Instrumentação de uma bancada de fluxo

Abstract

Accurate measurement of parameters such as flow and pressure is essential for evaluating the performance of internal combustion engine components, such as cylinder heads, carburetors, and intake manifolds. Flow benches play a crucial role in this process, but they present challenges, especially when using differential hose pressure gauges, which have complex and error-prone readings. On the other hand, benches equipped with digital sensors are generally expensive, limiting their use in environments with lower budgets. In this work, we propose the modernization of a lowcost flow bench, replacing the traditional level hose system with digital pressure sensors connected to a microcontroller. This upgrade allows for accurate acquisition of pressure data and automatic calculation of flow, in addition to offering direct readings of differential pressure and flow in the equipment. This simplifies the use of the bench, increases the repeatability of results, and makes comparison between experimental data more reliable. The results obtained demonstrate the advantages of incorporating digital sensors, such as greater measurement accuracy, elimination of interpretation errors and better didactic suitability of the equipment in teaching and research environments. Thus, this work contributes to the technological evolution of low-cost measurement benches, making them more efficient, accessible and suitable for academic and experimental application. Keywords: Flow bench, digital pressure sensors, Arduino, automation, internal combustion engines.