Search Results

Because of U.S. EPA regulatory actions and the National Academies National Research Council suggestions for improvements in the U.S. EPA emissions inventory methods, the U.S. EPA' Office of Transportation and Air Quality (OTAQ) has made a concerted effort to develop instrumentation that can measure criteria pollutant emissions during the operation of on-road and off-road vehicles. These instruments are now being used in applications ranging from snowmobiles to on-road passenger cars to trans-Pacific container ships. For the betterment of emissions inventory estimation these on-vehicle instruments have recently been employed to measure time resolved (1 hz) in-use gaseous emissions (CO₂, CO, THC, NO ) and particulate matter mass (with teflon membrane filter) emissions from 29 non-road construction vehicles (model years ranging from 1993 to 2007) over a three year period in various counties in Iowa, Missouri, and Kansas.

Implementation of EPA's heavy-duty engine NOx standard of 0.20 g/bhp-hr has resulted in the introduction of a new generation of emission control systems for on-highway heavy-duty diesel engines. These new control systems are predominantly based around aftertreatment systems utilizing urea-based selective catalytic reduction (SCR) techniques, with only one manufacturer relying solely on in-cylinder NOx emission reduction techniques. As with any new technology, EPA is interested in evaluating whether these systems are delivering the expected emissions reductions under real-world conditions and where areas for improvement may lie. To accomplish these goals, an in-situ gaseous emissions measurement study was conducted using portable emissions measurement devices. The first stage of this study, and subject of this paper, focused on engines typically used in line-haul trucking applications (12-15L displacement).

The benchmarking study described in this paper uses data from chassis dynamometer testing to determine the efficiency and operation of vehicle driveline components. A robust test procedure was created that can be followed with no a priori knowledge of component performance, nor additional instrumentation installed in the vehicle. To develop the procedure, a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu was tested on a chassis dynamometer. Dynamometer data, emissions data, and data from the vehicle controller area network (CAN) bus were used to construct efficiency maps for the engine and transmission. These maps were compared to maps of the same components produced from standalone component benchmarking, resulting in a good match between results from in-vehicle and standalone testing. The benchmarking methodology was extended to a 2013 Mercedes E350 diesel vehicle. Dynamometer, emissions, and CAN data were used to construct efficiency maps and operation strategies for the engine and transmission.

Chassis dynamometer tests were conducted on three Class III on-highway motorcycles produced for the North American market and equipped with advanced emission control technologies in order to inform emissions inventories and compare the impacts of existing Tier 2 (E0) fuel with more market representative Tier 3 and LEV III certification fuels with 10% ethanol. For this study, the motorcycles were tested over the US Federal Test Procedure (FTP) and the World Motorcycle Test Cycle (WMTC) certification test cycles as well as a sample of real-world motorcycle driving informally referred to as the Real World Driving Cycle (RWDC). The primary interest was to understand the emissions changes of the selected motorcycles with the use of certification fuels containing 10% ethanol compared to 0% ethanol over the three test cycles.

As part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) continuing assessment of advanced light-duty automotive technologies in support of regulatory and compliance programs, a 2018 Toyota Camry front wheel drive eight-speed automatic transmission was benchmarked. The benchmarking data were used as inputs to EPA’s Advanced Light-duty Powertrain and Hybrid Analysis (ALPHA) vehicle simulation model to estimate GHG emissions from light-duty vehicles. ALPHA requires both detailed engine fuel consumption maps and transmission torque loss maps. EPA’s National Vehicle and Fuels Emissions Laboratory has developed a streamlined, cost-effective in-house method of transmission testing, capable of gathering a dataset sufficient to characterize transmissions within ALPHA. This testing methodology targets the range of transmission operation observed during vehicle testing over EPA’s city and highway drive cycles.

The Advanced Light-Duty Powertrain and Hybrid Analysis (ALPHA) tool was created by EPA to estimate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from light-duty (LD) vehicles [1]. ALPHA is a physics-based, forward-looking, full vehicle computer simulation capable of analyzing various vehicle types combined with different powertrain technologies. The software tool is a MATLAB/Simulink based desktop application. In order to model the behavior of current and future vehicles, an algorithm was developed to dynamically generate transmission shift logic from a set of user-defined parameters, a cost function (e.g., engine fuel consumption) and vehicle performance during simulation. This paper presents ALPHA's shift logic algorithm and compares its predicted shift points to actual shift points from a mid-size light-duty vehicle and to the shift points predicted using a static table-based shift logic as calibrated to the same vehicle during benchmark testing.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Advanced Light-Duty Powertrain and Hybrid Analysis (ALPHA) tool was created to estimate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from light-duty vehicles. ALPHA is a physics-based, forward-looking, full vehicle computer simulation capable of analyzing various vehicle types with different powertrain technologies, showing realistic vehicle behavior, and auditing of all energy flows in the model. In preparation for the midterm evaluation (MTE) of the 2017-2025 light-duty GHG emissions rule, ALPHA has been refined and revalidated using newly acquired data from model year 2013-2016 engines and vehicles. The robustness of EPA’s vehicle and engine testing for the MTE coupled with further validation of the ALPHA model has highlighted some areas where additional data can be used to add fidelity to the engine model within ALPHA.

Motor vehicle emission testing during on-road driving is important to assess a vehicle’s exhaust emission control design, its compliance with Federal regulations and its impact on air quality. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been developing new approaches to screen the characteristics of vehicle dynamic emission control behaviors (its operating signature) while driving both on-road and on-dynamometer. The so-called “signature device” used for this testing is equipped with an O2/NOx sensor, thermocouple and GPS to record dynamic exhaust NOx concentration, air fuel ratio-controlled tailpipe lambda (λ), tailpipe temperature and vehicle speed (acceleration). In the early EPA research, signature screening was used to characterize a vehicle’s PCM control behaviors (cause/effect bijectivity), which help distinguish operation in normal control state-space and abnormal state-space.

Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) systems provide excellent NOX control for diesel engines provided the exhaust aftertreatment inlet temperature remains at 200° C or higher. Since diesel engines run lean, extended light load operation typically causes exhaust temperatures to fall below 200° C and SCR conversion efficiency diminishes. Heated urea dosing systems are being developed to allow dosing below 190° C. However, catalyst face plugging remains a concern. Close coupled SCR systems and lower temperature formulation of SCR systems are also being developed, which add additional expense. Current strategies of post fuel injection and retarded injection timing increases fuel consumption. One viable keep-warm strategy examined in this paper is cylinder deactivation (CDA) which can increase exhaust temperature and reduce fuel consumption.

This investigation was aimed at measuring the relative performance of two spray-guided, single-cylinder, spark-ignited direct-injected (SIDI) engine combustion system designs. The first utilizes an outwardly-opening poppet, piezo-actuated injector, and the second a conventional, solenoid operated, inwardly-opening multi-hole injector. The single-cylinder engine tests were limited to steady state, warmed-up conditions. The comparison showed that these two spray-guided combustion systems with two very different sprays had surprisingly close results and only differed in some details. Combustion stability and smoke emissions of the systems are comparable to each other over most of the load range. Over a simulated Federal Test Procedure (FTP) cycle, the multi-hole system had 15% lower hydrocarbon and 18% lower carbon monoxide emissions.

Chassis dynamometer testing was conducted with three on-highway motorcycles produced for the North American market with engine displacements of 296 cc, 749 cc and 1198 cc to better inform criteria pollutant emissions inventories. The motorcycles were tested using US Tier 2 certification fuel over the Federal Test Procedure (FTP), World Motorcycle Test Cycle (WMTC) and a cycle based on a sample of real-world motorcycle driving, informally referred to as the ‘Real World Driving Cycle’ (RWDC). Emissions characterization includes composite, individual test phase and 1Hz cumulative results for various criteria pollutants for each test cycle. Overall, it was found that the higher peak speed rates and peak torque levels observed during the RWDC are more fully represented in the WMTC than the FTP. The use of the WMTC and RWDC cycles generally translated into higher emissions rates compared to the FTP and in particular for nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide.

To investigate the feasibility of various test procedures to determine aerodynamic performance for the Phase 2 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Regulations for Heavy-Duty Vehicles in the United States, the US Environmental Protection Agency commissioned, through Southwest Research Institute, constant-speed torque tests of several heavy-duty tractors matched to a conventional 53-foot dry-van trailer. Torque was measured at the transmission output shaft and, for most tests, also on each of the drive wheels. Air speed was measured onboard the vehicle, and wind conditions were measured using a weather station placed along the road side. Tests were performed on a rural road in Texas. Measuring wind-averaged drag from on-road tests has historically been a challenge. By collecting data in various wind conditions at multiple speeds over multiple days, a regression-based method was developed to estimate wind-averaged drag with a low precision error for multiple tractor-trailer combinations.

With increasingly stringent light duty particulate emissions regulations, it is of great interest to better understand particulate matter formation. Helping to build the knowledge base for a thorough understanding of particulate matter formation will be an essential step in developing effective control strategies. It is especially important to do this in such a way as to emulate real driving behaviors, including cold starts and transients. To this end, this study examined particulate emissions during transient operation in a recent model year vehicle equipped with a GDI engine. Three of the major federal test cycles were selected as evaluation schemes: the FTP, the HWFET, and the US06. These cycles capture much of the driving behaviors likely to be observed in typical driving scenarios. Measurements included particle size distributions from a TSI EEPS fast-response particle spectrometer, as well as real-time soot emissions from an AVL MSS soot sensor.

As part of its technology assessment for the upcoming midterm evaluation (MTE) of the 2022-2025 Light-Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas (LD GHG) emissions standards, EPA has been benchmarking engines and transmissions to generate inputs for use in its Advanced Light-Duty Powertrain and Hybrid Analysis (ALPHA) model, a physics-based, forward-looking, full vehicle computer simulation tool. One of the most efficient engines today, a 2.0L Mazda SkyActiv engine, is of particular interest due to its high geometric compression ratio and use of an Atkinson cycle. EPA benchmarked the 2.0L SkyActiv at its National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions laboratory. EPA then incorporated ALPHA into an engine dynamometer control system so that vehicle chassis testing could be simulated with a hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) approach.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Advanced Light-Duty Powertrain and Hybrid Analysis (ALPHA) tool was created to estimate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from light-duty vehicles[1]. ALPHA is a physics-based, forward-looking, full vehicle computer simulation capable of analyzing various vehicle types with different powertrain technologies, showing realistic vehicle behavior, and auditing of all internal energy flows in the model. The software tool is a MATLAB/Simulink based desktop application. In preparation for the midterm evaluation of the light-duty GHG emission standards for model years 2022-2025, EPA is refining and revalidating ALPHA using newly acquired data from model year 2013-2015 engines and vehicles.

The Advanced Light-Duty Powertrain and Hybrid Analysis (ALPHA) tool was created by EPA to evaluate the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions of Light-Duty (LD) vehicles [1]. ALPHA is a physics-based, forward-looking, full vehicle computer simulation capable of analyzing various vehicle types combined with different powertrain technologies. The software tool is a MATLAB/Simulink based desktop application. The ALPHA model has been updated from the previous version to include more realistic vehicle behavior and now includes internal auditing of all energy flows in the model [2]. As a result of the model refinements and in preparation for the mid-term evaluation (MTE) of the 2022-2025 LD GHG emissions standards, the model is being revalidated with newly acquired vehicle data.

As part of the Midterm Evaluation of the 2017-2025 Light-duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Standards, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed simulation models for studying the effectiveness of stop-start technology for reducing CO2 emissions from light-duty vehicles. Stop-start technology is widespread in Europe due to high fuel prices and due to stringent EU CO2 emissions standards beginning in 2012. Stop-start has recently appeared as a standard equipment option on high-volume vehicles like the Chevrolet Malibu, Ford Fusion, Chrysler 200, Jeep Cherokee, and Ram 1500 truck. EPA has included stop-start technology in its assessment of CO2-reducing technologies available for compliance with the standards. Simulation and modeling of this technology requires a suitable model of the battery. The introduction of stop-start has stimulated development of 12-volt battery systems capable of providing the enhanced performance and cycle life durability that it requires.

Exhaust emissions were evaluated for four different catalytic exhaust emission control systems. Each system utilized a diesel oxidation catalyst, a metal-substrate partial-flow diesel particulate filter, an iron-exchanged or copper-exchanged Y-zeolite catalyst for urea selective catalytic reduction, and an ammonia slip catalyst. A 5.9-liter diesel truck engine was modified to match the exhaust conditions of a four-stroke diesel locomotive engine meeting the current Tier 2 locomotive emissions standards. NOx emissions, CO₂ emissions and exhaust temperatures were matched to the eight locomotive "throttle notch" power settings while exhaust mass flow was maintained near a constant fraction of locomotive exhaust mass flow for each "throttle notch" position. Regulated and unregulated exhaust emissions were measured over a steady-state test cycle for each of the four systems at low hours and following accelerated thermal aging and accelerated oil ash accumulation.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration, and the California Air Resources Board have recently released proposed new regulations for greenhouse gas emissions and fuel economy for light-duty vehicles and trucks in model years 2017-2025. These proposed regulations intend to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase fleet fuel economy from current levels. At the fleet level, these rules the proposed regulations represent a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by new vehicles in 2025 compared to current fleet levels. At the same time, global growth, especially in developing economies, should continue to drive demand for crude oil and may lead to further fuel price increases. Both of these trends will therefore require light duty vehicles (LDV) to significantly improve their greenhouse gas emissions over the next 5-15 years to meet regulatory requirements and customer demand.

In response to more stringent greenhouse gas and fuel economy standards and increasing consumer demand for fuel efficient vehicles, automobile manufacturers have identified vehicle mass reduction as a leading strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving fuel economy. The potential for significant levels of mass reduction can only be understood using a full-vehicle analysis, partly because mass reduction in one vehicle system or part can enable additional reductions elsewhere. This paper describes a holistic approach in which the most cost-effective mass reduction ideas were selected using a structured optimization procedure, and the crash safety of the resultant design was evaluated using a full-vehicle engineering analysis.