Search Results

Dedicated Exhaust Gas Recirculation (D-EGR®) technology provides a novel means for fuel efficiency improvement through efficient, on-board generation of H2 and CO reformate [1, 2]. In the simplest form of the D-EGR configuration, reformate is produced in-cylinder through rich combustion of the gasoline-air charge mixture. It is also possible to produce more H2 by means of a Water Gas Shift (WGS) catalyst, thereby resulting in further combustion improvements and overall fuel consumption reduction. In industrial applications, the WGS reaction has been used successfully for many years. Previous engine applications of this technology, however, have only proven successful to a limited degree. The motivation for this work was to develop and optimize a WGS catalyst which can be employed to a D-EGR configuration of an internal combustion engine. This study consists of two parts.

Water injection (WI) can improve gasoline engine performance and efficiency, and on-board water recovery technology could eliminate the need for customers to refill an on-board water reservoir. In this regard, the technical feasibility of exhaust water recovery (EWR) is described in this paper. Water injection testing was conducted at a full load condition (5000 rpm/18.1 bar BMEP) and a high load condition (3000 rpm/14.0 bar BMEP) on a turbocharged gasoline direction injection (GTDI) engine. Water recovery testing was conducted both after the exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) cooler and after the charge air cooler (CAC) at a high load (3000 rpm/14.0 bar BMEP), as well as a part load (2080 rpm/6.8 bar BMEP) condition, at temperatures ca. 10-15 °C below the dew point of the flow stream. Three types of water separation designs were tested: a passive cyclone separator (CS), a passive membrane separator (MEM), and an active separator (AS).

The objectives of this project were to investigate the corrosivity of condensate in a stoichiometric spark-ignited (SI) engine when running exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and to determine the effects of sulfur-in-fuel on corrosion. A 2.0 L turbocharged direct-injected SI engine was operated with low-pressure EGR for this study. The engine was instrumented for visual, thermodynamic, and electrochemical analyses to determine the potential for corrosion at locations where condensation was deemed likely in a low-pressure loop EGR (LPL-EGR) engine. The electrochemical analysis was performed using multi-electrode array (MEA) corrosion probes. Condensate was also collected and analyzed. These analyses were performed downstream of both the charge air cooler (CAC) and the EGR cooler. It was found that while conditions existed for sulfuric acid to form with high-sulfur fuel, no sulfuric acid was detected by any of the measurement methods.

Tremendous amount of useful information can be extracted from the cylinder pressure signal for engine combustion control. However, the physical cylinder pressure sensors are undesirably expensive and their health need to be monitored for fault diagnostic purpose as well. This paper presents the results of the development of a virtual cylinder pressure sensor (VCPS) with individual variable-oriented independent estimators. Two neural network-based independent cylinder pressure related variable estimators were developed and verified at steady state. The results show that these models can predict the variables correctly compared with the extracted variables from the measured physical cylinder pressure sensor signal. Good generalization capabilities of the developed models are observed in the sense that the models work well not only for the training data set but also for the new inputs that they have never been exposed to before.

This paper summarizes the validation testing of the Horiba Instruments OBS-2200 gaseous portable emissions measurement system (PEMS) for in-use compliance testing per Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 1065.920 (Section 1065.920). The qualification process included analyzer verifications as well as engine testing on a model-year 2007 heavy-duty diesel engine produced by Volvo Powertrain. The measurements of brake-specific emissions with the OBS-2200 were compared to those of a CFR Part 1065-compliant CVS test cell over a series of not-to-exceed (NTE) events. The OBS-2200 passed all linearity verifications and analyzer checks required of PEMS. Engine test validation was achieved for all three regulated gaseous emissions (CO, NMHC, and NOX) per 40 CFR Part 1065.920(b)(5)(i), which requires a minimum of 91 percent of the measurement allowance adjusted deltas to be less than or equal to zero.

A 28-vehicle fleet test was executed to verify and quantify the NOX emissions reductions achieved through the use of Infineum's Vektron 6913 gasoline additive. The fleet composition and experimental design were finalized in collaborative discussions with US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Transportation & Air Quality (OTAQ) and consultation / advice from several major US automotive manufacturers. The test was conducted over a period of five months at Southwest Research Institute. Statistical analysis of the emissions data indicated a 10% average fleet reduction in NOX emissions without any negative impact on other criteria pollutants (CO, HC) or fuel economy.

A survey of vehicle refueling practices in California during the gasoline shortage of 1979 indicates that the use of leaded gasoline in catalyst equipped vehicles was occurring at a rate of about 1.6%. This 1.6% “misfueling” rate is lower than has been predicted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and is almost exclusively the result of the refueling that occurs at self-service gasoline pumps. About three-quarters of the misfueled vehicles were apparently operated on leaded gasoline routinely. Based on the effect that leaded fuel has on the exhaust emission characteristics of catalyst equipped vehicles it is estimated that misfueling in California is increasing hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emissions by about 4% and 1.6%, respectively from late model passenger cars.

There have been a half dozen surveys performed by the California Air Resources Board in California from December, 1977 to July, 1982 to determine the rate of vehicle misfueling in California. There has been great concern raised over misfueling which leads to the poisoning of catalysts and the subsequent increases in emissions of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and oxides of nitrogen. The results of observing refueling at service stations indicate a misfueling rate of about 2% which is much lower than what the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency figures indicate. Misfueling at self-serve stations is more than twice that noted at full-serve stations. The primary reasons given by motorists for misfueling are cheaper price of unleaded gasoline, performance (including pinging) and unavailability of unleaded fuel. Misfueling was accomplished primarily as a result of a modified restrictor or filler neck.

Current California law requires the implementation of a mandatory annual vehicle emissions inspection and maintenance program in the South Coast Air Basin by 1978. The pilot phase of this inspection program is now in operation in the City of Riverside. This paper evaluates the Riverside program and an alternate program for their abilities to detect gross emitters and provide cost/effective emissions reductions. A surveillance program was conducted to evaluate the Riverside loaded-mode inspection regime and an alternate idle inspection regime. Emissions and fuel economy tests indicated that there was no significant difference between the two regimes. Each regime resulted in immediate reductions on repaired vehicles of 35-40% in hydrocarbon emissions and 30-35% in carbon monoxide emissions, with no significant change in oxides of nitrogen emissions. There was a small (1-4%) improvement in fuel economy, and the average repair cost was $20-25.

Vehicle exhaust emissions measurements are reported for full-size panel vans operating on four alternative motor fuels and control gasoline. The emissions tests produced data on in-use vans. The vans were taken directly from commercial delivery service for testing as they accumulated mileage over a 24-month period. The alternative fuels tested were compressed natural gas, propane gas, California Phase 2 reformulated gasoline (RFG), and methanol (M-85 with 15 percent RFG). The control gasoline for the emissions tests was an industry average unleaded blend (RF-A). The vehicle technologies tested represent those options available in 1992 that were commercially available from Ford, Chrysler, and Chevrolet or which these manufacturers agreed to provide as test vans for daily use in commercial service by FedEx.

The diesel particulate filter (DPF) is a critical aftertreatment device for control of particulate matter (PM) emissions from a diesel engine. DPF survivability is challenged by several key factors such as: excessive thermal stress due to DPF runaway regenerations (or uncontrolled regeneration) may cause DPF substrate and washcoat failure. Catalyst poisoning elements from the diesel fuel and engine oil may cause performance degradation of the catalyzed DPF. Harsh vibration from the powertrain, as well as from the road surface, may lead to mechanical failure of the substrate and/or the matting material. Evaluations of these important validation parameters were performed.

A program to demonstrate the performance of advanced emission control systems in light of the California LEV II light-duty vehicle standards and the EPA's consideration of Tier II emission standards was conducted. Two passenger cars and one light-duty pick-up truck were selected for testing, modification, and emission system performance tuning. All vehicles were 1997 Federal Tier I compliant. The advanced emission control technologies evaluated in this program included advanced three-way catalysts, high cell density substrates, and advanced thermally insulated exhaust components. Using these engine-aged advanced emission control technologies and modified stock engine control strategies (control modifications were made using an ERIC computer intercept/control system), each of the three test vehicles demonstrated FTP emission levels below the proposed California LEV II 193,000 km (120,000 mile) ULEV levels.

As GHG and fuel economy regulations of light-duty vehicles have become more stringent, advanced emissions reduction technology has extensively penetrated the US light-duty vehicle fleet. This new technology includes not only advanced conventional engines and transmissions, but also greater adoption of electrified powertrains. In 2022, electrified vehicles – including mild hybrids, strong hybrids, plug-ins, and battery electric vehicles – made up nearly 17% of the US fleet and are on track to further increase their proportion in subsequent years. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has previously used its Advanced Light-Duty Powertrain and Hybrid Analysis (ALPHA) full vehicle simulation tool to evaluate the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of light-duty vehicles. ALPHA contains a library of benchmarked powertrain components that can be matched to specific vehicles to explore GHG emissions performance.

The Exhaust Composition Transient Operation LaboratoryTM (ECTO-LabTM) is a burner system developed at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) for simulation of IC engine exhaust. The current system design requires metering and combustion of nitromethane in conjunction with the primary fuel source as the means of NOX generation. While this method affords highly tunable NOX concentrations even over transient cycles, no method is currently in place for dictating the speciation of nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) that constitute the NOX mixture. NOX generated through combustion of nitromethane is dominated by NO, and generally results in an NO2:NOX ratio of < 5 %. Generation of any appreciable quantities of NO2 is therefore dependent on an oxidation catalyst to oxidize a fraction of the NO to NO2.

This paper describes experiments conducted to determine the regulated emissions, ozone-forming potentials, specific reactivities, and reactivity adjustment factors for eight butane and propane alternative fuel blends run on a light-duty vehicle, emission certified to be a California transitional low emission vehicle (TLEV) and converted to operate on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Duplicate EPA FTP emission tests were conducted with each fuel. Hydrocarbon speciation was utilized to determine reactivity-adjusted non-methane organic gases (NMOG) emissions for one test on each fuel. Results showed that all eight fuels could allow the converted vehicle to pass California ultra-low emission vehicle (ULEV) NMOG and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) standards. Six of the eight fuels could allow the vehicle to pass ULEV carbon monoxide (CO) standards. BUTANE has been an important gasoline blending component for many years.

The use of alcohol as a supplemental fuel for a medium-speed diesel engine was investigated using a two-cylinder, two-stroke test engine. Both stabilized and unstabilized emulsions of methanol-in-diesel fuel and ethanol-in-diesel fuel were tested. Also, anhydrous ethanol/diesel fuel solutions were evaluated. Maximum alcohol content of the emulsions and solutions was limited by engine knocking due to a reduction in fuel cetane number. Engine power and thermal efficiency were slightly below baseline diesel fuel levels in the high and mid-speed ranges, but were somewhat improved at low speeds during tests of the unstabilized emulsions and the ethanol solutions. However, thermal efficiency of the stabilized emulsions fell below baseline levels at virtually all conditions.

With the rapid expansion of the automotive market in China, air quality in the major cities has become a severe concern. Great efforts have been made in introducing new emission regulations; however, fuel and lubricant qualities, emissions aftertreatment system durability and in-use compliance to the emissions regulations still require significant improvement. China follows the European Union (EU) emission regulations in general, but different levels of standards exist. This paper gives a comprehensive overview of the current and near-future heavy-duty diesel emission regulations, as well as fuel and lubricant specifications.

Update on light-duty regulations. Presenter Michael J. McCarthy, California Air Resources Board

Regulated and unregulated exhaust emissions (individual hydrocarbons, aldehydes and ketones, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), and nitro-polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (NPAH)) were characterized for the following alternate diesel combustion modes: premixed charge compression ignition (PCCI), and low-temperature combustion (LTC). PCCI and LTC were studied on a PSA light-duty high-speed diesel engine. Engine-out emissions of carbonyl compounds were significantly increased for all LTC modes and for PCCI-Lean conditions as compared to diesel operation; however, PCCI-Rich produced much lower carbonyl emissions than diesel operations. For PAH compounds, emissions were found to be substantially increased over baseline diesel operation for LTC-Lean, LTC-Rich, and PCCI-Lean conditions. PCCI-Rich operation, however, gave PAH emission rates comparable to baseline diesel operation.

As governmental agencies focus on low levels of the oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions compliance, new off-road applications are being reviewed for both regulated and unregulated emissions to understand the technological challenges and requirements for improved emissions performance. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has declared its intention to pursue more stringent NOX standards for the off-road market. As part of this effort, CARB initiated a program to provide a detailed characterization of emissions meeting the current Tier 4 off-road standards [1]. This work focused on understanding the off-road market, establishing a current technology emissions baseline, and performing initial modeling on potential low NOx solutions. This paper discusses a part of this effort, focuses on the emissions characterization from two non-road engine platforms, and compares the emissions species from different approaches designed to meet Tier 4 emissions regulations.