Sensitivity of hot film flow meter in four stroke gasoline engine

The air fuel ratios of current gasoline engines are almost controlled by several air flow meters. When CVVT (Continuous Variable Valve Timing) is applied to a gasoline engine for higher engine performance, the MAP (Manifold Absolute Pressure) sensor is difficult to follow the instantaneous air fuel ratio due to the valve timing effect. Therefore, a HFM (Hot Film Flow Meter) is widely used for measuring intake air flow in this case. However, the HFMs are incapable of indicating to reverse flow, the oscillation of intake air flow has an negative effect on the precision of the HFM. Consequently, the various duct configurations in front of the air flow sensor affect the precision of HFM sensitivity. This paper mainly focused on the analysis of the reverse flow, flow fluctuation in throttle upstream and the geometry of intake system which influence the HFM measurement.