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The transport sector is one of the major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. This study investigated three greenhouse gases emitted from road transport using a probe vehicle: CO₂, N₂O and CH₄ emissions as a function of cold start and ambient temperatures. A real-world driving cycle has been developed at Leeds and referred as LU-BS, which has an urban free flow driving pattern. The test vehicle was driven on the same route by the same driver on different days with different ambient temperatures. All the journeys were started from cold. An in-vehicle FTIR emission measurement system was installed on a EURO2 emission compliance SI car for emissions measurement at a rate of 0.5 Hz. This emission measurement system was calibrated on a standard CVS measurement system and showed an excellent agreement on the CO₂ measurement with the CVS results. The N₂O and CH₄ were calibrated by calibration gas bottles.

A FTIR in-vehicle on-road emission measurement system was installed in a EURO2 emissions compliant SI (Spark Ignition) car to investigate exhaust Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) emissions and Ozone Formation Potential (OFP) under different urban traffic conditions. The real time fuel consumption and vehicle traveling speed were measured and logged. The temperatures were measured along the exhaust pipe so as to monitor the thermal characteristics and efficiency of the catalyst. Two real world driving cycles were developed with different traffic conditions. One (West Park Loop cycle) was located in a quiet area with few traffic interference and the other one (Hyde Park Loop cycle) was in a busy area with more traffic variations. The test car was pre-warmed before each test to eliminate cold start effect. The driving parameters were analyzed for two real world cycles.

Lubricating oil takes all of the NEDC test cycle time to reach 90°C. Hence, this gives high friction losses throughout the test cycle, which leads to a significant increase in the fuel consumption. In real world driving, particularly in congested traffic, it is shown that lube oil warm-up is even slower than in the NEDC. Euro 1, 2 and 4 Ford Mondeo water and oil warm up rates in real world urban driving were determined and shown to be comparable with the results of Kunze et al. (2) for a BMW on the NEDC. This paper explores the use of forced convective heat exchange between the cooling water and the lube oil during the warm-up period. A technique of a step warm-up of the engine at 32 Nm at 2000 rpm (35% of peak power) was used and the engine lube oil and water temperature monitored. It was shown that the heat exchanger results in an increase in lube oil temperature by 4°C, which increased to 10°C if enhanced heat transfer to the water was used from an exhaust port heat exchanger.

A precision in-vehicle tail-pipe emission measurement system was installed in a EURO1 emissions compliant SI car and used to investigate the variability in tail-pipe emission generation at an urban traffic junction and uphill/downhill road, and thereby the impact of road topography on emissions. Exhaust gas and skin temperatures were also measured along the exhaust pipe of the instrumented vehicle, so the thermal characteristics and the efficiency of the catalyst could be monitored. Different turning movements (driving events) at the priority T-junction were investigated such as straight, left and right turns with and without stops. The test car was run until hot stable operating conditions were achieved before each test, thereby negating cold start effects.

An on-board emission measurement system (PEMS), the Horiba OBS 1300, was installed in Euro 1-4 SI cars of the same model to investigate the impact of vehicle technology on exhaust emissions, under urban driving conditions with a fully warmed-up catalyst. A typical urban driving loop cycle was used with no traffic loading so that driver behavior without the influence of other traffic could be investigated. The results showed that under real world driving conditions the NOx emissions exceeded the legislated values and only at cruise was the NOx emissions below the legislated value. The higher NOx emissions during real-world driving have implications for higher urban Ozone formation. With the exception of the old EURO1 vehicle, HC and CO emissions were under control for all the vehicles, as these are dominated by cold start issues, which were not included in this investigation.

A method of cleaning lubricating oil on line was investigated using a fine bypass particulate filter followed by an infrared heater, to remove water and light diesel fractions in the oil. The impact of this oil recycler with 1 micron fine bypass filter on oil quality was investigated over a 72 hour oil age. Comparisons tests were undertaken without and with the recycler on a Euro 2 Perkins Phaser 180Ti 6 cylinder 6 litre turbo-charged inter-cooled DI diesel engine. The tests were carried out at 2000rpm and 100kW with 473 Nm load. A stop start test cycle was used with a cold start each time and a typical test period of 2 hours. The results showed that the oil quality in this low emission engine test was extremely good. The on line recycler achieved improvements in the oil quality. With the recycler, the carbon accumulation rate in the oil was reduced by 78%. The carbon removal rate by the recycler was 0.40 g/hr. The wear metals in the oil were significantly reduced.

A method of cleaning lubricating oil on line was investigated using a one micron bypass particulate filter followed by an infra-red heater, to remove water, dissolved gases and light diesel fractions in the oil. The impact of this oil recycler on oil quality was studied using synthetic oil in an on-road bus test. The bus was of Euro-1 emissions standard and equipped with a Cummins 6 cylinder 8.3 litre turbo-charged inter-cooled DI engine. Comparisons tests were undertaken with and without the oil recycler for about 28,000 miles. Oil samples were analysed about every 2000 miles. The results showed that the on line oil recycler achieved significant improvements in the oil quality. With the recycler, the TBN depletion rate was reduced by 52%, the TAN increase rate was reduced by 27% and the carbon accumulation rate in the oil was reduced by 42%. The fuel dilution was reduced by the recycler.

A method of cleaning lubricating oil on line was investigated using a fine 1 micron bypass particulate filter, followed by an infra-red heater to remove water and light diesel fractions in the oil. A Ford 1.8 litre IDI diesel passenger car was investigated under real world driving conditions. Comparison was made with the oil quality without the recycler. All the tests were carried out on the same vehicle over 7000 miles with and without the recycler. The results showed that the on line oil recycler cleaning system reduced the rate of reduction of TBN and the rate of increase of TAN by 54% and 50% respectively. The reduction in the rate of carbon accumulation in the oil was 42%. There was also a reduction in fuel dilution. All the wear metals in the oil were greatly reduced by the recycler, the iron was reduced by 76%, the lead was reduced by 85% and the aluminum was totally removed.

A precision in-vehicle tail-pipe emission measurement system was installed in a EURO1 emissions compliant SI car and used to investigate the variability in tail-pipe emission generation at an urban traffic junction. Exhaust gas and skin temperatures were also measured along the exhaust pipe of the instrumented vehicle, so the thermal characteristics and the efficiency of the catalyst monitored could be included in the analysis. Different turning movements (driving patterns) at the priority T-junction were investigated such as straight, left and right turns with and without stops. The test car was hot stable running conditions before each test, thereby negating cold start effects. To demonstrate the influence of the junction on tail-pipe emissions and fuel consumption, distance based factors were determined that compared the intersection drive-through measurements with steady speed (state) runs. Fuel consumption was increased at intersections by a factor of 1.3∼5.9.

Mass weighted size distributions of particulate emissions as a function of oil age were investigated using a set of Anderson Impactors on an IDI passenger car engine test. This engine was fitted with an on-line bypass lubricating oil recycler aiming to extend the oil life, reduce fuel consumption and exhaust emissions. A stop start test cycle was used with a cold start each time and a typical cycle period of 2∼3 hours. The whole test was carried out for nearly 500 hours. The first 310 hours of testing were with the oil recycler fitted and thereafter the test continued with the oil recycler disconnected. The results show that 60∼80% of mass particulates were smaller than 1.1 μm in aerodynamic diameter with the oil recycler fitted and this percentage was reduced to 40∼60% after disconnection of the oil recycler. The changes in size distribution with oil age mainly happened in the size ranges of 1.1∼0.65 μm, 0.65∼0.43 μm and <0.43 μm.