Abstract:

Vehicle emission control systems have been found to deteriorate with use, leading to increased levels of harmful emissions. Vehicles are known to be a major source of air pollutants in cities and have caused significant public health risks worldwide. Therefore, worldwide attention is being paid to finding the most effective measures to help reduce the current contribution to greenhouse gas emissions from transport. In this paper, the authors present an experimental comparative analysis between two different models of Mass Air Flow (MAF) sensors. This research is emphasized in the education of undergraduate students in the engineering majors "Automotive Technology" and "Automotive Electronic Systems". During their studies, the aim is to direct the attention of the students of these specialties to a global problem, namely the reduction of harmful emissions from cars. In this context, an extremely important factor of engineering education is the activity of teaching knowledge and principles to the professional practice of future engineers. In the report, the authors emphasize the fact that pollution from cars causes immediate and long-term effects on the environment. Car exhausts emit a wide range of gases and solids, causing global warming, acid rain, and damaging the environment and human health. One of the main conditions for low harmful emissions is the operation and serviceability of the sensors responsible for the correct mixing of the fuel-air mixture. From a vehicle performance perspective, research has focused on the volumetric air flow sensor, which is used in many engine management systems to measure the instantaneous air flow value. Research shows that air consumption is one of the basic parameters for calculating the required amount of fuel, which directly affects the environment and power characteristics of internal combustion engines.

The report also presents a comparative analysis of the waveforms of two structurally different air volume sensors. During the training with students, data was taken from a mechanical sensor for the amount of air, model BOSCH 1 734 655.9, in which a measuring plate is displaced in proportion to the volume of air entering the engine. A further analysis was made of a filament air volume sensor model ZDTOPA 93BB-12B579-BA where a thermistor measures the temperature of the intake air. The heating wire has a constant temperature maintained by the Electronic Control Unit (ECU), using the signal from the thermistor. It was found that increasing the intake air flow caused the temperature of the heating wire to drop and the engine control unit compensated for this immediately by feeding more current through the wire. The control circuit is discussed, which simultaneously reads the supplied current and proportionally converts it to voltage. In this way, the engine‘s Electronic Control Unit (ECU) has the most precise and instantly updated information about the amount of air entering the engine.

It is particularly important in the issue under consideration to obtain results that will ensure quality training of interested persons, specialists, and students in the field of automotive electronic systems. The interrelationships of the subject under consideration with other disciplines in the direction of automotive technology and technology are also analyzed. In this direction, future actions must continue if we want to deal with the shortage and the quality of engineering personnel.

Keywords:

Engineering education, harmful emissions, road transport, undergraduate students.