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The increasing use of gasoline direct injection (GDI) engines coupled with the implementation of new particulate matter (PM) and particle number (PN) emissions regulations requires new emissions control strategies. Gasoline particulate filters (GPFs) present one approach to reduce particle emissions. Although primarily composed of combustible material which may be removed through oxidation, particle also contains incombustible components or ash. Over the service life of the filter the accumulation of ash causes an increase in exhaust backpressure, and limits the useful life of the GPF. This study utilized an accelerated aging system to generate elevated ash levels by injecting lubricant oil with the gasoline fuel into a burner system. GPFs were aged to a series of levels representing filter life up to 150,000 miles (240,000 km). The impact of ash on the filter pressure drop and on its sensitivity to soot accumulation was investigated at specific ash levels.

The exhaust emissions from small engines in general and marine engines in particular have come under scrutiny over the past few years as new exhaust emission regulations have been proposed and put into force. The standard method for exhaust emission sampling of outboard marine engines is to analyze raw exhaust in the exhaust manifold of the engine. In this study a total dilution sampling system for the gaseous emissions, similar to what is used for light and heavy duty vehicles and engines, and a separate water sampling method were used to evaluate the exhaust emissions from stock two and four stroke outboard marine engines.

Measurements of particulate matter (PM) from spark ignition (SI) engine exhaust using dilution tunnels will become more prevalent as emission standards are tightened. Hence, a study of the dilution process was undertaken in order to understand how various dilution related parameters affect the accuracy with which PM sizes and concentrations can be determined. A SI and a compression ignition (CI) engine were separately used to examine parameters of the dilution process; the present work discusses the results in the context of SI exhaust dilution. A Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS) was used to measure the size distribution, number density, and volume fraction of PM. Temperature measurements in the exhaust pipe and dilution tunnel reveal the degree of mixing between exhaust and dilution air, the effect of flowrate on heat transfer from undiluted and diluted exhaust to the environment, and the minimum permissible dilution ratio for a maximum sample temperature of 52°C.

Currently, states that are out of compliance with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards must, according to the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (CAAA), develop and implement control strategies that demonstrate specific degrees of reduction in emissions-with the degree of reduction depending upon the severity of the problem. One tool that has been developed to aid regulators in both deciding an appropriate course of action and to demonstrate the desired reductions in mobile emissions is EPA's Mobile 5a emission estimation model. In our study, Mobile 5a has been used to examine the effects of regulatory strategies, as applied to the Northeast United States, on vehicle emissions under worst-case ozone-forming conditions.

The recent tightening of emission standards for new heavy duty engines has lead to the development and implementation of alternative fuel engines, particularly for urban transit bus applications. Alternative fuels are intended to offer a potential emissions benefit with regards to the regulated emissions, and especially the particulate matter, which has received the greatest degree of regulatory action. However, the entire composition of the engine emissions should be considered when evaluating the environmental benefits of these new fuels, and also the continued performance of these engines in actual fleet service. In this study the exhaust emissions from methanol, ethanol, and diesel - powered buses were determined during transient operation of the vehicles on a heavy duty chassis dynamometer. The tests of the alcohol fuelled buses, and a control diesel bus were conducted as the buses accumulated mileage in revenue generating service.

As more stringent vehicle emission standards are introduced worldwide, there is an increased need to provide a thorough assessment of the environmental impact of alternative fuels. With the advent of CNG as a viable transportation fuel, the development of advanced computer controlled fuel delivery systems is imperative in order to ensure acceptable emission performance. At present, the majority of light and medium duty engines operating on natural gas are primarily gasoline automotive engines which have been retrofitted to allow for the use of CNG. The Mobile Sources Emissions Division of Environment Canada and the Canadian Gas Association have conducted a joint test program in order to develop a database of exhaust emissions from vehicles typically converted for operation on either gasoline or natural gas at various operating temperatures.

The Wankel rotary engine is more compact than conventional piston engines, but its oil and fuel consumption must be reduced to satisfy emission standards and customer expectations. A key step toward this goal is to develop a better understanding of the apex seal lubrication to reduce oil injection while reducing friction and maintaining adequate wear. This paper presents an apex seal dynamics model capable of estimating relative wear and predicting friction, by modeling the gas and oil flows at the seal interfaces with the rotor housing and groove flanks. Model predictions show that a thin oil film can reduce wear and friction, but to a limited extent as the apex seal running face profile is sharp due to the engine kinematics.

The focus of this study was the characterization and comparison of power-specific exhaust emission rates from a closed-loop small spark-ignited engine fuelled with ethanol and isobutanol gasoline blends. A 4-cycle Kohler ECH-630 engine certified to the Phase 3 emissions standards was operated over the G2 test cycle, a six-mode steady-state test cycle, in its original configuration. This engine was equipped with electronic ignition, electronic fuel injection and an oxygen sensor. Certification gasoline fuel was splash-blended by percent volume with ethanol and isobutanol to result in the test blend levels of E10, E15, iB16 and iB8-E10. Reductions in emission rates of carbon monoxide (up to 12.0% with the ethanol blends and up to 11.4% with the isobutanol blends) were achieved along with a reduction in total hydrocarbons (up to 10.9% with the ethanol blends and up to 8.2% with the isobutanol blends). Nitrogen oxide emissions were decreased by up to 9.8% with the ethanol blends.

Three-piece oil control rings (TPOCR) are widely used in the majority of modern gasoline engines and they are critical for lubricant regulation and friction reduction. Despite their omnipresence, the TPOCRs’ motion and sealing mechanisms are not well studied. With stricter emission standards, gasoline engines are required to maintain lower oil consumption limits, since particulate emissions are strongly correlated with lubricant oil emissions. This piqued our interest in building a numerical model coupling TPOCR dynamics and oil transport to explain the physical mechanisms. In this work, a 2D dynamics model of all three pieces of the ring is built as the main frame. Oil transport in different zones are coupled into the dynamics model. Specifically, two mass-conserved fluid sub-models predict the oil movement between rail liner interface and rail groove clearance to capture the potential oil leakage through TPOCR. The model is applied on a 2D laser induced fluorescence (2D-LIF) engine.