Implementation of Power Line MODEM for TDC Pulse Detection of SEPA

Abstract

Recently, there are many cases to use a ship's engine performance analyzer(SEPA) to measure pressure in cylinder and top dead center(TDC) of piston of engine, and analyze its performance such as fuel injection time and horsepower as well as wear of piston ring. But, SEPA needs TDC pulses(T(1)∼T(n)) generated when pistons of engine are located to the TDC position(TDC(1)∼TDC(n)), these pulses are gathered from sensors connected to gear wheel of the propeller shaft in the remote distance from the measurement point. Therefore, operators need a long wire cable(WRC) to TDC detecting sensor to get these pulses, but this method is a very uncomfortable and expensive in case of installation, and it might decrease user's purchase desire. In this paper, we design and fabricate a small and inexpensive MODEM cable(M0C) so that it may be available to transmit TDC pulse generated from sensor in propeller shaft through existing power line. We also verify the facts that this MOC can be applied to SEPA and the effectiveness of the system through the experiments.