Engineering design and performance validation of a low-cost diesel common rail injector test bench
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21831/jamat.v3i1.3028Keywords:
Diesel common rail, Injector test bench, Arduino, Fuel atomization, Supply pumpAbstract
High-pressure common rail (HPCR) systems are essential in modern diesel engines to meet performance and emissions requirements. However, commercial injector test benches remain costly for vocational laboratories and small-scale workshops. This study designs, develops, and preliminarily validates a low-cost diesel common rail injector test bench using the ADDIE (analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation) framework. The system integrates a repurposed Chevrolet Captiva high-pressure supply pump driven by a 1 hp AC motor, a high-pressure fuel circuit, and an Arduino Nano-based electronic control unit (ECU) that applies pulse-width modulation (PWM) to control pulsed injector actuation. Validation was performed using a Denso Hino RN285 injector at low, medium, and high operating stages. The bench generated rail pressures from 360 bar (36 MPa) to 850 bar (85 MPa) and delivered 18.0 to 39.0 mL of fuel over a 20 s collection window. The measured delivery volume at low and medium speeds remained within the manufacturer’s tolerance after interpolation to the actual measured rpm. In contrast, a delivery deficit was observed at the highest speed. Quantitative spray-image analysis yielded spray angles of 15.38-20.44 degrees, within the specified range. The results indicate that the developed bench is a functional laboratory-scale platform for injector diagnostics and vocational training, although further benchmarking against calibrated commercial equipment and long-term durability testing are still required.
Downloads
References
[1] K. Dębowski and M. Karczewski, "Common Rail Injector Operation Model and Its Validation," Energies, vol. 18, no. 9, p. 2271, 2025, doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/en18092271.
[2] M. Lapuerta, O. Armas, and J. Rodriguez-Fernandez, "Effect of biodiesel fuels on diesel engine emissions," Progress in energy and combustion science, vol. 34, no. 2, pp. 198-223, 2008, doi: 10.1016/j.pecs.2007.07.001.
[3] D. Sedarsky, S. Idlahcen, C. Rozé, and J.-B. Blaisot, "Velocity measurements in the near field of a diesel fuel injector by ultrafast imagery," Experiments in fluids, vol. 54, no. 2, p. 1451, 2013, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00348-012-1451-9.
[4] F. J. Salvador, A. H. Plazas, J. Gimeno, and M. Carreres, "Complete modelling of a piezo actuator last-generation injector for diesel injection systems," International Journal of Engine Research, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 3-19, 2014, doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1468087412455373.
[5] S. Yang and C. Lee, "Experimental research on the injection rate of DME and diesel fuel in common rail injection system by using Bosch and Zeuch methods," Energies, vol. 11, no. 2, p. 273, 2018, doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/en11020273.
[6] T. Stoeck, "Simplification of the procedure for testing common rail fuel injectors," Combustion Engines, vol. 180, no. 1, pp. 52-56, 2020, doi: https://doi.org/10.19206/CE-2020-109.
[7] F. Payri, V. Bermúdez, R. Payri, and F. J. Salvador, "The influence of cavitation on the internal flow and the spray characteristics in diesel injection nozzles," Fuel, vol. 83, no. 4-5, pp. 419-431, 2004, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2003.09.010.
[8] J. M. Desantes, R. Payri, A. Garcia, and J. Manin, "Experimental study of biodiesel blends’ effects on diesel injection processes," Energy & Fuels, vol. 23, no. 6, pp. 3227-3235, 2009, doi: https://doi.org/10.1021/ef801102w.
[9] L. Xu, X.-S. Bai, M. Jia, Y. Qian, X. Qiao, and X. Lu, "Experimental and modeling study of liquid fuel injection and combustion in diesel engines with a common rail injection system," Applied energy, vol. 230, pp. 287-304, 2018, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.08.104.
[10] OpenSystem West, “CR-IP.4E Common Rail Injector Test Bench,” 2024. [Online]. Available: https://opensystem-west.net/product/cr-ip-test-bench/
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Journal of Automotive and Mechanical Applied Technology
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The authors submitting a manuscript to the Journal of Automotive and Mechanical Applied Technology (JAMAT) agree that, if the manuscript is accepted for publication, the copyright of the accepted and published article shall be transferred to JAMAT.
Although the copyright is transferred to JAMAT, all published articles remain open access and are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). This license permits users to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, link to the full text, share, and adapt the work for any lawful purpose, provided that proper credit is given to the original author(s), the article title, the journal, and the source of publication.
Authors retain scholarly rights to use their published articles for teaching, research, presentation, thesis or dissertation preparation, institutional repository deposit, personal website posting, and other academic purposes, provided that the original publication in JAMAT is properly cited.
The copyright transfer agreement form can be downloaded here:
[JAMAT Copyright Transfer Agreement Form]
The copyright transfer agreement form must be signed by all authors or by the corresponding author on behalf of all authors and submitted to the Editorial Office by email at jamat@uny.ac.id
