A new method enables significantly more precise measurements in engines – a step toward cleaner and more efficient vehicles
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Researchers from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Ljubljana participated in the development of a new method for measuring pressure in internal combustion engines, which can significantly improve their efficiency and reduce emissions. Using this method, they achieved up to 48% more accurate determination of heat release, up to 38% more accurate measurement of the rate of pressure rise, and up to 13% more accurate measurement of in-cylinder pressure.
Why is this important? These data are crucial for understanding what happens inside an engine during operation. More accurate measurements enable better engine design, lower fuel consumption, and reduced emissions of harmful gases.
The new method was developed by researchers from the Laboratory for Measurements in Process Engineering (LMPS) and the Laboratory for Internal Combustion Engines and Electromobility (LICeM), in collaboration with the Hidria Advancetec Institute. Their research was published in the prestigious scientific journal Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing.
The key innovation of the method is the use of a specially dynamically calibrated pressure sensor, which allows precise measurement of very rapid pressure changes inside the engine cylinder—something that previous methods were unable to achieve with sufficient accuracy.
Although the world is increasingly shifting toward electric vehicles, internal combustion engines will remain indispensable for some time, primarily due to limitations in battery technology and charging infrastructure. This is precisely why such improvements matter: they make existing engines cleaner, more efficient, and more environmentally friendly until full electrification becomes a practical reality.
"The development of the new method enables the use of dynamically calibrated pressure sensors, which significantly improves the accuracy of determining dynamic parameters of internal combustion engines and thus makes an important contribution to the further development of engines with higher efficiency and lower emissions," emphasizes the first author of the study, assist. prof. Andrej Svete, PhD.
