Performance Evaluation of Different Small Engines for Agricultural and Fishery Machinery Application

Abstract

The enactment of the Agriculture and Fisheries Mechanization Law of 2013 increased the demand for the testing and evaluation of small engines in the Philippines. This is in line with the promotion of agricultural mechanization in the Philippines as the country's response to the growing concerns in food production. This study sought to evaluate and compare the performance of small engines tested by the Agricultural Machinery Testing and Evaluation Center (AMTEC) from 1986 to 2019 with the minimum requirements set forth in PAES 116: 2001 (Small EngineSpecifications). A total of 778 engines were analyzed in the study through AMTEC test data: 258 gasoline engines, 157 air-cooled diesel engines, and 363 water-cooled diesel engines. The performance of the small engines were evaluated using four parameters, namely: maximum power at varying load (MBP), percent rated continuous power at rated speed (CBP), noise level (NL), and specific fuel consumption (SFC). Results showed that the average overall engine performance based on the MBP and the NL of both varying and continuous running tests were within the standards. In the performance evaluation scheme analysis, only 317 small engines attained more than the minimum ratings. Diesel water-cooled engines yielded the highest count which complied with the standards in PAES 116: 2001. To further the discussion on the study, analysis of the engine performance can be done in terms of assigning weights on specific parameters and using other different statistical tools such as the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) or Multi Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA). Other parameters in PAES 116:2001 may also be considered for the development of other evaluation schemes.