Design and Development of a Portable, Autonomous Opacimeter, for Outdoor Use 2007-01-2628
The design and development process of a portable opacimeter (smoke meter) is described in this paper, with particular emphasis on the portability and autonomy aspects of the product, being intended as it is, for heavy duty usage in the field.
The market demand in Brazil, for a precise, reliable and effective means of assessing the exhaust smoke emitted by diesel engines, drove the design and development of an opacimeter (smoke meter) possessing some peculiar characteristics.
The design guidelines, constraints faced, choices made, are discussed to enlighten the subject, as well as to help explain how the product came to be the way it is; the principal decisions regarding probe design and electronic characteristics, to meet the response time, accuracy, repeatability and reliability targets, are also broached.
Finally, the development work is also covered in some detail, showing several steps taken to evaluate the product against established competitors, and the trying out in the field of several prototypes.
The testing was done to get first hand experience of its operational characteristics and performance behavior.
The results show that the design objectives were met and in some instances, surpassed.
The resulting product won the CNI (Industry National Confederation) prestigious National Prize for Design, in 2005.
