Continuous monitoring of diesel engine performance under its operating is critical for the prediction of malfunction development and subsequently functional failure detection. Analysis of instantaneous angular speed (IAS) of the crankshaft is considered as one of the nonintrusive and effective methods of the detection of combustion quality deterioration. In this paper results of experimental verification of fuel system's malfunction detecting, using optical encoder for IAS recording are presented. The implemented method relies on the comparison of measurement results, recorded under healthy and faulty conditions of the engine. Elaborated dynamic model of angular speed variations enables us to build templates of engine behavior. Recorded during experiment, values of cylinder pressure were taken for the approximation of pressure basic waveform. The main task of data processing is smoothing the raw angular speed signal. The noise is due to sensor mount vibrations, signal emitter machining, engine body vibrations, and crankshaft torsional vibrations. Smoothing of the measurement data was carried out by the implementation of the Savitzky-Golay filter. Measured signal after smoothing was compared with the model of IAS run.

The article presents a method of modifying the strength properties of epoxy–glass composite by changing the percentage composition of the matrix by the addition of rubber recyclate. Taking into account environmental protection and economic conditions in the process of recycling and utilisation of waste, it is advisable to look for applications of non-degradable waste materials. Based on epoxy resin, a glass mat with a random direction of fibres and rubber recyclate, a test material with different percentage compositions was produced. Samples from the manufactured materials were subjected to a static tensile test on a ZwickRoell testing machine using the ARAMIS SRX measuring system. In addition, CT (computerized tomography) scans of the inside of the samples were made using a ZEISS METROTOM 6 Scout tomograph, and observations of the internal structures were made using a scanning electron microscope. The use of optical and microscopic techniques enabled the precise determination of strength parameters of the examined composites and the analysis of the behaviour of samples under load. The analysis of deformations over time in the examined samples showed a beneficial effect of the addition of rubber recyclate on the elastic properties of the examined composites.

Currently, there is a noticeable trend of modifying new materials by using additives from the recycling of harmful waste. This is to protect the environment by using waste to produce composites and at the same time to reduce the cost of their production. The article presents an analysis of the impact of the use of rubber recyclate obtained from the utilization of car tires as a sandwich layer of epoxy–glass composites and its impact on the strength parameters of the composite. The presented research is an extension of the previously conducted analyses on composite materials modified with the addition of rubber recyclate. The four variants of the materials produced contained the same percentage amount of rubber recyclate, but differed in the way it was distributed and the number of layers. Static tensile tests as well as impact strength and kinetics of damage to samples made with and without the addition of recyclate were carried out. Observation of the structures of the materials with the use of SEM was also performed. A significant influence of the method of distributing the recyclate in layers on the strength parameters of the materials was found. In the case of composites with three and two sandwich layers of recyclate, more favorable results were obtained compared to the blank sample. In addition, the values of the impact strength measurements were subjected to statistical analysis at the significance level of α = 95%. The distributions were tested for normality with the Shapiro–Wilk test, differences between pairs were tested with the Student’s t-test for dependent groups, and ANOVA differences were tested for independent groups. Using the Student’s t-test, it was confirmed that between the pairs of variables in the configurations reference sample and modified sample, there were significant statistical differences in the distribution of impact strength measurement results for all the analyzed materials. Statistical analysis showed a significant usefulness in the selection of the material with the best strength parameters and a significant role of statistical methods in the study of anisotropic materials.