Use of rotary optical encoder for firing detection in a spark ignition engine

Detection of spark ignition engine firing is an important parameter to understand proper and improper combustion inside the engine cylinder. The engine firing can be detected by direct measurement of in-cylinder pressure by using piezo-electric sensor. However, the cost of the sensor is really high. Therefore, in this paper, engine firing has been detected by analysis of instantaneous angular speed (IAS) signal from output shaft measured by cheap device like rotary encoder. The direct short time Fourier transform (STFT) is unable to detect engine firing clearly as the signal contains various frequencies (rotational frequency and its harmonics) other than engine firing frequency. Therefore, an algorithm has been developed based on complementary ensemble empirical mode decomposition (CEEMD) and followed by STFT and applied on IAS signal to detect engine firing. Moreover, a comparative study has been performed between laser vibrometer signal and IAS signal to understand the efficacy of these signals.