Patent ID: 8166807

Claim:
An apparatus for testing a multi-hole fuel injector nozzle having a nozzle needle for controlling the fuel spray from a plurality of spray hole outlets of the multi-hole nozzle, the apparatus comprising: a mounting means for the multi-hole nozzle; a fuel supply means for supplying fuel to the multi-hole nozzle; a measurement chamber for capturing the fuel spray from an individual spray hole outlet of the multi-hole nozzle when fuel is supplied to the multi-hole nozzle by the fuel supply means; and a measurement arrangement for determining the spray force of the fuel spray from said individual spray hole outlet; wherein the multi-hole nozzle is mounted outside the measurement chamber and the apparatus is arranged such that the fuel spray from the individual spray hole outlet is directed into the measurement chamber, and wherein the relative orientation of the multi-hole nozzle and the measurement chamber is adjustable such that the fuel spray from any one of the plurality of nozzle spray hole outlets can be directed into the measurement chamber; and wherein the aperture is defined within a substantially conical wall of the measurement chamber, the conical wall being symmetrical about a measurement chamber axis which extends through the centre of the aperture and transverse to a longitudinal axis of the nozzle needle, and wherein the measurement chamber is arranged to pivot about a pivot axis which is substantially perpendicular to both the longitudinal axis of the nozzle needle and the measurement chamber axis, and intersects the longitudinal axis of the nozzle needle close to where the respective axes of the plurality of spray hole outlets intersect the longitudinal axis.