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The emissions of two ultralow NOx heavy-duty (HD) vehicles equipped with 0.02 g/bhp-hr low NOx natural gas (NG) engines were evaluated on a chassis dynamometer. This included a waste hauler and a city transit bus, each with a 0.02 g/bhp-hr NOx L9N near zero (NZ) natural gas engine. The vehicles were tested over a variety of different cycles, including the Urban Dynamometer Driving Schedule (UDDS), port drayage cycles, transit bus cycles, and a refuse truck cycle. For both vehicles, the NOx emissions results were below the 0.02 g/bhp-hr level for most cycles, with the exception of some cold start tests. For the waste hauler, NOx emissions averaged between 0.014 and 0.002 g/bhp-hr for the hot start tests, and from 0.043 to 0.014 g/bhp-hr for the cold start tests. This represented NOx emissions reductions from 97%-100% of compared with previous ISL G 8.9 engines.

We assessed gaseous and particulate matter (PM) emissions from a current technology stoichiometric natural gas waste hauler equipped with a 2011 model year 8.9L Cummins Westport ISL-G engine with cooled exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and three-way catalyst (TWC). Testing was performed on five fuels with varying Wobbe and methane numbers over the William H. Martin Refuse Truck Cycle. The results showed lower nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions for the low methane fuels (i.e., natural gas fuels with a relatively low methane content) for the transport and curbside cycles. Total hydrocarbon (THC) and methane (CH4) emissions did not show any consistent fuel trends. Non-methane hydrocarbon (NMHC) emissions showed a trend of higher emissions for the fuels containing higher levels of NMHCs. Carbon monoxide (CO) emissions showed a trend of higher emissions for the low methane fuels.

The Rotating Liner Engine (RLE) is an engine design concept where the cylinder liner rotates in order to reduce piston assembly friction and liner/ring wear. The reduction is achieved by the elimination of the mixed and boundary lubrication regimes that occur near TDC. Prior engines for aircraft developed during WW2 with partly rotating liners (Sleeve Valve Engines or SVE) have exhibited reduction of bore wear by factor of 10 for high BMEP operation, which supports the elimination of mixed lubrication near the TDC area via liner rotation. Our prior research on rotating liner engines experimentally proved that the boundary/mixed components near TDC are indeed eliminated, and a high friction reduction was quantified compared to a baseline engine. The added friction required to rotate the liner is hydrodynamic via a modest sliding speed, and is thus much smaller than the mixed and boundary friction that is eliminated.

EmiSense Technologies, LLC (www.emisense.com) is commercializing its electronic particulate matter (PM) sensor that is based on technology developed at the University of Texas at Austin (UT). To demonstrate the capability of this sensor for real-time PM measurements and on board diagnostics (OBD) for failure detection of diesel particle filters (DPF), independent measurements were performed to characterize the engine PM emissions and to compare with the PM sensor response. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling was performed to characterize the hydrodynamics of the sensor's housing and to develop an improved PM sensor housing with reproducible hydrodynamics and an internal baffle to minimize orientation effects. PM sensors with the improved housing were evaluated in the truck exhaust of a heavy duty (HD) diesel engine tested on-road and on a chassis dynamometer at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) using their Mobile Emissions Laboratory (MEL).