**1. Introduction**

The trend in fossil fuel consumption is increasing; adding to that, the emissions of NO, CO, SO2 , and CO2 caused by the use of fuel oils like diesel affect directly and indirectly the environment, as well as the population quality of life [1–4]. Currently, engines with a highly developed torque are used for heavy work like urban transport, cargo transport, light passenger transport, agricultural machinery, emergency systems, craft and power generation powered by diesel, since diesel has a high heating value [5].

The virtual instrumentation (VI) constitutes a new technology that covers the use of software and hardware systems that, with the use of a computer, replaces a measurement and control system in the real world. Any program and hardware that fulfill this function are a VI. In almost every commercial system, the concept of VI is realized in an object-oriented programming language [21]. The modern scientific instrumentation promotes the introduction, development, and evolution of VI-based systems. The main advantages of virtual instrumentation consist that they are defined by the end user, are scalable, recyclable and can connect with the outside world using modern communication technologies in addition to having a low cost per acquisition channel. In most cases, the VI has the possibility of modification, the facility of personalization to the specific necessities of each user, and the use of programming language [22]. The virtual instruments combine nonexclusive operation hardware with powerful software, obtaining a scalable architecture instrument, as a result, with the possibility of being modified if required [23–25]. Currently, the emission measurement of internal combustion gases originated from CIE is performed through the use of autonomous modular analyzers, dedicated and specialized, that provide the information about the quantity or concentration of the gases. In recent years, the application of virtual instrumentation for the measurement of said emissions has been proposed [26]. It is because of a virtual system allows to measure and monitor the CO concen-

Development and Implementation of Virtual Instrumentation for the Measurement…

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.80533

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Recently, National Instruments developed a virtual instrument for the emission measurement generated by internal combustion engines. This instrument is based on the international emission standards, in particular, the Euro 4 and EPA. These agencies specify the total amount of pollutants that an internal combustion engine must emit to the atmosphere. These emission

In the present work, biodiesel (B100) was obtained through soybean oil, with which were prepared mixtures with diesel: B2, B5, B10, and B20. The kinematic viscosity and heating value were determined. A virtual instrument for the measurement and monitoring of emission (VIEM) based on the virtual programming platform LabVIEW 2010® was developed.

The measurement of fuel consumption (FC), revolutions per minute (rpm), and exhaust temperature were realized based on the ARDUINO platform. The VIEM was synchronized with the sensors, data acquisition card, and the signal conditioners to measure and register in real

ming, electrical schematic diagrams for the sensor signal conditioning, as well as the charac-

The fuels used were PEMEX diesel, ultra-low sulfur, and biodiesel. It was obtained biodiesel through the transesterification of soybean oil in the presence of methanol, by alkaline catalysis. With these fuels, the following mixtures were prepared: B2, B5, B10, and B20. Some of the

, FC, rpm, and temperature. The VIEM program-

sensors are presented as results [29].

, CO2

, and CO2

physicochemical properties for each of the mixes are presented below.

tration in vehicle exhaust gases that have been developed [27].

factor units are defined in general as gram per mile [28].

, NO, CO, SO2

, NO, CO, SO2

time parameters like O2

**2. Materials and methods**

**2.1. Diesel-biodiesel mixtures**

terization of the O2

Some studies prove that increasing the percentage of biodiesel, that substitutes diesel, decreases the emissions produced by its combustion [6, 7]. The biodiesel is considered a renewable and ecological fuel drawn from lipids that are made to react with short-chain alcohol in the presence of a catalyst that can be acid, base or enzymatic, to produce a fatty acids' mono-alkyl esters mixture [8].

The biodiesel contains oxygen in its molecule, which helps to increase the combustion efficiency inside the compression ignition engine's (CIE) combustion chamber [9]. The European Union is the leading producer of biodiesel across the world. In the case of America are the United States, Argentina and Brazil, who use soy, corn, canola, rapeseed, and palm oil, tallow yellow and white fat as raw materials.

In 2013, the production of biodiesel was of 25 billion liters; while in 2015, it was around 129 billion liters. The world production of biodiesel grew 5.1 times between 2013 and 2015 [10, 11].

Diesel substitution for biodiesel, because of their similar characteristics, represents an alternative in many diesel applications, ranging from boilers to internal combustion engines [12].

It is essential to quantify the emissions caused by the CIE fueled by diesel and to determine the decrease in emissions regarding diesel. Biodiesel is acquiring increasing importance in the international context for it represents a rapid expansion of the industrial sector as a biofuel alternative to diesel [13, 14].

Currently, international governments and organizations are introducing new regulations that establish a stricter limit to emissions as an effort to mitigate the emissions of greenhouse gases [15–17]. To verify that a reduction of emissions or more efficient combustion is being obtained, it is imperative to have systems to quantify the emissions. Usually, the systems to register the internal combustion gas emissions use specialized analyzers that operate based on standardized methodologies [18]. These systems provide information about the concentration in parts-per-million (ppm) or concentration percentages according to the type of gas released in the combustion.

They are tools used to monitor and control combustion. At this time, there are many systems to determine the concentration of emissions; these systems can be portable or permanent, they present advantages and disadvantages, among these stands out the high acquisition cost with a range of 2000 up to 20,000 USD, rigidity, and the impossibility of being scalable [19, 20]. The use of these systems is limited to specific applications without having the versatility and flexibility to adapt them to other required uses. Nowadays, hybrid systems based on virtual instrumentations, a DAQ (data acquisition system), and a personal computer are being used as an alternative to the traditional systems customarily used to measure emissions.

The virtual instrumentation (VI) constitutes a new technology that covers the use of software and hardware systems that, with the use of a computer, replaces a measurement and control system in the real world. Any program and hardware that fulfill this function are a VI. In almost every commercial system, the concept of VI is realized in an object-oriented programming language [21]. The modern scientific instrumentation promotes the introduction, development, and evolution of VI-based systems. The main advantages of virtual instrumentation consist that they are defined by the end user, are scalable, recyclable and can connect with the outside world using modern communication technologies in addition to having a low cost per acquisition channel. In most cases, the VI has the possibility of modification, the facility of personalization to the specific necessities of each user, and the use of programming language [22]. The virtual instruments combine nonexclusive operation hardware with powerful software, obtaining a scalable architecture instrument, as a result, with the possibility of being modified if required [23–25].

Currently, the emission measurement of internal combustion gases originated from CIE is performed through the use of autonomous modular analyzers, dedicated and specialized, that provide the information about the quantity or concentration of the gases. In recent years, the application of virtual instrumentation for the measurement of said emissions has been proposed [26]. It is because of a virtual system allows to measure and monitor the CO concentration in vehicle exhaust gases that have been developed [27].

Recently, National Instruments developed a virtual instrument for the emission measurement generated by internal combustion engines. This instrument is based on the international emission standards, in particular, the Euro 4 and EPA. These agencies specify the total amount of pollutants that an internal combustion engine must emit to the atmosphere. These emission factor units are defined in general as gram per mile [28].

In the present work, biodiesel (B100) was obtained through soybean oil, with which were prepared mixtures with diesel: B2, B5, B10, and B20. The kinematic viscosity and heating value were determined. A virtual instrument for the measurement and monitoring of emission (VIEM) based on the virtual programming platform LabVIEW 2010® was developed.

The measurement of fuel consumption (FC), revolutions per minute (rpm), and exhaust temperature were realized based on the ARDUINO platform. The VIEM was synchronized with the sensors, data acquisition card, and the signal conditioners to measure and register in real time parameters like O2 , NO, CO, SO2 , CO2 , FC, rpm, and temperature. The VIEM programming, electrical schematic diagrams for the sensor signal conditioning, as well as the characterization of the O2 , NO, CO, SO2 , and CO2 sensors are presented as results [29].
