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As in the past several years, we provide here an overview of recent major regulatory and technological changes for reducing emissions from the transport and off-road sector. In the past, this review was focused mostly on improvement in engine efficiency and tailpipe emissions of criteria pollutants. However, starting last year [1] we have increased the scope to broadly address the increased focus on greenhouse gas emissions and the emergence of various non-conventional fuel pathways to achieve the various decarbonization goals. There are two broad themes that are emerging, and which we describe here. Firstly, that we are approaching the implementation of the last of the major regulations on criteria pollutant emissions from cars and trucks, led by Europe, through Euro 7 standards and US, through multi-pollutant standards for light- and heavy-duty vehicles.

This review covers advances in regulations and technologies in the past year in the field of vehicular emissions. We cover major developments towards reducing criteria pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions from both light- and heavy-duty vehicles and off-road machinery. To suggest that the transportation is transforming rapidly is an understatement, and many changes have happened already since our review last year [1]. Notably, the US and Europe revised the CO2 standards for light-duty vehicles and electrification mandates were introduced in various regions of the world. These have accelerated plans to introduce electrified powertrains, which include hybrids and pure electric vehicles. However, a full transformation to electric vehicles and the required grid decarbonization will take time, and policy makers are accordingly also tightening criteria pollutant standards for internal combustion engines.

Vehicle windshields typically include a black decorative pattern around their periphery and other regions. Examination of field failed parts has shown that windshields often break from impacts in these decoration zones; often with the fracture initiating from the decoration material itself. In this work, the effect of different glazing decoration materials on glass strength and laminate impact resistance was evaluated. The decoration materials investigated included traditional inorganic enamel frit, an organic ink, and a new enamel frit that is compatible with glass chemical strengthening. Ring-on-Ring strength tests were conducted and showed that inorganic enamel frit reduces strength of glass by over 50% compared to undecorated glass, while organic inks do not adversely affect strength. Tests of a newly developed decoration frit material, compatible for chemical strengthening processes, showed strength levels that were on par with undecorated, unstrengthened glass.

For more than two decades [1,2], Corning has served the community with an annual review of global regulatory and technological advances pertaining to emissions from internal combustion engine (ICE) driven vehicles and machinery. We continue with a review for the year 2020, which will be remembered by COVID and the significant negative impact it had on the industry. However, it also provided a glimpse of the possible improvement in air quality with reduced anthropogenic emissions. It was a year marked by goals set for climate change mitigation via reduced fossil fuel use by the transportation sector. Governments stepped up plans to accelerate the adoption of zero tailpipe emitting vehicles. However, any transformation of the transportation sector is not going to happen overnight due to the scale of the infrastructure and technology challenges. A case in point is China, which announced a technology roadmap which envisions half of the vehicles to be hybrids in 2035.

Accelerated ash loading studies provide a cost-effective means of investigating the long-term impacts of ash accumulation in diesel particulate filters (DPFs). Despite a variety of methods adopted in previous studies for accelerated ash loading, evaluation of their impact on DPF behavior has been limited primarily to pressure drop response (with & without soot), and characterization of properties of the resulting ash deposits for comparison with samples from field testing. In the current study, the potential to use ash recovered from field DPFs to perform accelerated ash loading studies is explored. Additionally, anhydrous gypsum as a surrogate for diesel ash was investigated. Benefits of using gypsum include low cost and easy access, safety during handling and testing, and consistency from test to test. Narrow control of particle sizing and composition can help compare performance over a wide range of filter sizes and applications.

This review article summarizes major and representative developments in vehicle emissions regulations, engine efficiency, and emission control from 2017. The article starts with the key regulatory developments in the field, including newly proposed European light-duty (LD) CO2 regulations (15 and 30% cuts in 2025 and 2030, respectively, from 2020 levels) and technical improvements of the Euro 6 real driving emissions (RDE) regulations. China finalized their new energy vehicle (NEV) mandates for 2019 and 2020. LD and heavy-duty (HD) engine technology continues showing marked improvements in engine efficiency. Key developments are summarized for gasoline and diesel engines to meet both the emerging criteria and greenhouse gas (GHG) regulations. Several LD gasoline concepts are achieving 10-15% and some up to 35% reductions relative to gasoline direct injection (GDI) engines of today.

Gasoline particulate filter (GPF) is considered a suitable solution to meet the increasingly stringent particle number (PN) regulations for both gasoline direct injection (GDI) and multi-port fuel injection (MPI) engines. Generally, GDI engines emit more particulate matter (PM) and PN. In recent years, GDI engines have gained significant market penetration in the automobile industry owing to better fuel economy and drivability. In this study, an accelerated ash loading method was tested by doping lubricating oil into the fuel for a GDI engine. Emission tests were performed at different ash loads with different driving cycles and GPF combinations. The results showed that the GPF could significantly reduce particle emissions to meet the China 6 regulation. With further ash loading, the filtration efficiency increased above 99% and the effects on fuel consumption and backpressure were found to be limited, even with an ash loading of up to 50 g/l.

The adoption of head-up displays (HUDs) is increasing in modern automobiles. Yet integrating this technology into vehicles with standard windshield (WS) laminates can create negative effects for drivers, primarily due to the thickness of glass used. The double ghosting in HUD images is typically overcome by employing a wedged PVB between the two glass plies of the laminate. Another solution is to reduce the thickness of the glass without impacting the overall windshield toughness. Although this still requires the use of a wedged PVB to eliminate HUD ghosting, the thinner glass provides opportunity to increase the image size. However, reducing the thickness of a soda-lime glass (SLG) ply or plies in a conventional soda-lime glass (SLG) laminate can significantly impact the robustness of the laminate to external impact events.

The automotive industry continues to develop technologies for reducing vehicle fuel consumption. Specifically, vehicle lightweighting is expected to be a key enabler for achieving fleet CO2 reduction targets for 2025 and beyond. Hybrid glass laminates that incorporate fusion draw and ion exchange innovations are thinner and thereby, offer more than 30% weight reduction compared to conventional automotive laminates. These lightweight hybrid laminates provide additional benefits, including improved toughness and superior optics. However, glazing weight reduction leads to an increase in transmission of sound through the laminates for certain frequencies. This paper documents a study that uses a systematic test-based approach to understand the sensitivity of interior vehicle noise behavior to changes in acoustic attenuation driven by installation of lightweight glass.

This review paper summarizes major and representative developments in vehicle engine efficiency and emissions regulations and technologies from 2016. The paper starts with the key regulatory developments in the field, including newly proposed European RDE (real driving emissions) particle number regulations, and Euro 6 type regulations for China and India in the 2020 timeframe. China will be tightening 30-40% relative to Euro 6 in 2023. The California heavy duty (HD) low-NOx regulation is advancing and the US EPA is anticipating developing a harmonized proposal for implementation in 2023+. The US also finalized the next round of HD GHG (greenhouse gas) regulations for 2021-27, requiring 5% engine CO2 reductions. LD (light duty) and HD engine technology continues showing marked improvements in engine efficiency. Key developments are summarized for gasoline and diesel engines to meet both the emerging criteria and greenhouse gas regulations.

This review paper summarizes major and representative developments in vehicular emissions regulations and technologies from 2015. The paper starts with the key regulatory advancements in the field, including newly proposed Euro 6 type regulations for Beijing, China, and India in the 2017-20 timeframe. Europe is continuing developments towards real driving emissions (RDE) standards with the conformity factors for light-duty diesel NOx ramping down to 1.5X by 2021. The California heavy duty (HD) low-NOx regulation is advancing and may be proposed in 2017/18 for implementation in 2023+. LD (light duty) and HD engine technology continues showing marked improvements in engine efficiency. Key developments are summarized for gasoline and diesel engines to meet both the emerging criteria and greenhouse gas regulations. LD gasoline concepts are achieving 45% BTE (brake thermal efficiency or net amount of fuel energy gong to the crankshaft) and closing the gap with diesel.

The use of lightweight materials to produce automotive glazing is being pursued by vehicle manufacturers in an effort to improve fuel economy. As glazing’s become thinner, reduced rigidity means that the critical flaw size needed to create fracture becomes much smaller due to increased strain under load or impact. This paper documents experiments focused on the impact performance of several alternative thin laminate constructions under consideration for windshield applications (including conventional annealed soda-lime glass as well as laminates utilizing chemically strengthened glass), for the purpose of identifying new and unique failure modes that result from thickness reduction. Regulatory impact tests and experiments that focused on functional performance of laminates were conducted. Given the increased sensitivity to flaw size for thin laminates, controlled surface damage was introduced to parts prior to conducting the functional performance tests.

This review paper summarizes major developments in vehicular emissions regulations and technologies from 2014. The paper starts with the key regulatory advancements in the field, including newly proposed Non-Road Mobile Machinery regulations for 2019-20 in Europe, and the continuing developments towards real driving emissions (RDE) standards. An expert panel in India proposed a roadmap through 2025 for clean fuels and tailpipe regulations. LD (light duty) and HD (heavy-duty) engine technology continues showing marked improvements in engine efficiency. Key developments are summarized for gasoline and diesel engines to meet both the emerging NOx and GHG regulations. HD engines are demonstrating more than 50% brake thermal efficiency using methods that can reasonably be commercialized. Next, NOx control technologies are summarized, including SCR (selective catalytic reduction), lean NOx traps, and combination systems. Emphasis is on durability and control.

Regulations that limit emissions of pollutants from gasoline-powered cars and trucks continue to tighten. More than 75% of emissions through an FTP-75 regulatory test are released in the first few seconds after cold-start. A factor that controls the time to catalytic light-off is the heat capacity of the catalytic converter substrate. Historically, substrates with thinner walls and lower heat capacity have been developed to improve cold-start performance. Another approach is to increase porosity of the substrate. A new material and process technology has been developed to significantly raise the porosity of thin wall substrates (2-3 mil) from 27-35% to 55% while maintaining strength. The heat capacity of the material is 30-38% lower than existing substrates. The reduction in substrate heat capacity enables faster thermal response and lower tailpipe emissions. The reliance on costly precious metals in the washcoat is demonstrated to be lessened.

ExxonMobil, Corning and Toyota have collaborated on an Onboard Separation System (OBS) to improve gasoline engine efficiency and performance. OBS is a membrane based process that separates gasoline into higher and lower octane fractions, allowing optimal use of fuel components based on engine requirements. The novel polymer-ceramic composite monolith membrane has been demonstrated to be stable to E10 gasoline, while typically providing 20% yield of ∼100 RON product when using RUL 92 RON gasoline. The OBS system makes use of wasted exhaust energy to effect the fuel separation and provides a simple and reliable means for managing the separated fuels that has been demonstrated using several generations of dual fuel test vehicles. Potential applications include downsizing to increase fuel economy by ∼10% while maintaining performance, and with turbocharging to improve knock resistance.

The review paper summarizes major developments in vehicular emissions regulations and technologies in 2013. First, the paper covers the key regulatory developments in the field, including proposed light-duty (LD) criteria pollutant tightening in the US; and in Europe, the continuing developments towards real-world driving emissions (RDE) standards. Significant shifts are occurring in China and India in addressing their severe air quality problems. The paper then gives a brief, high-level overview of key developments in fuels. Projections are that we are in the early stages of oil supply stability, which could stabilize fuel prices. LD and HD (heavy-duty) engine technology continues showing marked improvements in engine efficiency. Key developments are summarized for gasoline and diesel engines to meet both the emerging NOx and GHG regulations. HD engines are or will soon be demonstrating 50% brake thermal efficiency using common approaches.

Multi-scale computational chemistry methods based on the ultra-accelerated quantum chemical molecular dynamics (UA-QCMD) are applied to investigate electronic and atomistic roles of cordierite substrate in sintering of washcoated automotive catalysts. It is demonstrated that the UA-QCMD method is effective in performing quantum chemical molecular dynamics calculations of crystals of cordierite, Al₂O₃ and CeZrO₄ (hereafter denoted as CZ). It is around 10,000,000 times faster than a conventional first-principles molecular dynamics method based on density-functional theory (DFT). Also, the accuracy of the UA-QCMD method is demonstrated to be as high as that of DFT. On the basis of these confirmations and comparison, we performed extensive quantum chemical molecular dynamics calculations of surfaces of cordierite, Al₂O₃ and CZ, and interfaces of Al₂O₃ and CZ with cordierite at various temperatures.

With the introduction of the current EU5 standards the diesel particulate filter has become a key element in the aftertreatment of diesel passenger cars. The upcoming future emission standards target primarily a further reduction in NOx emission as well as reduced fleet average CO₂ emissions. Although the particulate filter has no direct influence on the reduction of these species, the needs of future aftertreatment systems impose additional requirements on advanced filter technologies. In this paper we are introducing two new filter products based on a new low porosity aluminum titanate family that complement the current DuraTrap® AT filter products. The new products offer the potential for an increased soot mass limit or a significant reduction in pressure drop. The enhanced performance of the new filter products is discussed and demonstrated in a large number of experimental data obtained in engine bench tests.

The topic of CO₂ and fuel consumption reductions from vehicles is a very broad and complex issue, encompassing vehicle regulations, biofuel mandates, and a vast assortment of engine and vehicle technologies. This paper attempts to provide a high-level review of all these issues. Reducing fuel consumption appears not to be driven by the amount of hydrocarbon reserves, but by energy security and climate change issues. Regarding the latter, a plan was proposed by the United Nations for upwards of 80% CO₂ reductions from 1990 levels by 2050. Regulators are beginning to respond by requiring ~25% reductions in CO₂ emissions from light-duty vehicles by 2016 in major world markets, with more to come. The heavy-duty sector is poised to follow. Similarly, fuel policy is aimed at energy diversity (security) and climate change impacts. Emerging biofuel mandates require nominally 5-10% CO₂ life cycle emissions reductions by 2020.

More stringent emissions regulations, space limitations for catalytic converters in modern automotive applications, and new engine technologies constitute design challenges for today's engineers. In that context high cell density thinwall and ultrathinwall ceramic substrates have been designed into advanced catalytic converters. Whereas the majority of these substrates have a square cell geometry, a potential for further emissions improvement has been predicted for hexagonal cell structures. In order to verify these predictions, a ceramic substrate has been developed combining the features of high cell density, ultrathin cell walls, and hexagonal cell structure. Based on modeling data, the actual cell density and wall thickness of the hexagonal cell substrate will be defined. The performance of that substrate will be assessed by comparing experimental emissions results using two modern Volkswagen engines.