Patent ID: 7080550

Claim:
A rate tube measurement system for measuring injected fuel comprising: a fixture assembly having an injector receiving opening sized to receive a fuel injector therein; a rate tube fluidically connected to said fixture assembly to receive fuel injected by the fuel injector during a plurality of injection events when the fuel injector is actuated; a pressure sensor positioned downstream of said injector receiving opening and upstream of said rate tube, said pressure sensor being adapted to measure pressure changes in the injected fuel and provide a pressure output; a flow meter that measures flow of the injected fuel and provides a flow output indicative of the average measured fuel flow; and a computing device electronically connected to the fuel injector to monitor duration of actuation of the fuel injector, to said pressure sensor to receive said pressure output, and to said flow meter to receive said flow output, said computing device being adapted to process said duration of actuation, said pressure output and said flow output to determine injection information regarding at least one injection event; wherein said rate tube is elongate with a length sufficient to increase a time duration for a pressure pulse to be reflected back to said pressure sensor so that said pressure sensor measures fuel pressure before the pressure pulse is reflected back to said pressure sensor.