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	SwRI evaluates a wide range of engines, including lawn and garden engines.

Using industry standard or user-specified test cycles, Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) routinely performs continuous, long-term engine testing to evaluate engine and component durability.

Engine Durability Expertise

Technicians with expertise and experience in small engines perform routine maintenance, component replacement, and complete tear-down inspections. Data acquisition and closed-loop control of the engine and test conditions are provided with a variety of hardware and software platforms. 

Engine Durability Test Cells

Specially equipped test cells allow a wide spectrum of test capabilities including cooling air flow for air-cooled engines, altitude simulation, low-temperature environment, thermal cycling, deep thermal shock on water-cooled engines, real-time oil consumption during steady-state and transient operation, and continuous engine monitoring. Engine operation is conducted on a 7-day, 24-hour basis with computer control for virtually any test cycle.

Engine Durability Test Procedures and Capabilities

Experienced engineers and technicians perform extensive standard and customized test procedures and practices. Engine health monitoring and inspections are common to all engine tests. SwRI staff provide extensive services for monitoring engine operation, including:

• Cylinder combustion pressure measurement and analysis

• Coolant, oil, exhaust, and radiated heat

  	Using advanced environmental chamber testing, engineers monitor hot and cold engine and vehicle performance. Chassis and engine dynamometers in the cells aid in developing cold-start strategies, fuel injection calibration, and hot vehicle component evaluation.

   rejection determination

• Engine teardown inspections

• Exhaust emissions measurements

• Failure analysis

• Fuel analysis

• Oil analysis

• Real-time component wear measurement

• Thermal imaging

• Blowby monitoring

• Air filter efficiency evaluation

• High-pressure leakdown determination

• Real-time oil consumption

• Air, lube, and fuel filter efficiency

Environmental Testing

SwRI offers a variety of environmental test services for the small-engine industry. SwRI offers both vehicle and engine environmental test chambers. Conditions such as temperature and humidity are controlled for vehicle and component analyses, including:

	SwRI's diesel engine cold cells maintain fuel, battery, and transmission at test temperature.

• Fuel injection calibration

• Thermal cycling

• Cold soak

• Hot soak

• Cold start calibration

For more information about engine durability testing capabilities at SwRI or how you can contract with SwRI, please contact Jim Carroll at jcarroll@swri.org or (210) 522-5015.
 

| Emissions R&D | Engine, Emissions & Vehicle Research Division | SwRI Home |

Southwest Research Institute^® (SwRI^®), headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, is a multidisciplinary, independent, nonprofit, applied engineering and physical sciences research and development organization with 12 technical divisions.

October 29, 2009