As mechanical efficiency has great relevance in the alternative engine performance, the authors research in the development of testing facilities to characterize the sources of engine mechanical losses. The present paper deals with the realization of a hardware platform to conduct experimental studies in small combustion engines to experimentally characterize the mechanical losses of a single-cylinder internal combustion engine by means of the indicated diagram and motoring methods. The system was completed by means of an electrical motor-generator coupled to a single-cylinder air-cooled spark ignition engine, a self-developed electronic hardware control, and a PC-based instrumentation and data acquisition system. Specifications of load-motoring-starting system, including the description of the proprietary electronic load regulation system, are detailed. Also, the instrumentation system of in-cylinder and intake pressures; Temperatures of intake air, exhaust gases, lubricant oil, and engine block; effective torque and crankshaft position are described, including the signal acquisition system. The methodologies for indicated diagram and motoring method are described, mentioning the required measurements to apply each method and the engine load-temperature considerations when an engine is tested in fired or motored conditions. The platform was used to study the mechanical losses of the engine under motored and fired conditions under a wide range of rotational speeds and throttle openings, allowing to draw conclusions about the operating features of the developed test bench in itself, and also about the mechanical losses of the engine tested. Initially, samples of cylinder pressure, torque, intake pressure as function of crank angle and indicate diagram were obtained, showing similar waveforms present in related literature. Then, variations of the aforementioned temperatures against rotation speed and throttle opening and results for the mechanical losses determined by indicated diagram and motoring methods are shown. Finally, two empirical correlations are proposed to estimate the mechanical losses. In the future the hardware platform will be utilized to investigate in-cylinder engine parameters, detailed thermal and mechanical engine performance

For industrial automation it is often necessary to sort a large number of objects in a certain order for a subsequent step of process. Today, this is made by combining several pick and place robots, which move the objects to their desired destination one at a time. For a large number of objects per unit of time, this solution may become impractical because the individual robots may interfere with each other and the accelerations caused may be too high. This paper describes the principle of operation of a vibratory manipulator that produces impulsion force vector fields generated by longitudinal and transverse oscillations about a horizontal plane, which allow both movements of transport and orientation of parts. The manipulator has a rigid moving plate on which the object to move is placed. Then, forces on the moving plate are induced by longitudinal mechanical vibrations with asymmetric velocity profiles. Eight electromagnetic actuators that, in conjunction with flexible couplings, transmit longitudinal oscillations to the moving plate generate these velocity profiles. The amplitude of motion for each actuator is programmed by the user depending on the trajectory that the piece shall follow.

This paper envisages studying the features of a conventional inductive ignition system along with its MOSFET and IGBT-based transistorized modifications. The influence of mechanical contact breaker dynamics and ignition coil characteristics on the current and voltage waveforms of the primary and secondary circuits of these studied ignition systems are mathematically and experimentally exposed. The investigation is considered necessary prior to attempting subsequent modeling and diagnostics procedures on the current-voltage performance characteristics of conventional and transistorized ignition systems. The work has demanded the development of an experimental setup based on a basic modifiable ignition system mockup and an instrumentation system to measure and analyze the voltage-current parameters of inductive ignition systems. The paper describes the design details of such instrumentation system, presents mechanical and electrical models for contact breaker and ignition circuits, then simulated to obtain base free-run response waveforms and electrical continuity behavior of the contact. A test of frequency response of the ignition coil provided additional input to the model. An experimental test of continuity of the contact, in agreement with its model, shed light on the actual excitation of the primary coil. The work comments on a sample of the registered current and voltage waveforms in primary and secondary coil windings of the ignition system at atmospheric conditions. Comparisons of waveforms and energy for mechanical contact, MOSFET and IGBT switches are made to establish them as a reference for future tests.