4wd Dyno Cell Project - Build Log, discussion & Pictures.
29 October 2012, 05:01 PM
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4wd Dyno Cell Project - Build Log, discussion & Pictures.
Hi folks,
Having polled the members and found that some seem to be interested in this project, I am going to use this topic as a diary to detail the building of our new 4wd dyno cell, from empty unit, right up to installed and functioning... its something different from the usual forum topic and the petrol-heads may find it interesting.
So...
After years of waiting, the unit directly opposite us finally became available and a plan was hatched. We have spent far too much time and money over the years hiring other peoples dynos as and when required and also, with us doing more development on new models than tuning older ones nowadays, a dyno is a really useful tool to have at your instant disposal due in no small part to the fact modern OE ECU's cannot be emulated and mapped live, so require a lot of back to back testing which takes up a lot of time. Since this unit is next to ours and is the ideal place for us to put one, we snapped it up and got to work.
Now, having operated a dyno professionally ourselves prior to opening MSD, having over 100 installers of our own around the UK, many of whom have dynos and also having visited and used most of their dynos for one thing or another, we are in a pretty ideal position to understand what does and doesnt work, so we can use not only our own knowledge of the subject but also the knowledge we have acquired from owners of dynos spread out across all apsects of the tuning arena from diagnostics to race teams... and we can apply this knowledge to our installation. This way, funds permitting, we can ensure we get the most useful dyno environment we can afford to build within the constraints of our new building.
So, to begin planning, we need to look at the aspects that must be covered as the project progresses. So we build a checklist of requirements.
The dyno only really needs to perform 3 duties.
The dyno CELL however, has to do a lot more. It needs to:
The Dyno choice itself was tricky, there are quite a few good ones out there within budget and functionality seems to spread out from very little, to far too much. Wideband AFR for two seperate tailpipes was a must of course, but as we tend to develop for newer platforms, we really wanted OBD2 monitoring and graphing functionality as this gives us the ability to monitor such things as engine knock, fuel rail pump pressures, boost and Airflow meter outputs, EGT, spark and injector duration, to name just a few of literally many hundreds of parameters alongside power output etc on the dyno screen in real time, and that is absolutely invaluable when creating new calibrations in vehicles you have never seen before. To have this all from one OBD socket will be perfect.
This aspect narrowed down our search quite a lot and, sadly moved my search away from the DD DS450 that I was initially opting for... But after long discussions with DD themselves, we ended up opting for their as yet unreleased Dynotech 4wd fully digital platform. They demonstrated the 2wd unit in our new building and, satisfied all was well, we signed up for assembly of one of the first 4wd versions to leave their factory. In fact, ours will be the first 4wd Dynotech in Europe to be up and running. Lets hope we don't have to iron out any "teething problems" for them.
So, the Dyno choice is sorted, that was the easy bit. Now how do we create an environment that it can perform its best in?
Well first I figured it wise to spend some time brainstorming with the staff and friends and building up my list of common dyno cell problems to avoid, and in doing so i came up with the following requirements for my own cell.
Allied to the above criteria, I also had my own list of things I wanted to incorporate into the cell such as:
With the above list of aims for the project, we began work.
It's going to be tricky to achieve as the unit space we have doesn't lend itself at all well to the above criteria... But we are going to do our best.
Discussion and comments very welcome.
Having polled the members and found that some seem to be interested in this project, I am going to use this topic as a diary to detail the building of our new 4wd dyno cell, from empty unit, right up to installed and functioning... its something different from the usual forum topic and the petrol-heads may find it interesting.
So...
After years of waiting, the unit directly opposite us finally became available and a plan was hatched. We have spent far too much time and money over the years hiring other peoples dynos as and when required and also, with us doing more development on new models than tuning older ones nowadays, a dyno is a really useful tool to have at your instant disposal due in no small part to the fact modern OE ECU's cannot be emulated and mapped live, so require a lot of back to back testing which takes up a lot of time. Since this unit is next to ours and is the ideal place for us to put one, we snapped it up and got to work.
Now, having operated a dyno professionally ourselves prior to opening MSD, having over 100 installers of our own around the UK, many of whom have dynos and also having visited and used most of their dynos for one thing or another, we are in a pretty ideal position to understand what does and doesnt work, so we can use not only our own knowledge of the subject but also the knowledge we have acquired from owners of dynos spread out across all apsects of the tuning arena from diagnostics to race teams... and we can apply this knowledge to our installation. This way, funds permitting, we can ensure we get the most useful dyno environment we can afford to build within the constraints of our new building.
So, to begin planning, we need to look at the aspects that must be covered as the project progresses. So we build a checklist of requirements.
The dyno only really needs to perform 3 duties.
- Hold a 2 or 4wd vehicle securely.
- Read the tractive effort the vehicle has at its wheels.
- Supply all necessary data to the operator.
The dyno CELL however, has to do a lot more. It needs to:
- Provide an easy access environment for the dyno.
- House the dyno cooling system.
- Provide a cooling airflow to ensure the heat is removed from the engine and drivetrain.
- Provide enough additional airflow to turn over the air in the cell at least 300 times an hour but preferably 600.
- Provide extraction of exhaust gas seperately... ideally 100% extraction leaving no exhaust gas in the cell.
- Maintain a constant cell ambient pressure identical to that outside the building, neither negative nor positive is acceptable.
- Provide any necessary soundproofing if required. (Our biggest headache)
- Provide a safe customer viewing area.
- House any cameras etc used to record the runs.
- House any connectivity that the operator may need to perform the job. (PC access - monitors - Tools - etc)
The Dyno choice itself was tricky, there are quite a few good ones out there within budget and functionality seems to spread out from very little, to far too much. Wideband AFR for two seperate tailpipes was a must of course, but as we tend to develop for newer platforms, we really wanted OBD2 monitoring and graphing functionality as this gives us the ability to monitor such things as engine knock, fuel rail pump pressures, boost and Airflow meter outputs, EGT, spark and injector duration, to name just a few of literally many hundreds of parameters alongside power output etc on the dyno screen in real time, and that is absolutely invaluable when creating new calibrations in vehicles you have never seen before. To have this all from one OBD socket will be perfect.
This aspect narrowed down our search quite a lot and, sadly moved my search away from the DD DS450 that I was initially opting for... But after long discussions with DD themselves, we ended up opting for their as yet unreleased Dynotech 4wd fully digital platform. They demonstrated the 2wd unit in our new building and, satisfied all was well, we signed up for assembly of one of the first 4wd versions to leave their factory. In fact, ours will be the first 4wd Dynotech in Europe to be up and running. Lets hope we don't have to iron out any "teething problems" for them.
So, the Dyno choice is sorted, that was the easy bit. Now how do we create an environment that it can perform its best in?
Well first I figured it wise to spend some time brainstorming with the staff and friends and building up my list of common dyno cell problems to avoid, and in doing so i came up with the following requirements for my own cell.
- The engine cooling fan must NOT just be circulating room air around.
- The cell extraction fan must not just be circulating room air around.
- The engine must not be allowed to see any exhaust gas at its inlet.
- The customers and operators must not be subject to any exhaust gas.
- The engines inlet air must be as close to outside air ambient temperature as possible.
- The various atmospheric pressures etc must be accurately set and programmed into the dyno for every single run.
- The cell must be self contained and as small as possible.
Allied to the above criteria, I also had my own list of things I wanted to incorporate into the cell such as:
- HD video recording form various angles.
- The ability for customers to watch us run their car via their smartphones or PC.
- The ability to burn that run to a USB key for a small fee for the customer.
- Maximum soundproofing to keep the neighbours happy.
- A stockroom / packaging room to ease the burden in my other unit.
- A training room to give 1on1 and maybe group training to our installers.
- A separate area that can be developed into an engine dyno cell at a later date
With the above list of aims for the project, we began work.
It's going to be tricky to achieve as the unit space we have doesn't lend itself at all well to the above criteria... But we are going to do our best.
Discussion and comments very welcome.
Last edited by Evolution Stu; 31 October 2012 at 11:56 AM.
29 October 2012, 05:01 PM
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So...
Here is the new unit that will become the dyno cell.
First job, is to get the dimensions of the dyno and draw it all out on the floor to see what we have to play with.
It immediately becomes apparent that we are going to have to move the stairs, and the current front office. Doh.
So, we move those as necessary, and book a demo with dyno Dynamics and they bring their 2wd unit down for us to play with for the day as planning via specifications is all well and good, but there is nothing like the real thing and it certainly has us thinking of a few things we had not considered.
Sadly, ceiling clearance being one of them.
That upstairs is going to have to be ripped down and moved backwards a few feet to accommodate commercial vehicles. Nothings ever quite as simple as first perceived...
Anyone know a good reliable steel worker? Ah, Andy Cross... (AJC) So Andy comes in, we brief him and he gets to work and does a bloody good job in record time.
Meanwhile, we start to fix the stairs in their new position, initially, not quite to full building regs it seems...
D:
When Andy Cross has finished, we have an upstairs structure that will support a space shuttle and a downstairs area that has enough height for the commercials we often work on.
Bloody brilliant work, well pleased, thanks Andy.
The pictures get sparse from here as we all work into the night every night turning this building into 6 separate areas:
And of course occasionally stop for a refuel...
Now the main structure is up, its time to consider soundproofing, and that, is where the headaches begin.
Discussion and comments welcome through the topic, so feel free to add your input, you never know, you may give me a great idea or save me some cash.
Here is the new unit that will become the dyno cell.
First job, is to get the dimensions of the dyno and draw it all out on the floor to see what we have to play with.
It immediately becomes apparent that we are going to have to move the stairs, and the current front office. Doh.
So, we move those as necessary, and book a demo with dyno Dynamics and they bring their 2wd unit down for us to play with for the day as planning via specifications is all well and good, but there is nothing like the real thing and it certainly has us thinking of a few things we had not considered.
Sadly, ceiling clearance being one of them.
That upstairs is going to have to be ripped down and moved backwards a few feet to accommodate commercial vehicles. Nothings ever quite as simple as first perceived...
Anyone know a good reliable steel worker? Ah, Andy Cross... (AJC) So Andy comes in, we brief him and he gets to work and does a bloody good job in record time.
Meanwhile, we start to fix the stairs in their new position, initially, not quite to full building regs it seems...
D:When Andy Cross has finished, we have an upstairs structure that will support a space shuttle and a downstairs area that has enough height for the commercials we often work on.
Bloody brilliant work, well pleased, thanks Andy.
The pictures get sparse from here as we all work into the night every night turning this building into 6 separate areas:
- Dyno cell
- Reception
- Office
- Fan Room
- Training Room
- Mail Order Room
And of course occasionally stop for a refuel...
Now the main structure is up, its time to consider soundproofing, and that, is where the headaches begin.
Discussion and comments welcome through the topic, so feel free to add your input, you never know, you may give me a great idea or save me some cash.
30 October 2012, 10:11 AM
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The Decibel challenge.
As most of you will know, dynos create huge amounts of noise and sadly our new unit has 2 direct neighbors, neither of whom we want to be complaining about us, so we had to figure out how best to stop transmission of noise to the surrounding units. After much research, umming, ahhing and head scratching, I finally settled on the following system.
This is an interesting system that's normally used to assemble cinemas and recording studios etc and it uses a special vibration damping clip to secure a furring bar to a wooden stud in such a way as to decouple the boards away from their mounting studs. It is a lot harder to explain than to show you, so here is a picture or two...
The genie clips.
These screw to the wooden studs...
The furring bars mounted into the clip
The first layer of acoustic grade 15mm plasterboard mounted to the furring bar.
Once the wall is built in this fashion, it is then covered in rolls of this stuff...
And then a 2nd layer of 15mm acoustic plasterboard is fitted on top of it, to make an ultra dense sound absorbing barrier.
We also need to extract the exhaust gas and its associated din as quietly and efficiently as possible. Now this really can be a headache, especially with high power diesel vehicles, so we got the specialists in to spec this system for us and agreed a pretty rare deal... If we can measure any exhaust gas in the cell while the dyno is running, we don't pay a penny until its fixed by them at their cost. You cant say better than that I reckon, but as with everything in life, it comes at a price... a big price.
More pics later... comments and discussion most welcome.
As most of you will know, dynos create huge amounts of noise and sadly our new unit has 2 direct neighbors, neither of whom we want to be complaining about us, so we had to figure out how best to stop transmission of noise to the surrounding units. After much research, umming, ahhing and head scratching, I finally settled on the following system.
- Wooden stud walls
- Accoustic grade rockwool
- Genie clips
- Resiliant bars
- 2 layers of 15mm Acoustic grade drywall
- 4mm accoustiblock sound absorbtion mat in between the drywall layers.
- Accoustic grade sealant at every joint, so no panel or wall touches any other directly.
This is an interesting system that's normally used to assemble cinemas and recording studios etc and it uses a special vibration damping clip to secure a furring bar to a wooden stud in such a way as to decouple the boards away from their mounting studs. It is a lot harder to explain than to show you, so here is a picture or two...
The genie clips.
These screw to the wooden studs...
The furring bars mounted into the clip
The first layer of acoustic grade 15mm plasterboard mounted to the furring bar.
Once the wall is built in this fashion, it is then covered in rolls of this stuff...
And then a 2nd layer of 15mm acoustic plasterboard is fitted on top of it, to make an ultra dense sound absorbing barrier.
We also need to extract the exhaust gas and its associated din as quietly and efficiently as possible. Now this really can be a headache, especially with high power diesel vehicles, so we got the specialists in to spec this system for us and agreed a pretty rare deal... If we can measure any exhaust gas in the cell while the dyno is running, we don't pay a penny until its fixed by them at their cost. You cant say better than that I reckon, but as with everything in life, it comes at a price... a big price.
More pics later... comments and discussion most welcome.
31 October 2012, 11:57 AM
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The Exhausting challenge...
Make no mistake...
Exhaust gas management is one of the most common dyno cell failures in the world.
The amount of times I visit an installers facility and see people stood choking to death on fumes astounds me. Not only do humans not operate well on exhaust fumes, neither do engines! Even 1% of exhaust gas will have a negative effect on your engines power output, but even worse, if its mapped with it, chances are it will detonate itself to death when used out on the open road due to the increased oxygen content the engine will see compared to its dyno tuned environment. Oh... and its bloody bad for your operators and customers health too!
Secondly, exhaust gas not being vented properly will also increase the cell temperature very quickly because, as we all know, its extremely bloody hot!D:
So... after some in depth discussion with the three big extraction companies in the UK, I settled on one so sure he could do the job that we have agreed he doesn't get paid if we can measure any exhaust gas while a 1000bhp vehicle is on the dyno.. (Can I borrow you please Rod? )
The system is somewhat bigger than I envisaged... as you will see!
I originally planned to put the 5000cfm Exhaust fan up in the roof space. James is well pleased as you can see...
I relented, and found a better position for it...
241mm pipework throughout.
Some ugly ******* posing next to my shiny new silencer.
We have 2x 241mm up stands, one either side of the cell.
These go up through the ceiling and then meet in the middle, where they then branch off into one and head through the training room.
This silencer seems to attract ugly ***** don't you think?
The silenced exhaust gas finally goes to atmosphere pointing across the industrial roofs, directly away from the closest units, so hopefully wont create too much noise.
The business end... these are the two exhaust collectors that will sit behind the exhaust and hopefully scavenge all the exhaust gas. (What is it with Exhausts and posers?)
To give you an idea of their size behind a car...
And there you have it...
The next mission is going to be wiring up the control system and networking as this dyno is going to be 95% wireless... Stay tuned for tomorrows updates. LOL
Make no mistake...
Exhaust gas management is one of the most common dyno cell failures in the world.
The amount of times I visit an installers facility and see people stood choking to death on fumes astounds me. Not only do humans not operate well on exhaust fumes, neither do engines! Even 1% of exhaust gas will have a negative effect on your engines power output, but even worse, if its mapped with it, chances are it will detonate itself to death when used out on the open road due to the increased oxygen content the engine will see compared to its dyno tuned environment. Oh... and its bloody bad for your operators and customers health too!
Secondly, exhaust gas not being vented properly will also increase the cell temperature very quickly because, as we all know, its extremely bloody hot!
D:So... after some in depth discussion with the three big extraction companies in the UK, I settled on one so sure he could do the job that we have agreed he doesn't get paid if we can measure any exhaust gas while a 1000bhp vehicle is on the dyno.. (Can I borrow you please Rod?
)The system is somewhat bigger than I envisaged... as you will see!
I originally planned to put the 5000cfm Exhaust fan up in the roof space. James is well pleased as you can see...
I relented, and found a better position for it...
241mm pipework throughout.
Some ugly ******* posing next to my shiny new silencer.
We have 2x 241mm up stands, one either side of the cell.
These go up through the ceiling and then meet in the middle, where they then branch off into one and head through the training room.
This silencer seems to attract ugly ***** don't you think?
The silenced exhaust gas finally goes to atmosphere pointing across the industrial roofs, directly away from the closest units, so hopefully wont create too much noise.
The business end... these are the two exhaust collectors that will sit behind the exhaust and hopefully scavenge all the exhaust gas. (What is it with Exhausts and posers?)
To give you an idea of their size behind a car...
And there you have it...
The next mission is going to be wiring up the control system and networking as this dyno is going to be 95% wireless... Stay tuned for tomorrows updates. LOL
05 November 2012, 11:51 AM
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The Electrickery Nightmare...
There is little more boring to me than wiring, but we had lots of it to do. My intention is to have this cell as autonomous as possible, with as much functionality wireless as can be obtained reliably, and that means a lot of computer interface sockets need to go in the cell walls and a lot of HD cameras need wiring in too, along with the obvious three phase for the dyno itself, the exhaust fans and the engine cooling fans. The network also needs to be linked to my other unit, that's another headache to be overcome, but I cannot abide wiring trailing everywhere, so this is a very important part of the build for me, I want operation as wire free as possible.
The fan room needs its own 3 phase distribution board so we can spur out from there and leave nothing too visible in the cell and there is now a dedicated computer, network and camera control area that is outside the cell itself, so the wiring begins and everything is terminating in that one area...
Not a lot to say, its all just wire.
The network alone has used over 400 meters.
This should carry the juice we need.
This will power the engine cooling fan.
Power socket for the exhaust extraction fan.
Power socket for the exhaust extraction fan.
The obligatory "Oh ****" button.
Exhaust fan wired and finally running...
Lots of computer integration options going in a custom socket we are having made. 2x serial 2x Cat 5, 4x USB. This has been thought about carefully and will all interface in 2 parts in the fan control room, so if we ever have a problem in the cell we can change just that half and be back up and running, I have also wired 100% redundancy so should hopefully never have to take the wall apart to change a wire.
2x USB and 1x HDMI going near the drivers door.
4 channel remote for control of the three phase fans.
Next -
the soundproofing walls are going to come together.
There is little more boring to me than wiring, but we had lots of it to do. My intention is to have this cell as autonomous as possible, with as much functionality wireless as can be obtained reliably, and that means a lot of computer interface sockets need to go in the cell walls and a lot of HD cameras need wiring in too, along with the obvious three phase for the dyno itself, the exhaust fans and the engine cooling fans. The network also needs to be linked to my other unit, that's another headache to be overcome, but I cannot abide wiring trailing everywhere, so this is a very important part of the build for me, I want operation as wire free as possible.
The fan room needs its own 3 phase distribution board so we can spur out from there and leave nothing too visible in the cell and there is now a dedicated computer, network and camera control area that is outside the cell itself, so the wiring begins and everything is terminating in that one area...
Not a lot to say, its all just wire.
The network alone has used over 400 meters.
This should carry the juice we need.
This will power the engine cooling fan.
Power socket for the exhaust extraction fan.
Power socket for the exhaust extraction fan.
The obligatory "Oh ****" button.
Exhaust fan wired and finally running...
Lots of computer integration options going in a custom socket we are having made. 2x serial 2x Cat 5, 4x USB. This has been thought about carefully and will all interface in 2 parts in the fan control room, so if we ever have a problem in the cell we can change just that half and be back up and running, I have also wired 100% redundancy so should hopefully never have to take the wall apart to change a wire.
2x USB and 1x HDMI going near the drivers door.
4 channel remote for control of the three phase fans.
Next -
the soundproofing walls are going to come together.
05 November 2012, 11:52 AM
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The rooms are coming together now...
The reception had to be built to allow us to finalise the cell wall, so we got on with turning this mess into a reception area.
It soon came together and we were able to install an incredibly expensive sheet of triple layer acoustic grade glass.
Which from the inside, now looks like this.
The stairs were plastered and went from this...
To this...
The training and mail order rooms start to take some shape...
And work begins on the part we have all been avoiding. Soundproofing the ceiling...
Which was a worse job for some more than others. (Thanks Nicci. :smack: )
And meanwhile, the fan room keeps moving forwards...
As does the dyno cell itself...
The reception had to be built to allow us to finalise the cell wall, so we got on with turning this mess into a reception area.
It soon came together and we were able to install an incredibly expensive sheet of triple layer acoustic grade glass.
Which from the inside, now looks like this.
The stairs were plastered and went from this...
To this...
The training and mail order rooms start to take some shape...
And work begins on the part we have all been avoiding. Soundproofing the ceiling...
Which was a worse job for some more than others. (Thanks Nicci. :smack: )
And meanwhile, the fan room keeps moving forwards...
As does the dyno cell itself...
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05 November 2012, 09:42 PM
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Blimey, some serious effort put in already. If you still have issues with noise, or think you may have an especially noisy session, you can hire temporary noise fencing which can be attached to a lightweight frame (of many shapes and size, all dependant upon your requirements).
We used it for Highway repair and first trialled it for tfl works, where noise could be caused by a couple of bits of equipments (generators, disk cutters, pneumatic drills). We had the equipment (and work crew) partially enclosed within the noise 'cell' without too many issues. I measured between 2-4 dB drop at about 10m from source which seemed fairly good for something that could be put together in 20 minutes.
If you google rent a vent you can see pictures of the equipment
We used it for Highway repair and first trialled it for tfl works, where noise could be caused by a couple of bits of equipments (generators, disk cutters, pneumatic drills). We had the equipment (and work crew) partially enclosed within the noise 'cell' without too many issues. I measured between 2-4 dB drop at about 10m from source which seemed fairly good for something that could be put together in 20 minutes.
If you google rent a vent you can see pictures of the equipment
07 November 2012, 09:19 AM
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Yeah, I have seen them actually, the most proficient seems to be by a company marketing it as "Accoustifence" they are the same people make the "Accoustiblock" that we have put between the acoustic board.
I am hoping we dont have too much problem, but that is one solution we are looking at in order to reduce the noise coming through the inlet side of the cell.
I am hoping we dont have too much problem, but that is one solution we are looking at in order to reduce the noise coming through the inlet side of the cell.
Blimey, some serious effort put in already. If you still have issues with noise, or think you may have an especially noisy session, you can hire temporary noise fencing which can be attached to a lightweight frame (of many shapes and size, all dependant upon your requirements).
We used it for Highway repair and first trialled it for tfl works, where noise could be caused by a couple of bits of equipments (generators, disk cutters, pneumatic drills). We had the equipment (and work crew) partially enclosed within the noise 'cell' without too many issues. I measured between 2-4 dB drop at about 10m from source which seemed fairly good for something that could be put together in 20 minutes.
If you google rent a vent you can see pictures of the equipment
We used it for Highway repair and first trialled it for tfl works, where noise could be caused by a couple of bits of equipments (generators, disk cutters, pneumatic drills). We had the equipment (and work crew) partially enclosed within the noise 'cell' without too many issues. I measured between 2-4 dB drop at about 10m from source which seemed fairly good for something that could be put together in 20 minutes.
If you google rent a vent you can see pictures of the equipment
10 November 2012, 08:59 AM
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Ok, a few updates.
The building has finally turned that corner where the project starts to look like it has an end in sight.
The accoustic louvres where in place, but I have changed the airflow specs of the cell and am aiming for over 900 room changes per hour (once every 4 seconds) so these are now to small and have had to go back for some specification changes.
The exhaust extraction system was sealed and comissioned.
The reception area was finally plastered and decorated.
As was the stairs and landing.
And the training room has finally been plastered.
And the downstairs office / Control room is finally underway.
The engine building clean room construction is underway and the main studding and soundproofing is in.
I snapped a few images of the soundproofing sandwich and suspension bar layout so you can see how it works, as follows:
And the dyno cell itself as it looked last night.
Massive thanks to all the staff here, they have been working like animals to get this ready for me, and I cant thank them enough.
The building has finally turned that corner where the project starts to look like it has an end in sight.
The accoustic louvres where in place, but I have changed the airflow specs of the cell and am aiming for over 900 room changes per hour (once every 4 seconds) so these are now to small and have had to go back for some specification changes.
The exhaust extraction system was sealed and comissioned.
The reception area was finally plastered and decorated.
As was the stairs and landing.
And the training room has finally been plastered.
And the downstairs office / Control room is finally underway.
The engine building clean room construction is underway and the main studding and soundproofing is in.
I snapped a few images of the soundproofing sandwich and suspension bar layout so you can see how it works, as follows:
- 1 layer of 15mm acoustic grade plasterboard
- 1 layer of 4mm acoustiblock ultra dense matting
- 1 more layer of 15mm acoustic grade plasterboard
- All screwed onto a furring bar
- Which is then mounted on genie clips to mount the whole thing onto rubber.
And the dyno cell itself as it looked last night.
Massive thanks to all the staff here, they have been working like animals to get this ready for me, and I cant thank them enough.
10 November 2012, 09:46 AM
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Fair play Stu, that's a good bit if effort gone in there 
Keep up the good work looking forward to the dyno install, looks like it should be fun 
will certainly have a nice cell there bud
Keep up the good work
looking forward to the dyno install, looks like it should be fun will certainly have a nice cell there bud
10 November 2012, 09:58 PM
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I have the pleasure of using a brilliant engine dyno cell at university (Queens Belfast - where Gordon Blair studied and taught) and having proper facilities make life easy. We have a great set up and even then some problems can occur as Im sure you know. The funniest thing is ours is in the basement in what is called a soundproofed room. Its not sound proof when you run an R6 engine at full chat with no silencer as I found out when standing on the second floor and hearing some other team members running our Formula Student engine.
11 November 2012, 06:12 AM
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Thanks guys, it finally feels like it might even work one day.
Lighting, HD cameras, TV's and Computer systems are next. More cash...
My intended airflow is going to cause plenty of headaches yet though as 900+ room changes per hour is a LOT of air movement... watch this space as its soon time to start working out the differential pressures between the cell and the outdoors but I fear the fans I need arent going to be here before the dyno itself.
Lighting, HD cameras, TV's and Computer systems are next. More cash...
My intended airflow is going to cause plenty of headaches yet though as 900+ room changes per hour is a LOT of air movement... watch this space as its soon time to start working out the differential pressures between the cell and the outdoors but I fear the fans I need arent going to be here before the dyno itself.
11 November 2012, 07:37 PM
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Thanks Guys.
Yeah, they are also a big *** headache, as is the problem of balancing the pressure in the cell... a real big *** headache right now as the airflow is well over an easy to achieve spec without opening a bloody door to just balance it out. LOL
Yeah, they are also a big *** headache, as is the problem of balancing the pressure in the cell... a real big *** headache right now as the airflow is well over an easy to achieve spec without opening a bloody door to just balance it out. LOL
13 November 2012, 05:35 PM
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Nothing much to report about the cell progress this week so far, its all painting and decorating, but I have managed to get the dyno cells PC Connectivity finished in a custom faceplate I am pretty proud of.
Wired for total redundancy, so should save any downtime in the future.
Wired for total redundancy, so should save any downtime in the future.
13 November 2012, 05:41 PM
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Our inlet rate is fixed at 20'000 cfm at around 100mph velocity as its being used for engine and heat exchanger airflow only. The rear cell fans are going to be controlled by a differential pressure sensor that is going to vary their rotational rate to achieve the cell depression that I need.
13 November 2012, 11:42 PM
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I have the pleasure of using a brilliant engine dyno cell at university (Queens Belfast - where Gordon Blair studied and taught) and having proper facilities make life easy. We have a great set up and even then some problems can occur as Im sure you know. The funniest thing is ours is in the basement in what is called a soundproofed room. Its not sound proof when you run an R6 engine at full chat with no silencer as I found out when standing on the second floor and hearing some other team members running our Formula Student engine.
15 November 2012, 07:25 PM
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A tiny update:
Finally, the sound absorbing lining is going up and the HD camera system is partially installed. Its looking good now... more like my original vision
Finally, the sound absorbing lining is going up and the HD camera system is partially installed. Its looking good now... more like my original vision
16 November 2012, 06:48 PM
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Todays efforts. Massive improvements every day now thanks largely to the dedication of my hard working staff.
