Semester

Fall

Date of Graduation

2018

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

PhD

College

Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

Department

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Committee Chair

Marc C Besch

Committee Co-Chair

Ross Ryskamp

Committee Member

Ross Ryskamp

Committee Member

Arvind Thirvengadam

Committee Member

Berk Demirgok

Abstract

The emissions produced by diesel engines are detrimental to human health, and the environment. To reduce these harmful emissions, engine manufacturers have used exhaust after treatment systems. The main objective of these after-treatment systems is to reduce exhaust emissions with minimal impact on an engines performance. The increase in emission regulations resulted in the need for a portable device to measure emissions. Portable emissions measurement systems (PEMS) are used to ensure engines comply with regulations in the real world. Although these systems are portable and can be installed on a vehicle they are bulky, expensive and time consuming to install. More recently a compact version of the PEMS based on lower cost, smaller sensors have come to market. These devices are not recognized for in-use compliance but potentially have a use for rapid testing of a larger fleet of vehicles.

The main objective of this study was to perform a sensor-based emissions measurement comparison of the oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and particle number (PN) emissions collected between the NTK Compact Emissions Meter (NCEM) and a Horiba OBS-ONE GS with PN analyzer unit. The NCEM is a newly marketed device that measures exhaust NOx and Oxygen (O2) concentrations through the use of a zirconium-oxide sensor, and PN with a diffusion-charging type sensor. Using the Horiba OBS-One PEMS as the reference to the accuracy of the NCEM at different operating conditions was examined. The Horiba OBS-One PEMS is compliant with the Code of Federal (CFR) regulations, Title 40, Part-1065, Subpart J, which details in-use emissions compliance testing for a vehicle equipped with heavy-duty engines. Both units were installed on a heavy-duty on-highway Mercedes Benz Actros cab-over truck. This truck was tested over a number of different routes, that included various terrain, and traffic situations. One of the test routes was created to satisfy the European Union (EU) Real Driving Emissions (RDE) characteristics. This route was repeated three times. This test route included stop and go, low speed constant flow, and highway operation. The second test route consisted of highway driving an elevation change of 400 meters to examine altitude on the analyzers. The third and final test route was a highway route with relatively constant altitude. All data sets were subsequently analyzed using linear regression, and binning technique

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