WO2024115194A1 - Test platform leakage monitoring in bleed down measurement - Google Patents

Test platform leakage monitoring in bleed down measurement Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2024115194A1
WO2024115194A1 PCT/EP2023/082522 EP2023082522W WO2024115194A1 WO 2024115194 A1 WO2024115194 A1 WO 2024115194A1 EP 2023082522 W EP2023082522 W EP 2023082522W WO 2024115194 A1 WO2024115194 A1 WO 2024115194A1
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WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
pressure
low
pressure test
test
valve
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PCT/EP2023/082522
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Christophe Tapin
Alexis MENAND
Stefan Fries
François DIDIER
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Phinia Delphi Luxembourg Sarl
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Publication of WO2024115194A1 publication Critical patent/WO2024115194A1/en

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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01M—TESTING STATIC OR DYNAMIC BALANCE OF MACHINES OR STRUCTURES; TESTING OF STRUCTURES OR APPARATUS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G01M3/00—Investigating fluid-tightness of structures
    • G01M3/02—Investigating fluid-tightness of structures by using fluid or vacuum
    • G01M3/26—Investigating fluid-tightness of structures by using fluid or vacuum by measuring rate of loss or gain of fluid, e.g. by pressure-responsive devices, by flow detectors
    • G01M3/28—Investigating fluid-tightness of structures by using fluid or vacuum by measuring rate of loss or gain of fluid, e.g. by pressure-responsive devices, by flow detectors for pipes, cables or tubes; for pipe joints or seals; for valves ; for welds
    • G01M3/2876—Investigating fluid-tightness of structures by using fluid or vacuum by measuring rate of loss or gain of fluid, e.g. by pressure-responsive devices, by flow detectors for pipes, cables or tubes; for pipe joints or seals; for valves ; for welds for valves

Definitions

  • the present invention generally relates to a high-pressure test platform configured to perform bleed down measurements on valve arrangements, more specifically on flow control valves in high-pressure fuel pumps.
  • Engine components such as fuel pumps are conventionally submitted to testing at the end of the production line in order to check the proper sealing of valves arranged therein.
  • a conventional high-pressure fuel pump as known e.g. from US 10,907,600, is of the displacement type and comprises a body that houses a pumping chamber that cooperates with a reciprocating piston. Fuel is admitted via an electromechanically controlled inlet valve and flows out via an outlet valve. A pressure relief valve is arranged in a return path connecting the downstream valve outlet section to the pumping chamber. Such fuel pump is typically tested under high pressure, in order to detect potential fluid leakage, also referred to as “bleeding”, at the outlet valve or at pressure relief valve.
  • Current high-pressure test platforms usually comprise a high-pressure test line connected at one end to the outlet port of the fuel pump to be tested, and at the other end to a source of pressurised test fluid.
  • a test section of the test line comprises a pressure sensor and a fluid chamber that can be isolated from the source of pressurised test fluid by a block valve.
  • a control unit is configured to monitor the variation of pressure in the test section over time. The bleed down measurement process then involves increasing the pressure within the test section to a predetermined value, closing the block valve, thus sealing off the test section, before measuring the variation in pressure and temperature over time in the test section to determine the leakage of the valves in the valve arrangement.
  • a drawback of such high-pressure test platforms is that during bleed down measurements of valve arrangements, the platform itself is susceptible to leak fluid through its block valves. This platform leakage can be misinterpreted as leakage from the valve arrangement to test, thus impacting the validity of the measurements.
  • the present invention relates to a pressure test platform for testing leakage of a valve arrangement in a component.
  • the component can be any component with a valve arrangement to control a flow passing through the component.
  • the valve arrangement is normally located in a passage extending between a first port and a second port of the component.
  • the pressure test platform comprises a high- pressure test line connected at one end to a source of pressurised test fuel and having at its opposite end a first connector for fluid coupling to the first port of the component.
  • the high-pressure test line includes a high-pressure block valve defining a high-pressure test section between the high-pressure block valve and the first connector.
  • the test platform further comprises a low-pressure test line connected at one end to a low-pressure block valve and having at its opposite end a second connector for fluid coupling to the second port of the component.
  • the low-pressure test line includes a pressure sensor arranged to determine a pressure in a low-pressure test section of the low-pressure test line between the second connector and the low-pressure block valve.
  • the low-pressure test section is configured to define a volume which is comparatively at least 25% smaller than a volume of the high- pressure test section, and to be set, in use, at an initial predetermined low pressure.
  • a control unit is configured to evaluate the pressure variation (over time) in the low- pressure test section by means of said pressure sensor.
  • the present platform thus comprises high- and low-pressure lines that are connected on both sides of the valve arrangement. In use, a high pressure is applied on one side of the valve arrangement, whereas the opposite side of the valve arrangement is, at the start of the bleed test, at a defined low pressure.
  • valve In case the valve is pressure tight, the pressure should remain fairly constant on both high-pressure and low-pressure sides. Now, as will be understood by those skilled in the art, a leakage through the valve arrangement towards the low-pressure side will cause a pressure increase in the low-pressure side. Hence it is possible by pressure monitoring on the low-pressure side to identify a leakage of the valve arrangement.
  • a difficulty with high-pressure bleed tests is the risk of leakage of the test platform itself, e.g. leakage from the high-pressure test section through the first high-pressure block valve.
  • one merit of the inventors is to have devised a test platform with test sections of different volume on both sides of the valve arrangement.
  • On the high-pressure side it may be desirable to have a rather large volume capacity to maintain a certain pressure level in case of internal platform leakages.
  • On the low-pressure side however, it is desirable to have a comparatively smaller volume for the low-pressure test section, such that in case of leakage through the valve arrangement, the pressure in the low- pressure test section will increase at a higher rate than for a comparatively larger volume.
  • the low-pressure test section is designed as small as possible.
  • the low-pressure test section is configured to define a volume which at least 50% or 60, 70, 75, or 80% smaller than the volume of the high-pressure test section.
  • the ‘volume’ includes any piping and chamber components between the respective connector and block valve.
  • the high-pressure test section may comprise a fluid chamber having a predefined volume and a pressure sensor arranged to determine a pressure in the high-pressure test section.
  • the control unit is thus advantageously configured to evaluate the pressure variation over time in both the low-pressure test section and the high-pressure test section by means of said pressure sensors.
  • the skilled person analysing the measured pressure data is thereby able to readily identify whether a drop of pressure on the high-pressure side is due to leakage through the valve arrangement, in which case a corresponding pressure increase would be present on the low-pressure test section pressure data, or due to leakage of the test platform itself, in which case the pressure increase on the low-pressure side would be null or lower than expected.
  • Pressure data from the high-pressure side may then be corrected based on data from the low-pressure side and on the respective volume of the high-pressure and low-pressure test sections to obtain a more accurate estimation of the leakage though the valve arrangement.
  • control unit is further configured to monitor the pressure variation over time in both the low-pressure test section and the high-pressure test section, and to validate the test procedure based on a correlation between the respective pressure variations in the high and low-pressure sections.
  • the control unit is able to automatically identify how much of the measured pressure drop in the high-pressure test section is due to leakage of the test platform itself and how much is due to leakage through the valve arrangement.
  • Pressure data from the high- pressure side may then be automatically corrected based on data from the low- pressure side and on the respective volume of the high-pressure and low-pressure test sections to obtain a more accurate estimation of the leakage through the valve arrangement.
  • the control unit may store a correlation map defining an allowable range of pressures on the low and high-pressure sections.
  • the fluid chamber has a predetermined volume in the range of 100 to 300 cm 3 , in particular about 200 cm 3 .
  • the volume of the low-pressure test section is 100 cm 3 or lower, in particular about 50 cm 3 .
  • the source of pressurised test fluid may comprise a high-pressure pump, a highly pressurised container and/or a pressure amplifier with a piston or a plunger.
  • the component may be a fuel pump having an inlet valve, a plunger, a pump chamber of which the volume varies with the movement of said plunger, and an outlet check valve.
  • the fuel pump may further comprise a pressure relief valve located downstream of said outlet check valve to release fuel back in the pump chamber if the pressure downstream surpasses a pre-determined critical value.
  • the first connector may be arranged to be fluid coupled with the outlet port of the fuel pump and the second connector may be arranged to be fluid coupled with the inlet port of the fuel pump.
  • a temperature sensor is arranged to determine a temperature in the high-pressure test section of the high-pressure test line.
  • a temperature sensor can be used to detect unexpected changes in temperature that may affect the accuracy of the pressure measurements.
  • the high-pressure test line comprises a buffer chamber and a second high-pressure block valve serially connected between and the first high-pressure block valve and the source of pressurised test fluid.
  • a pressure sensor is arranged to determine a pressure in a high- pressure buffer section of the high-pressure test line between the first high-pressure block valve and the second high-pressure block valve.
  • a method for measuring the bleed down of a valve arrangement in a component comprising the steps of:
  • the method may comprise the steps of: - fluidly coupling the component to the first connector and the second connector;
  • the second predetermined test pressure is lower than the first predetermined test pressure.
  • FIG. 1 is a principle diagram illustrating a high-pressure test platform (or system) 10 according to an embodiment of the invention.
  • the test platform 10 may be designed to perform a range of tests on high-pressure fuel pumps. However, the present description will only focus on the test platform section configured for bleed down tests.
  • a High-pressure fuel pump designated 12 in Fig.1 , usually comprises, a body 12.1 , a pump chamber 12.2 of which the volume varies with the movement of a reciprocating plunger 12.3 to increase the pressure of the fuel. Fuel is allowed into the pump chamber via an inlet valve (IV) 12.4. An outlet valve arrangement 12.5 is provided to release the fuel contained within the pump chamber once it has reached a predetermined pressure differential relative to the pressure downstream of the outlet valve arrangement.
  • the outlet valve arrangement typically takes the form of a check valve and is referred to as outlet check valve (OCV).
  • the fuel pump may further comprise a pressure relief valve (PRV) arranged in the pump body, in a passage connecting a section downstream of the OCV with the pump chamber.
  • PRV pressure relief valve
  • the PRV is a normally closed check valve, that is configured to open if the pressure downstream of the OCV surpasses a pre-determined critical value.
  • the OCV hence allows fluid to flow back to the pump chamber, thus preventing potentially hazardous situations.
  • Such a fuel pump is e.g. disclosed in patent US 10,907,600.
  • the high-pressure test platform 10 schematically illustrated on Figure 1 comprises a high-pressure test line 11 connected at one end to a source of pressurised test fluid 24 and at the opposite end to a connector 13 for fluid coupling to the outlet port of a high-pressure fuel pump 12.
  • the source of pressurised test fluid 24 may typically comprise a pressure amplifier with a plunger or a piston for delivery of pressurised test fluid.
  • the test fluid may be a calibration oil that has similar fluid properties as fuel, as is known in the art.
  • the high-pressure test platform 10 also includes a low-pressure test line 25 connected at one end to a low-pressure block valve 28 and having at its opposite end a second connector 27 for fluid coupling to the inlet port of the high-pressure fuel pump 12.
  • the high-pressure test line 11 comprises (connected in series) a fluid chamber 14, a first high-pressure block valve 18, a buffer chamber 20 and a second high- pressure block valve 22.
  • the section between connector 13 and first block valve 18 is referred to as high- pressure test section 11 a.
  • a first pressure sensor 16 and a temperature sensor 17 are arranged to determine the pressure within the high-pressure test section 11 a.
  • a second pressure sensor 19 is connected to measure the pressure in the buffer section, between first and second block valves 18, 19.
  • the high-pressure test line 11 includes, after the test section 11 a coupled to the component under test, a second volume (the buffer chamber 20 which is at the same pressure at the beginning of the test) with a respective second block valve 22.
  • the first block valve 18 is thus placed between the test chamber 14 and the buffer chamber 20 at high pressure. There is thus, in use, a small pressure differential between the two sides of the first block valve 18, thereby reducing possible leakage from the high-pressure test section 11 a.
  • the high-pressure test section 11a defines a certain volume for the fluid, which is the sum of the internal volume defined by the piping and the test chamber 14 extending between the connector 13 and block valve 18.
  • the low-pressure test line 25 comprises a third pressure sensor 26 arranged to determine a pressure within a low-pressure test section 25a of the low-pressure test line 25 located between the second connector 27 and the low-pressure block valve 28.
  • a pump 32 is connected on the other side of block valve 28 to establish the initial low test pressure (e.g. about 5 bar).
  • the low-pressure test section 25a defines a certain volume for the fluid, which is the sum of the internal volume defined by the duct extending from the connector 27 to block valve 28. This volume should be as low as possible. Hence, although some additional components could be serially mounted in test section 25a, this is preferably avoided (but not excluded) to have a minimum volume.
  • the low-pressure test section 25a preferably has a volume that is at least 25% smaller than that of the high-pressure test section 11a, preferably 50% smaller, or even smaller. At the beginning of the test, the low-pressure test section 25a is set at an initial low pressure.
  • a control unit (30) is configured to monitor the pressure measured by the first 16 and third 26 pressure sensors, and evaluate the pressure variations over time in the high-pressure test section and the low-pressure test section.
  • the detection principle in the low-pressure test section 25a is based on an increase of pressure in case of valve leakage (whereas on the high- pressure side a pressure decrease is expected in case of leakage). Indeed, a leakage through the valve arrangement towards the low-pressure side will cause a pressure increase in the low-pressure side, which is initially at low pressure. Hence it is possible by pressure monitoring on the low-pressure side to identify a leakage of the valve arrangement.
  • the use of a small volume on the low-pressure side permits to have a greater sensitivity to a pressure increase.
  • the pressure measurement on the low- pressure side may be used to correct or validate the measurement at the high- pressure side.
  • the pressure monitoring period may range from a few seconds up to 30 or 60 s, or more if desirable.
  • the test platform may further comprise a dirt line (not shown) branching off from the test section 11 a, itself comprising a block valve, for enabling discharge of contaminated fuel.
  • the dirt line is conventionally provided for purging purposes.
  • the high-pressure test platform 10 is used to measure the leakage (bleed down) of the OCV and the PRV of a high-pressure fuel pump 12 according to the following steps:
  • test pressure in HP side 11 may be up to 50 bar.
  • test pressures higher than 250 bar are used.
  • the pressure in the low-pressure test line 25 may be around 5 bar;

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Abstract

The invention relates to a high-pressure test platform (10) for testing leakage of a valve arrangement in a component such as a fuel pump. The test platform comprises a high-pressure test line (11) connected to a source of pressurised test fuel (24) and having a first connector (13) for fluid coupling to the first port of the component. The test platform further comprises a low-pressure test line (25) connected at one end to a low-pressure block valve (28) and having at its opposite end a second connector (27) for fluid coupling to the second port of the component. A pressure sensor (26) arranged to determine a pressure in a low-pressure test section of the low-pressure test line (25) between the second connector (27) and the low-pressure block valve (28). The low-pressure test section is configured to define a volume which is comparatively at least 25% smaller than a volume of the high-pressure test section, and to be set, in use, at an initial predetermined low pressure. A control unit is (30) configured to evaluate the pressure variation in said low-pressure test section by means of said pressure sensor (26).

Description

TEST PLATFORM LEAKAGE MONITORING IN BLEED DOWN MEASUREMENT
Technical field
The present invention generally relates to a high-pressure test platform configured to perform bleed down measurements on valve arrangements, more specifically on flow control valves in high-pressure fuel pumps.
Background Art
Engine components such as fuel pumps are conventionally submitted to testing at the end of the production line in order to check the proper sealing of valves arranged therein.
A conventional high-pressure fuel pump, as known e.g. from US 10,907,600, is of the displacement type and comprises a body that houses a pumping chamber that cooperates with a reciprocating piston. Fuel is admitted via an electromechanically controlled inlet valve and flows out via an outlet valve. A pressure relief valve is arranged in a return path connecting the downstream valve outlet section to the pumping chamber. Such fuel pump is typically tested under high pressure, in order to detect potential fluid leakage, also referred to as “bleeding”, at the outlet valve or at pressure relief valve.
Current high-pressure test platforms usually comprise a high-pressure test line connected at one end to the outlet port of the fuel pump to be tested, and at the other end to a source of pressurised test fluid. A test section of the test line comprises a pressure sensor and a fluid chamber that can be isolated from the source of pressurised test fluid by a block valve. A control unit is configured to monitor the variation of pressure in the test section over time. The bleed down measurement process then involves increasing the pressure within the test section to a predetermined value, closing the block valve, thus sealing off the test section, before measuring the variation in pressure and temperature over time in the test section to determine the leakage of the valves in the valve arrangement.
A drawback of such high-pressure test platforms is that during bleed down measurements of valve arrangements, the platform itself is susceptible to leak fluid through its block valves. This platform leakage can be misinterpreted as leakage from the valve arrangement to test, thus impacting the validity of the measurements.
Technical problem
It is an object of the present invention to provide a test platform of improved design, able to evaluate the platform leakage and increase the accuracy of bleed down measurements performed.
This object is achieved by a high-pressure test platform as claimed in claim 1 .
General Description of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pressure test platform for testing leakage of a valve arrangement in a component. The component can be any component with a valve arrangement to control a flow passing through the component. The valve arrangement is normally located in a passage extending between a first port and a second port of the component. The pressure test platform comprises a high- pressure test line connected at one end to a source of pressurised test fuel and having at its opposite end a first connector for fluid coupling to the first port of the component. The high-pressure test line includes a high-pressure block valve defining a high-pressure test section between the high-pressure block valve and the first connector.
The test platform further comprises a low-pressure test line connected at one end to a low-pressure block valve and having at its opposite end a second connector for fluid coupling to the second port of the component.
The low-pressure test line includes a pressure sensor arranged to determine a pressure in a low-pressure test section of the low-pressure test line between the second connector and the low-pressure block valve.
It will be appreciated that the low-pressure test section is configured to define a volume which is comparatively at least 25% smaller than a volume of the high- pressure test section, and to be set, in use, at an initial predetermined low pressure.
A control unit is configured to evaluate the pressure variation (over time) in the low- pressure test section by means of said pressure sensor. The present platform thus comprises high- and low-pressure lines that are connected on both sides of the valve arrangement. In use, a high pressure is applied on one side of the valve arrangement, whereas the opposite side of the valve arrangement is, at the start of the bleed test, at a defined low pressure.
In case the valve is pressure tight, the pressure should remain fairly constant on both high-pressure and low-pressure sides. Now, as will be understood by those skilled in the art, a leakage through the valve arrangement towards the low-pressure side will cause a pressure increase in the low-pressure side. Hence it is possible by pressure monitoring on the low-pressure side to identify a leakage of the valve arrangement.
As explained in the prior art section, a difficulty with high-pressure bleed tests is the risk of leakage of the test platform itself, e.g. leakage from the high-pressure test section through the first high-pressure block valve. To tackle this problem, one merit of the inventors is to have devised a test platform with test sections of different volume on both sides of the valve arrangement. On the high-pressure side, it may be desirable to have a rather large volume capacity to maintain a certain pressure level in case of internal platform leakages. On the low-pressure side however, it is desirable to have a comparatively smaller volume for the low-pressure test section, such that in case of leakage through the valve arrangement, the pressure in the low- pressure test section will increase at a higher rate than for a comparatively larger volume.
Preferably, the low-pressure test section is designed as small as possible. In embodiments, the low-pressure test section is configured to define a volume which at least 50% or 60, 70, 75, or 80% smaller than the volume of the high-pressure test section. The ‘volume’ includes any piping and chamber components between the respective connector and block valve.
Advantageously, the high-pressure test section may comprise a fluid chamber having a predefined volume and a pressure sensor arranged to determine a pressure in the high-pressure test section. The control unit is thus advantageously configured to evaluate the pressure variation over time in both the low-pressure test section and the high-pressure test section by means of said pressure sensors. The skilled person analysing the measured pressure data is thereby able to readily identify whether a drop of pressure on the high-pressure side is due to leakage through the valve arrangement, in which case a corresponding pressure increase would be present on the low-pressure test section pressure data, or due to leakage of the test platform itself, in which case the pressure increase on the low-pressure side would be null or lower than expected. Pressure data from the high-pressure side may then be corrected based on data from the low-pressure side and on the respective volume of the high-pressure and low-pressure test sections to obtain a more accurate estimation of the leakage though the valve arrangement.
Preferably, the control unit is further configured to monitor the pressure variation over time in both the low-pressure test section and the high-pressure test section, and to validate the test procedure based on a correlation between the respective pressure variations in the high and low-pressure sections. By correlating between the respective pressure variations in the high- and low-pressure sections, the control unit is able to automatically identify how much of the measured pressure drop in the high-pressure test section is due to leakage of the test platform itself and how much is due to leakage through the valve arrangement. Pressure data from the high- pressure side may then be automatically corrected based on data from the low- pressure side and on the respective volume of the high-pressure and low-pressure test sections to obtain a more accurate estimation of the leakage through the valve arrangement. The control unit may store a correlation map defining an allowable range of pressures on the low and high-pressure sections.
Preferably, the fluid chamber has a predetermined volume in the range of 100 to 300 cm3, in particular about 200 cm3.
Preferably, the volume of the low-pressure test section is 100 cm3 or lower, in particular about 50 cm3.
The source of pressurised test fluid may comprise a high-pressure pump, a highly pressurised container and/or a pressure amplifier with a piston or a plunger.
The component may be a fuel pump having an inlet valve, a plunger, a pump chamber of which the volume varies with the movement of said plunger, and an outlet check valve. The fuel pump may further comprise a pressure relief valve located downstream of said outlet check valve to release fuel back in the pump chamber if the pressure downstream surpasses a pre-determined critical value.
The first connector may be arranged to be fluid coupled with the outlet port of the fuel pump and the second connector may be arranged to be fluid coupled with the inlet port of the fuel pump.
Preferably, a temperature sensor is arranged to determine a temperature in the high-pressure test section of the high-pressure test line. Such a temperature sensor can be used to detect unexpected changes in temperature that may affect the accuracy of the pressure measurements.
Preferably, the high-pressure test line comprises a buffer chamber and a second high-pressure block valve serially connected between and the first high-pressure block valve and the source of pressurised test fluid.
Preferably, a pressure sensor is arranged to determine a pressure in a high- pressure buffer section of the high-pressure test line between the first high-pressure block valve and the second high-pressure block valve.
According to the invention, a method for measuring the bleed down of a valve arrangement in a component is provided, the method comprising the steps of:
- fluidly coupling the component to the first connector and the second connector;
- building up pressure in the high-pressure test line up to a first predetermined test pressure and setting the pressure in the low-pressure test line up to a second predetermined test pressure;
- closing the block valves of the low- and high-pressure test lines;
- detecting the level of bleed down based on the variation of pressure over time in the low-pressure test section.
Additionally or alternatively, the method may comprise the steps of: - fluidly coupling the component to the first connector and the second connector;
- building up pressure in the high-pressure test line up to a first predetermined test pressure and setting the pressure in the low-pressure test line up to a second predetermined test pressure;
- closing the block valves of the low- and high-pressure test lines;
- estimating the level of bleed down based on the decrease of pressure over time in the high-pressure test section detected by the first sensor, and on the increase of pressure over time in the low-pressure test section detected by the third sensor.
Preferably, the second predetermined test pressure is lower than the first predetermined test pressure.
Description of Preferred Embodiments
Figure 1 is a principle diagram illustrating a high-pressure test platform (or system) 10 according to an embodiment of the invention. The test platform 10 may be designed to perform a range of tests on high-pressure fuel pumps. However, the present description will only focus on the test platform section configured for bleed down tests.
High-pressure fuel pumps are widely used in the automotive industry to perform delivery of fuel at specific times and pressure values. A High-pressure fuel pump, designated 12 in Fig.1 , usually comprises, a body 12.1 , a pump chamber 12.2 of which the volume varies with the movement of a reciprocating plunger 12.3 to increase the pressure of the fuel. Fuel is allowed into the pump chamber via an inlet valve (IV) 12.4. An outlet valve arrangement 12.5 is provided to release the fuel contained within the pump chamber once it has reached a predetermined pressure differential relative to the pressure downstream of the outlet valve arrangement. The outlet valve arrangement typically takes the form of a check valve and is referred to as outlet check valve (OCV). The fuel pump may further comprise a pressure relief valve (PRV) arranged in the pump body, in a passage connecting a section downstream of the OCV with the pump chamber. The PRV is a normally closed check valve, that is configured to open if the pressure downstream of the OCV surpasses a pre-determined critical value. The OCV hence allows fluid to flow back to the pump chamber, thus preventing potentially hazardous situations. Such a fuel pump is e.g. disclosed in patent US 10,907,600.
The high-pressure test platform 10 schematically illustrated on Figure 1 comprises a high-pressure test line 11 connected at one end to a source of pressurised test fluid 24 and at the opposite end to a connector 13 for fluid coupling to the outlet port of a high-pressure fuel pump 12. The source of pressurised test fluid 24 may typically comprise a pressure amplifier with a plunger or a piston for delivery of pressurised test fluid. The test fluid may be a calibration oil that has similar fluid properties as fuel, as is known in the art.
The high-pressure test platform 10 also includes a low-pressure test line 25 connected at one end to a low-pressure block valve 28 and having at its opposite end a second connector 27 for fluid coupling to the inlet port of the high-pressure fuel pump 12.
The high-pressure test line 11 comprises (connected in series) a fluid chamber 14, a first high-pressure block valve 18, a buffer chamber 20 and a second high- pressure block valve 22.
The section between connector 13 and first block valve 18 is referred to as high- pressure test section 11 a. A first pressure sensor 16 and a temperature sensor 17 are arranged to determine the pressure within the high-pressure test section 11 a.
A second pressure sensor 19 is connected to measure the pressure in the buffer section, between first and second block valves 18, 19.
Hence the high-pressure test line 11 includes, after the test section 11 a coupled to the component under test, a second volume (the buffer chamber 20 which is at the same pressure at the beginning of the test) with a respective second block valve 22. The first block valve 18 is thus placed between the test chamber 14 and the buffer chamber 20 at high pressure. There is thus, in use, a small pressure differential between the two sides of the first block valve 18, thereby reducing possible leakage from the high-pressure test section 11 a. The high-pressure test section 11a defines a certain volume for the fluid, which is the sum of the internal volume defined by the piping and the test chamber 14 extending between the connector 13 and block valve 18.
The low-pressure test line 25 comprises a third pressure sensor 26 arranged to determine a pressure within a low-pressure test section 25a of the low-pressure test line 25 located between the second connector 27 and the low-pressure block valve 28. A pump 32 is connected on the other side of block valve 28 to establish the initial low test pressure (e.g. about 5 bar).
The low-pressure test section 25a defines a certain volume for the fluid, which is the sum of the internal volume defined by the duct extending from the connector 27 to block valve 28. This volume should be as low as possible. Hence, although some additional components could be serially mounted in test section 25a, this is preferably avoided (but not excluded) to have a minimum volume. In particular the low-pressure test section 25a preferably has a volume that is at least 25% smaller than that of the high-pressure test section 11a, preferably 50% smaller, or even smaller. At the beginning of the test, the low-pressure test section 25a is set at an initial low pressure.
A control unit (30) is configured to monitor the pressure measured by the first 16 and third 26 pressure sensors, and evaluate the pressure variations over time in the high-pressure test section and the low-pressure test section.
As will be understood, the detection principle in the low-pressure test section 25a is based on an increase of pressure in case of valve leakage (whereas on the high- pressure side a pressure decrease is expected in case of leakage). Indeed, a leakage through the valve arrangement towards the low-pressure side will cause a pressure increase in the low-pressure side, which is initially at low pressure. Hence it is possible by pressure monitoring on the low-pressure side to identify a leakage of the valve arrangement. The use of a small volume on the low-pressure side permits to have a greater sensitivity to a pressure increase.
Furthermore, the inventors have found that the pressure measurement on the low- pressure side may be used to correct or validate the measurement at the high- pressure side. Depending on type of component/fuel pump and on the test pressures, the pressure monitoring period may range from a few seconds up to 30 or 60 s, or more if desirable.
In embodiments, the test platform may further comprise a dirt line (not shown) branching off from the test section 11 a, itself comprising a block valve, for enabling discharge of contaminated fuel. The dirt line is conventionally provided for purging purposes.
The high-pressure test platform 10 is used to measure the leakage (bleed down) of the OCV and the PRV of a high-pressure fuel pump 12 according to the following steps:
- fluidly coupling the high-pressure fuel pump 12 to the connector 13 of the high-pressure test line 11 and to the connector 27 of the low-pressure test line 25;
- opening the first 18 and second 22 high-pressure block valves, and opening the low-pressure block valve 28;
- building up pressure in the high-pressure test line 11 up to a predetermined test pressure and setting the pressure in the low-pressure test line 25 to another, lower predetermined test pressure by means of pump 32. For example, to test the OCV, the test pressure in HP side 11 may be up to 50 bar. To test the PRV, test pressures higher than 250 bar are used. Meanwhile, the pressure in the low-pressure test line 25 may be around 5 bar;
- closing the first 18 and second 22 high-pressure block valves and closing block valve 28;
- estimating the level of bleed down based on the decrease of pressure over time in the high-pressure test section 11a detected by the first sensor (16), and on the increase of pressure over time in the low-pressure test section 25a detected by the third sensor (26); It should be noted that connections between the different components of the high- pressure test platform have been represented by lines for the sake of clarity. In reality, the different components are linked by tubes of small cross-sectional area (e.g. of diameter 4 to 8 mm, in particular about 6 mm). In contrast, the fluid chamber has a volume of 200 cm3. The vast majority of the volume within the platform is thus located within the fluid chamber and the buffer chamber. It should also be noted that outside of leakages through the platform valves and the pump valves, the platform is built completely leak-proof, i.e. platform leakage may only happen around valves.

Claims

Claims
1 . A high-pressure test platform (10) for testing leakage of a valve arrangement in a component, wherein said valve arrangement is located in a passage extending between an first port and a second port, said high-pressure test platform comprising a high-pressure test line (11 ) connected at one end to a source of pressurised test fuel (24) and having at its opposite end a first connector (13) for fluid coupling to the first port of said component, said high-pressure test line (11 ) including a first high-pressure block valve (18) defining a high-pressure test section between the first high-pressure block valve (18) and the first connector (13); wherein said high-pressure test platform further comprises a low-pressure test line (25) connected at one end to a low-pressure block valve (28) and having at its opposite end a second connector (27) for fluid coupling to the second port of said component; wherein said low-pressure test line (25) further comprises a pressure sensor (26) arranged to determine a pressure in a low-pressure test section of the low- pressure test line (25) between the second connector (27) and the low-pressure block valve (28), wherein the low-pressure test section is configured to define a volume which is comparatively at least 25% smaller than a volume of the high- pressure test section, and to be set, in use, at an initial predetermined low pressure; wherein a control unit is (30) configured to evaluate the pressure variation in said low-pressure test section by means of said pressure sensor (26).
2. The high-pressure test platform according to claim 1 , wherein said high-pressure test section comprises a fluid chamber (14) having a predefined volume and a pressure sensor (16) arranged to determine a pressure in the high-pressure test section; and wherein the control unit (30) is configured to evaluate the pressure variation in both the low-pressure test section and the high-pressure test section by means of said pressure sensors (16, 26). The high-pressure test platform according to claim 2, wherein the control unit (30) is configured to monitor the pressure variation over time in both the low- pressure test section and the high-pressure test section, and to validate the test procedure based on a correlation between the respective pressure variations in the high and low-pressure sections. The high-pressure test platform according to claim 2 or 3, wherein said fluid chamber (14) has a predetermined volume in the range of 100 to 300 cm3. The high-pressure test platform according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the volume of the low-pressure test section is 100 cm3 or lower. The high-pressure test platform according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the source of pressurised test fluid (24) comprises a high-pressure pump, a highly pressurised container and/or a pressure amplifier with a piston or a plunger. The high-pressure test platform according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the component is a fuel pump (12) having an inlet valve, a plunger, a pump chamber of which the volume varies with the movement of said plunger, and an outlet check valve. The high-pressure test platform according to claim 7, wherein the fuel pump (12) further comprises a pressure relief valve located downstream of said outlet check valve to release fuel back in the pump chamber if the pressure downstream surpasses a pre-determined critical value. The high-pressure test platform according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the first connector (13) is arranged to be fluid coupled with the outlet port of the fuel pump and the second connector (27) is arranged to be fluid coupled with the inlet port of the fuel pump. The high-pressure test platform (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein a temperature sensor (17) is arranged to determine a temperature in the high-pressure test section of the high-pressure test line (11 ). The high-pressure test platform (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the high-pressure test line (11 ) further comprises a buffer chamber (20) and a second high-pressure block valve (22) serially connected between and the first high-pressure block valve (18) and the source of pressurised test fluid (24). The high-pressure test platform (10) according to claim 11 , wherein a pressure sensor (19) is arranged to determine a pressure in a high-pressure buffer section of the high-pressure test line (11 ) between the first high-pressure block valve (18) and the second high-pressure block valve (22). A method for measuring bleed down of a valve arrangement in a component by means of the high-pressure test platform (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, said method comprising:
- fluidly coupling the component to the first connector (13) and the second connector (27);
- building up pressure in the high-pressure test line (11 ) up to a first predetermined test pressure and setting the pressure in the low-pressure test line (25) up to a second predetermined test pressure;
- closing the block valves (18, 22, 28) of the low- and high-pressure test lines;
- detecting the level of bleed down based on the variation of pressure over time in the low-pressure test section. A method for measuring bleed down of a valve arrangement in a component by means of the high-pressure test platform (10) according to any of claims 2 to 12, said method comprising:
- fluidly coupling the component to the first connector (13) and the second connector (27); - building up pressure in the high-pressure test line (11 ) up to a first predetermined test pressure and setting the pressure in the low-pressure test line (25) up to a second predetermined test pressure;
- closing the block valves (18, 22, 28) of the low- and high-pressure test lines;
- estimating the level of bleed down based on the decrease of pressure over time in the high-pressure test section detected by the first sensor (16), and on the increase of pressure over time in the low-pressure test section detected by the third sensor (26). A method for measuring bleed down of a valve arrangement in a component by means of the high-pressure test platform (10) according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the second predetermined test pressure is lower than the first predetermined test pressure.
PCT/EP2023/082522 2022-11-29 2023-11-21 Test platform leakage monitoring in bleed down measurement WO2024115194A1 (en)

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US20130154841A1 (en) * 2011-12-15 2013-06-20 Honeywell International Inc. Gas valve with valve leakage test
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