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To meet LEV and EU Stage III emission requirements, it is necessary for new catalytic converters to be designed which exceed light-off temperature as quickly as possible. The technical solutions are secondary air injection, active heating systems such as the electrically heated catalytic converter, and the close coupled catalytic converter. Engine control functions are extensively used to heat the converter and will to play a significant role in the future. The concept of relocating the converter to a position close to the engine in an existing vehicle involves new conflicts. Examples include the space requirements, the thermal resistance of the catalytic coating and high temperature loads in the engine compartment.

Flame Ionization Detectors (FID) can be used to detect organic hydrocarbons that occur in plastics, lacquers, adhesives, solvents and gasoline. These substances are ionized in the hydrogen flame of the FID. The ionization current that is produced depends on the amount of hydrocarbon in the sample. With the lowering of emissions limits, measuring instruments, including the FID, have to be able to detect very low values. For SULEV (Super-Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle) measurements the accuracy and also the general applicability of the CVS (Constant Volume Sampling) measuring technique are now questioned. Basic understanding is necessary to ask the right questions. One important issue is the science behind the measurement principle of the FID. And in this case especially the influence of contamination of the operating gases, cross sensitivity and data processing on the Limit of Detection (LOD).

Apart from the reduction of engine-out emissions from the powerplant, the development of an efficient and reliable catalytic converter heating system is an important task of automotive engineering in the future to meet standards that will require reduction of cold start emissions. Carrying out a comprehensive study in this field, BMW has tested and evaluated possible solutions to this challenge. In additon to the electrically heated catalytic converter (E-cat) and the afterburner chamber, an incorporated burner system would meet the requirement for fast catalyst light-off in the future, particularly in the case of larger engines.

In order to achieve the emission levels required for Low Emission Vehicles (LEV) and Ultra Low Emission Vehicles (ULEV) it is necessary to obtain insight into emission reactions to the motor management systems during transient engine performance. The optimisation of transients in typical driving profiles, such as shifting, acceleration load reversal, necessitates suitable gas measurement equipment. A technique capable to resolve one combustion cycle consists in spectroscopic gas analysis by using tunable infrared diode lasers. This paper describes the available equipment and demonstrates that a diode laser system fulfils the specific demands for the analysis of transient operating characteristics of engine management systems.

For the measurement of exhaust emissions, Constant Volume Sampling (CVS) technology is recommended by legislation and has proven its practical capability in the past. However, the introduction of new low emission standards has raised questions regarding the accuracy and variability of the CVS system when measuring very low emission levels. This paper will show that CVS has the potential to achieve sufficient precision for certification of SULEV concepts. Thus, there is no need for the introduction of new test methods involving high cost. An analysis of the CVS basic equations indicates the importance of the Dilution Factor (DF) for calculating true mass emissions. A test series will demonstrate that, by adjusting the dilution and using state of the art analyzers, the consistency of exhaust results is comparable with those of LEV concepts, measured with conventional CVS systems and former standard analyzers.