolutions per minutes (rpm).
• On reciprocating engines, the tach is used to monitor engine power
and to ensure the engine is operated within certified limits.
• Gas turbine engines also have tachometers.
• They are used to monitor the speed(s) of the compressor section(s) of
the engine.
• Turbine engine tachometers are calibrated in percentage of rpm with
100 percent corresponding to optimum turbine speed.
RPM Measurement
TACHOMETER
• A digital tachometer is a digital device that measures and indicates
the speed of a rotating object.
• A rotating object may be a bike tire, a car tire or a ceiling fan, or any
other motor, and so on.
• A digital tachometer circuit comprises LCD or LED readout and a
memory for storage.
• A digital tachometer is an optical encoder that determines the
angular velocity of a rotating shaft or motor.
• The word tachometer is derived from two Greek words:
tachos mean “speed” and metron means “to measure”.
• It works on the principle of a tachometer generator, which means
when a motor is operated as a generator, it produces the voltage
according to the velocity of the shaft.
• It is also known as revolution-counter, and its operating principle can
be electromagnetic, electronic, or optical based.
• Power, accuracy, RPM range, measurements, and display are the
specifications of a tachometer. Tachometers can be analog or digital
indicating meters.
Fig: A tachometer for a reciprocating engine is calibrated in rpm.
A tachometer for a turbine engine is calculated in percent of rpm
• There are two types of tachometer system in wide use today:
mechanical and electrical.

1. Mechanical Tachometers
• Flyweight Type Mechanical Tachometer
• Magnetic Drag cup type Mechanical Tachometer
2. Electric Tachometers
• Digital tachometers are classified into four types based on data
acquisition and measurement techniques.
• Based on the data acquisition technique, the tachometers are of the
following types:
• Contact type
• Non Contact type
• Based on the measurement technique, the tachometers are of the
following types:
• Time measurement
• Frequency measurement
Flyweight Type Mechanical Tachometer
Magnetic Drag cup type Mechanical Tachometer
Electric Tachometers
AC Tacho Generator
PRESSURE MEASUREMENT
• Engine Pressure measurements are either made using a diaphragm, bellows,
capsuled or bourdon type sensor.
• This depends on the pressure they are working with, bourdon types are more
suited to handle higher pressures.
• Reading is direct or indirect with electrical wired and the sensor close to the
engine, either on the engine or firewall.

• http://users.telenet.be/instrumentatie/pressure/bourdon-tube-pressure-
gauge.html

• http://users.telenet.be/instrumentatie/pressure/bellows-pressure-gauge.html

• http://users.telenet.be/instrumentatie/pressure/capsule-pressure-gauge.html
Bourdon Tube
• The Bourdon tube pressure gauge consists of a circular tube which is
bent over an angle of generally 270°, and of which one end is closed
and the other is connected to the process pressure.
• The closed end can move freely. This movement is transmitted via a
transmission mechanism to the pointer of the pressure gauge.
• With the rack and pinion of the transmission mechanism, the
movement of the Bourdon tube may be amplified so that the pointer
rotates from start to end of the scale.
• In practice this measuring principle can be found for measuring
ranges between 0.6 bar (9 psi or 60 kPa) and 7000 bar (105,000 psi or
700,000 kPa).
• The C-shaped tube is used for the lower measurement ranges up to
about 60 bar (900 psi, or 6000 kPa). For higher measuring ranges
spiral or helical Bourdon tubes are used.
• As the Bourdon tube has a circular form, the outer radius will be
larger than the inner radius. The pressure in the Bourdon tube acts on
a larger surface area along the outer radius and, consequently, will
develop a larger force on that side so that the tube will straighten out.
• The Bourdon tube is also sensitive to temperature changes. At low
temperatures the tube will be much stiffer and more difficult to
straighten.
Diaphragm pressure gauge
• The diaphragm pressure gauge consists of a circular membrane, made from
sheet metal of precise dimensions, which can either be flat or corrugated.
• The diaphragm is mechanically connected to the transmission mechanism
which will amplify the small deflections of the diaphragm and transfer them
to the pointer.
• The process pressure is applied to the lower side of the diaphragm, while the
upper side is at atmospheric pressure.
• The differential pressure arising across the diaphragm, lifts up the diaphragm
and puts the pointer in motion.
• The diaphragm must be made in such a way that the deflection is linear, i.e.
that a similar increase in the pressure should always correspond to a similar
deflection of the diaphragm.
• A flat diaphragm made of metal will only be linear when the deflection is very
small, too small to have sufficient movement of the pointer.
• At larger deflections, a flat diaphragm loses its linearity since more and more
stress will occur in the diaphragm. The diaphragm becomes increasingly stiffer
due to the growing tension, resulting in less deflection of the diaphragm for a
similar increase in pressure.
A flexible material, such as a thin sheet of nylon, can however serve as a flat diaphragm.
The diaphragm will then be opposed by a calibrated spring which ensures the linearity and
pushes the diaphragm back to its starting position.
For industrial applications, usually corrugated metal diaphragms are being used. The
corrugations ensure that the diaphragm will be more elastic and they are arranged such
that the deflection of the diaphragm is linear. There are different types of corrugated
profiles as you can see in the figure.
• The pressure ranges of diaphragm gauges fall between 10 mbar
(0,145 psi) and 40 bar (580,15 psi).
• For smaller measuring ranges (in the order of the mbar), diaphragms
are used with a larger diameter. This increases the sensitivity of the
diaphragm for small pressure differences and also increases the
stroke length.
• Due to the increased sensitivity, the accuracy will be higher. The large
stroke length ensures that the transmission mechanism can be
equipped with a lower transmission ratio.
Diaphragm pressure gauges Advantages:
1. Excellent load performance
2. Linearity
3. Suitable for measuring absolute pressure, differential pressure
4. Small size, affordable
5. Can be used for viscous, slurry measurement.

Disadvantages:
1. Seismic, impact resistance is not good
2. Difficulty in maintenance
3. Lower measurement pressure.
Capsule pressure gauge
• The sensing element of a capsule pressure gauge consists of two
corrugated diaphragms welded together at their periphery to form a
capsule.
• The pressure to be measured is introduced into the capsule via an
opening in the centre of the first diaphragm. The centre of the second
diaphragm is connected to the transmission mechanism so that the
deflection of the measuring element can be transmitted to the
pointer.
• When the pressure rises inside the capsule, both diaphragms will
slightly deform. By making use of two diaphragms, the total
deflection of the measuring element is twice as large.
• The pressure is going in and out the capsule, turning the pointer to
the right and back to the left.
The basic pressure sensing element can be
configured as a C-shaped Bourdon tube
(A); a helical Bourdon tube (B); flat
diaphragm (C); a convoluted diaphragm
(D); a capsule (E); or a set of bellows (F).
As you can see in the illustrations below, there are two types of capsules: the
convex and nested.
A convex capsule is formed by attaching two convex diaphragms opposite to each
other.
A nested capsule consists of a convex and a concave diaphragm, also secured to
one another along their periphery.
If the process pressure is applied along the exterior of the capsule, nested
capsules have the advantage of being more resistant against overpressures.

Convex capsule Nested capsule

Bellows pressure gauge
• Bellows are thin-walled metallic cylinders, with deep convolutions, of which one
end is sealed and the other end remains open. The closed end can move freely
while the open end is fixed.
• When pressure is applied to the closed end, such as shown in fig, the bellows will
be compressed. The closed end will move upwards and the link, which is the rod
in between the closed end of the bellows and the transmission mechanism, will
go up and rotate the pointer.
• The number of convolutions can vary between 5 and 20. More
convolutions means a longer stroke length and a larger measuring
range.
• The diameter of the bellows determines the force that can be
transmitted to the transmission mechanism. Therefore a larger
diameter will be chosen for the measurement of very low pressures in
order to have sufficient surface area to which the measured pressure
can act.
TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT
• Engine oil, carburetor mixture, inlet air, free air, engine cylinder
heads, heater ducts, and exhaust gas temperature of turbine engines
are all items requiring temperature monitoring. Numbers
temperature measuring devices are discussed below:
• Non-Electric Temperature Indicators
Bimetallic Thermometer
Bourdon Tube Temperature Indicator
Bimetallic Thermometer
Bourdon Tube Temperature Indicator
Electrical Temperature Measuring Indication
• Electrical Resistance Thermometer
• Ratiometer Electrical Resistance Thermometers
• Thermocouple Temperature Indicators
Electrical Temperature Measuring Indication
The following measuring and indication systems can be found on many
types of aircraft. Certain temperature ranges are more suitably measured
by one or another type of system.
Electrical Resistance Thermometer (RTD)
• Electrical resistance thermometers are used widely in many types of
aircraft to measure carburettor air, engine oil, free air temperatures, and
more.
• They are used to measure low and medium temperatures in the –70 °C
to 150 °C range.
Ratiometer Electrical Resistance
Thermometers
• Another way of indicating temperature when employing an electric
resistance thermometer is by using a Ratiometer.
• The Wheatstone-bridge indicator is subject to errors from line voltage
fluctuation.
• The Ratiometer is more stable and can deliver higher accuracy. As its name
suggests, the Ratiometer electrical resistance thermometer measures a
ratio of current flows.
• The resistance bulb sensing portion of the Ratiometer electric resistance
thermometer is essentially the same as described above.
• The circuit contains a variable resistance and a fixed resistance to provide
the indication.
• It contains two branches for current flow. Each has a coil mounted on
either side of the pointer assembly that is mounted within the magnetic
field of a large permanent magnet.
• Varying current flow through the coils causes different magnetic fields to
form, which react with the larger magnetic field of the permanent magnet.
• This interaction rotates the pointer against the dial face that is calibrated in
degrees Fahrenheit or Celsius, giving a temperature indication.
• The magnetic pole ends of the permanent magnet are closer at the
top than they are at the bottom.
• This causes the magnetic field lines of flux between the poles to be
more concentrated at the top.
• As the two coils produce their magnetic fields, the stronger field
interacts and pivots downward into the weaker, less concentrated
part of the permanent magnet field, while the weaker coil magnetic
field shifts upward toward the more concentrated flux field of the
large magnet.
• This provides a balancing effect that changes but stays in balance as
the coil field strengths vary with temperature and the resultant
current flowing through the coils.
Thermocouple Temperature Indicators
• A thermocouple is a circuit or connection of two unlike metals. The
metals are touching at two separate junctions.
• If one of the junctions is heated to a higher temperature than the
other, an electromotive force is produced in the circuit.
• This voltage is directly proportional to the temperature. So, by
measuring the amount of electromotive force, temperature can be
determined.
• Thermocouples are used to measure high temperatures.
• Two common applications are the measurement of cylinder head
temperature (CHT) in reciprocating engines and exhaust gas
temperature (EGT) in turbine engines.
• Thermocouple leads are made from a variety of metals, depending on
the maximum temperature to which they are exposed.
• Iron and constantan, or copper and constantan, are common for CHT
measurement. Chromel and alumel are used for turbine EGT
thermocouples.
Turbine Gas Temperature Indicating Systems
• EGT is a critical variable of turbine engine operation. The EGT
indicating system provides a visual temperature indication in the
cockpit of the turbine exhaust gases as they leave the turbine unit.
• In certain turbine engines, the temperature of the exhaust gases is
measured at the entrance to the turbine unit. This is referred to as a
turbine inlet temperature (TIT) indicating system.
The instrument’s scale ranges from 0 °C to 1,200 °C, with a Vernier
dial in the upper right-hand corner and a power off warning flag
located in the lower portion of the dial.
Vibration
• Current engine test cell systems were designed to perform a simple
vibration amplitude check.
• Engine test cell vibration analysis techniques are being developed to
improve engine reliability and availability while simultaneously
reducing life cycle costs.
• The engine test cell vibration diagnostic system under development
provides both real-time and post-test analysis of engine vibration
data.
Accelerometer
Engine Vibration Monitoring And Indicating Systems

The system consists essentially of a vibration pick-up unit mounted on the

engine at right angles to its axis, an amplifier monitoring unit and a moving-coil
micro ammeter calibrated to show vibration amplitude in thousands of an inch
(mils).
A block diagram of the system is shown in Fig. below
Thrust

For aero-engines, measuring thrust is essential for three main reasons:

• This is a vitally important, fundamental design goal and will
determine whether or not the engine/airframe combination can meet
the desired mission.
• It is required to calculate SFC.
• Overall performance of the Engine.
Principle of Strain gauge load cell
• When steel cylinder is subjected to a force, it tends to change in
dimension.
• On this cylinder, if the strain gauges are bonded, the strain gauge also
is stretched or compressed, causing a change in its length and
diameter.
• This change in dimension of the strain gauge causes its resistance to
change. This change in resistance or output voltage of the strain
gauge becomes a measure of applied force.
• The main parts of the strain gauge load cell are as follows.
• They are a cylinder made up of steel on which four identical strain
gauge are mounted and out of four strain gauges, two of them (R1
and R4) are mounted along the direction of the applied load(vertical
gauges).
• The other two strain gauges (R2 and R3 Horizontal gauges) are
mounted circumferentially at right angles to gauges R1 and R4.
Case 1
• When there is no load (force) on the steel cylinder, all the four gauges will
have the same resistance.
• As the terminals N and P are at the same potential, the wheat stone bridge
is balanced and hence the output voltage will be zero.
Case 2
• Now the load (force) to be measured (say compression force) is applied on
the steel cylinder. Due to this, the vertical gauges R1 and R4 will under go
compression and hence there will be a decrease in resistance.
• At the same time, the horizontal gauges R2 and R3 will under go tension
and there will be an increase in resistance. Thus when strained, the
resistance of the various gauges change.
• Now the terminal N and P will be at different potential and the change in
output voltage due to the applied load (force) becomes a measure of the
applied load force when calibrated.
Uses of Strain Gauge Load Cell
• Strain gauge load cells are used when the load is not steady.
• Strain gauge load cells are used in vehicle weigh bridges, and tool
force dynamometers.
FUEL QUANTITY MEASUREMENT
• Fuel-quantity indicating systems vary in operating principle and
construction, the application of any one method being governed by
the type of aircraft and its fuel system.
• Two principal methods currently applied utilize the principle of
electrical signal transmission from units located inside the fuel tanks.
• In one method, mainly employed in the fuel systems of small and light
aircraft, the tank units consist of a mechanical float assembly which
controls an electrical resistance unit and varies the current flow to the
indicating element.
• The second method, employed in high-performance aircraft fuel
systems, measures fuel quantity in terms of electrical capacitance and
provides a more accurate system of fuel gauging.
A DC electric fuel quantity indicator uses a variable
resistor in the tank unit, which is moved by a float
arm
Digital indicators are available that work with the same variable resistance signal from the tank unit.
They convert the variable resistance into a digital display in the cockpit instrument head.
Fully digital instrumentation systems, such as those found in a glass cockpit aircraft, convert the
variable resistance into a digital signal to be processed in a computer and displayed on a flat screen
panel.
The capacitance of tank probes varies in a capacitance-type fuel
tank indicator system as the space between the inner and outer
plates is filled with varying quantities of fuel and air depending on
the amount of fuel in the tank.
A simplified capacitance bridge for a fuel
quantity system

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indicators.html