Dynamometer

A dynamometer is a load device which is generally used for measuring the power output of an
engine; force or moment. It consists of a force component (elastic element) and a reading device.
In the force component, the force to be measured is converted to a deformation, which is
transmitted to the reading device directly or through a gear mechanism. Dynamometers can
measure forces ranging from several newtons (fractions of a kilogram-force) to 1 mega newton
(100 tons-force). According to their principle of operation, a distinction is made among
mechanical (spring or lever), hydraulic, or electrical dynamometers. Two principles of operation
are sometimes used in the same dynamometer.
DYNAMOMETER OPERATION:
Several components are typically packaged together in a dynamometer: the shaft with bearings, the
resistance surface, the resistance mechanism in a free rotating housing, a strain gage, and a speed
sensor (see figure 1 for a schematic of an Eddy Current Dynamometer). Generally some method of
cooling is also required, and this may require either a heat exchanger or air or water circulation, this
is not shown in figure 1. The entire assembly is typically mounted on a stout frame, which is
mechanically linked to the frame of the engine being tested.

The force signal (F) from the strain gage may be converted into a torque (T) by multiplying by the
distance from the center of the shaft to the pivot point of the strain gage (R):
T=RxF
If the units are in Newton-meters and shaft speed (S) is measured in radians per second, then the
shaft power or break power (P) of the engine can be calculated by multiplying the speed and the
torque:
P=TxS
Obviously if you are using different units than you will need to use the appropriate conversion
factors.

Types of Dynamometers:
Dynamometers are distinguished according to purpose as reference and operational (generalpurpose and special) types.

Reference dynamometers are intended for testing and calibrating operational dynamometers and
for monitoring the stresses of machines during the testing of the mechanical properties of various
materials and products. Reference dynamometers are categorized as first-class, second-class, or
third-class according to their degree of accuracy. First-class dynamometers are designed for
checking second-class reference dynamometers, which in turn are used for testing and calibrating
third-class dynamometers and for checking general-purpose dynamometers. Third-class
dynamometers are used for checking and calibrating testing machines and devices; they are built
with elastic elements in the form of locking clamps of the bending-strain type and locking
clamps or bars that undergo compressive or tensile strain.
General-purpose operational dynamometers are used for measuring the tractive force of farm and
truck tractors, locomotives, and oceangoing and river tugboats (drawbar dynamometers), as well
as for determining the forces that develop in structures and machinery during the application of
external forces. Special-purpose operational dynamometers are used for determining torque
moments, the pull force of aircraft and hydraulic propellers, braking forces, and cutting and feed
forces. In metal-cutting lathes and similar machines they are often not separate devices but are
incorporated into a complex of testing devices (dynamometric insert, dynamometric wheel, and
so on). Operational dynamometers are divided into two classes according to their accuracy: the
first class has an error of 1 percent, and the second class has an error of 2 percent (of the
limiting value of the load). Dynamometers with recording devices are called dynamographs, and
dynamometers with reading or indicating devices are called gauges.
Electrical dynamometers, which consist of a transducer to convert the deformation to an electric
signal and a secondary device to amplify and record the signal, are the most promising types.
Resistance (tensoresistance), inductance, piezoelectric, and vibration-frequency transducers are
used. The most widely used type is the resistance transducer, with an elastic element and
tensoresistance grids. When a load is applied, the elastic element and the tensoresistance grids
are deformed, causing an imbalance in the currents of the resistance bridge to which the grids are
connected. The signal is amplified and recorded by the secondary device, which has a scale
graduated in units of force.
Medical dynamometers are designed for measuring the force of various muscle groups in the
human body. In some medical dynamometers the measurement of the force is based on the
compression of a metal spring connected to a dial indicator. Mercury, hydraulic, electrical, and
pendulum medical dynamometers are also used. The multidynamometer machine developed by
A. V. Korobkov and G. I. Cherniaev, which makes it possible to isolate the action of various
muscle groups and to measure their force under equal conditions, is widely used.
Drawbar: A member fitted to a tractor, through which the pulling force to an implement or
trailer is applied to an implement. It may be swinging type, fixed type or adjustable type.
Drawbar dynamometer: Used for measurement of drawbar horsepower of the engine. Spring
dynamometer, hydraylic dynamometer and strain gauge dynamometer are the types of drawbar
dynamometer.

In automotive engineering, drawbar pull is the amount of horizontal force available to a vehicle
for accelerating or pulling a load. Drawbar pull is a function of velocity, and in general
decreases as the speed of the vehicle increases (due both to increasing resistance and decreasing
transmission gear ratios). Drawbar pull is the difference between tractive effort available and
tractive effort required to overcome resistance at a specified speed.
Drawbar pull data for a vehicle is usually determined by measuring the amount of available
tractive force using a dynamometer, and then combining that data with coastdown[1] data to
obtain the available drawbar pull force at each speed.
Octagonal Ring Dynamometer
In soil-tool interaction investigations for tools of complex geometry, it is required to measure
three force components along three principal axes and three moments about them.
Dynamometers for such systems consist of individual strain gauges and or load cells mounted on
relevant locations of a frame that supports the tool, enabling the measurement of individual
forces of interest or the six components simultaneously. For symmetrical tools, it is only
necessary to measure two force components and a moment. This can be accomplished by
mounting strain gauges on the tool bar to form Wheatstone bridges . The problems with such a
technique include safety of the gauges, low sensitivity and inaccurate prediction of the
performance of the dynamometer. These problems can be eliminated by the use of the Extended
Octagonal Ring Dynamometer, EORD .
The extended octagonal ring was originally developed for metal cutting machines. It has since
been adapted and used in farm machinery applications. For tillage applications, it has been used
for measuring forces on plane tools in laboratory soil bins and in field applications. With specific
mounting arrangements, the dynamometer has been used for non-symmetrical tool studies
including the determination of forces acting on a sugar beet topping knife; direct drilling point
evaluation; development of rotary tiller blades; and analysis of forces acting on different
components of a mouldboard plough.

REFERENCES
Malikov, G. F., A. L. Shneiderman, and A. M. Shulemovich. Raschety uprugikh
tenzometricheskikh elementov. Moscow, 1964.
Osokina, A. P. Tipizatsiia ispytatelnykh mashin i vesoizmeritelnykh priborov. Moscow, 1965.