Search Results

An inexpensive system was designed that would allow repair shops to verify the adequacy of repairs made to cars that had previously failed the new high-tech I/M test (IM240). Before and after repair tests on a limited number of vehicles were performed with both official IM240 and prototype repair grade (RG240) equipment systems. Analyses were performed to determine if the RG240 system concept is capable of determining if the repairs performed resulted in adequate emissions reductions to assure a passing IM240 retest. This study focuses on development of a prototype RG240 system consisting of a 100 SCFM CVS, a dynamometer with an eddy current power absorber and non-adjustable 2000 pound inertia flywheel, and a BAR 90 emissions analyzer with an additional nitric oxide analyzer.

There has been considerable interest in applying remote measuring methods to sample in-use vehicle emissions, and to characterize fleet emission behavior. A Remote Sensing Device (RSD) was used to measure on-road carbon monoxide (CO) emissions from approximately 350 in-use vehicles that had undergone transient mass emission testing at a centralized I/M lane. On-road hydrocarbon (HC) emissions were also measured by the RSD on about 50 of these vehicles. Analysis of the data indicates that the RSD identified a comparable number of the high CO emitters as the two speed I/M test only when an RSD cutpoint much more stringent than current practice was used. Both RSD and I/M had significant errors of omission in identifying High CO Emitters based on the mass emission test. The test data were also used to study the ability of the RSD to characterize fleet CO emissions.

On-vehicle proof-of-concept testing was conducted to evaluate the ability of the dual oxygen sensor catalyst evaluation method to identify serious losses in catalyst efficiency under actual vehicle operating conditions. The dual oxygen sensor method, which utilizes a comparison between an upstream oxygen sensor and an oxygen sensor placed downstream of the catalyst, was initially studied by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under steady-state operating conditions on an engine dynamometer and reported in Clemmens, et al. (1).* At the time that study was released, questions were raised as to whether the technological concepts developed on a test fixture could be transferred to a vehicle operating under normal transient conditions.

The production of hydrogen and carbon monoxide by decomposing methanol in a self-igniting oxidation catalyst was briefly investigated as a possible cold starting method for methanol-fueled vehicles. A theoretical analysis of the two most likely reactions of oxidation-plus-dissociation and oxidation-plus-reformation indicate that both paths are limited to a production of two moles of hydrogen per mole of methanol oxidized. The energy released from the methanol oxidation appears to be sufficient to achieve this limit. Hydrogen yields of 15 to 26 volume percent were observed from a test reactor. Up to an equivalence ratio near three, the observed decomposition products compared favorably with the theoretical curves. An engine was started on the decomposition products.

Proof-of-concept testing was conducted to evaluate the ability to identify serious losses in catalyst efficiency with a dual oxygen sensor method. The dual oxygen sensor method involves a comparison between the signal from a pre-catalyst oxygen sensor to that from a post-catalyst sensor. Testing was conducted on a dynamometer test stand in an open-loop mode under steady-state conditions. Four matched catalysts and two deteriorated in-use catalysts were tested. The matched catalysts were identical in all physical characteristics, but with varying efficiencies. The operating air-fuel ratio was dynamically varied, and the test matrix included amplitude variations of the air-fuel ratio from 0.5% to 7% above and below the stoichiometric point, oscillating at three frequencies. Results from this proof-of-concept testing show measurable differences in the pre- and post-oxygen sensor signals between catalysts with good and poor conversion efficiencies.