Semester

Fall

Date of Graduation

2020

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

Department

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Committee Chair

Gregory Thompson

Committee Member

Derek Johnson

Committee Member

Arvind Thiruvengadam

Abstract

Ambient air quality has been a concern in the United States since the mid-1900’s, forcing legislations like the Air Pollution Control Act and Clean Air Act necessary to bring focus on air pollution and quality. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues to update the requirements for more efficient vehicles and emissions sampling methods. Today the EPA has implemented regulations on modern spark ignited engines without any major focus on the type of injection technologies being used. While particle matter (PM) is a requirement to measure for a vehicle certification, more research should focus on the particle number (PN) measurements that are required for vehicle certification in the European Union. This study explores the results of an experimental setup that measures particle data within multiple simultaneous dilution ratio sampling environments. In addition to different dilution ratios, two types of injection strategies were examined and included gasoline direct injected (GDI) and port fuel injected (PFI). The emphasis of the study was the comparison of real time particle number and mass concentration to highlight injection technologies effect on particles. Furthermore, this research analyzed and compared the results in separate dilutions environments to evaluate sampling from a high dilution ratio and determine whether this was an acceptable sampling method. As engine technology, such as GDI, becomes the prominent method of injection and PFI continues to be utilized, methods of soot measurement should be improved to measure near 0.01 mg/m3. The PN measurements should be considered in addition to current PM regulation with PN concentrations measured above 1x107 cm-3 during transient test conditions.

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