Date of Graduation

2000

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

Committee Chair

Mridul Gautam

Abstract

A study was conducted to measure brake-specific mass emissions from heavy-duty diesel-fueled engines during their in-use, on-road operation. A Mobile Emissions Measurement System (MEMS) was designed and constructed to accomplish this task. A review of systems from the past 20 years was conducted to determine the limitations of similar systems, to outline the constraints of the MEMS design, and to provide the highest level of accuracy and ruggedness required to withstand the rigors of on-board, on-road testing. None of the systems in the published literature could meet the requirements of such a measurement system. State-of-the-art detectors and sensors were obtained, and testing was conducted to determine which were best suited for use in the system. A prototype version of the MEMS was developed. Engine emissions testing was then performed to compare the measurements of CO2 and NOx from the MEMS to those obtained by the laboratory-grade analyzers. Raw and dilute comparisons were made. The MEMS was found to report CO2 concentrations, on average, within 3% of the laboratory results. NOx concentrations were measured to within 8% of raw (ppm) laboratory results, and within 4% for mass emission rate (g/s) measurements. On-road routes were then developed to fully test the MEMS and obtain emissions measurements from a heavy-duty road tractor during its in-use, on-road operation.

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