West Virginia University scientists are gearing up for a 3,000 mile road trip to see just how effective new advanced emissions control systems are on those tractor-trailers that populate America’s highways – and they will be tweeting about their experiences along the way.

Experts from WVU’s Center for Alternative Fuels, Engines and Emissions, will utilize a 2011 Mack over-the-road truck to haul their heavy-duty mobile emissions testing laboratory from Morgantown to Riverside, CA. The truck’s exhaust emissions will be measured during the entire trip.

Climbing the Rocky Mountains will put large tractor-trailer emissions technologies to the test and gather important data about how road grades affect motor emissions and fuel economy.

CAFEE Director Dan Carder Carder said the cross-country effort is the first time any university research team has attempted to measure in-use emissions compliance for nearly 3,000 consecutive miles. He said the team will be keeping the folks back home up to speed on their experiences and progress by Twitter.

Carder explained that modern day heavy-duty vehicles feature advanced emissions control systems which are imperative to meet current emissions regulations. These regulations are designed to reduce tractor-trailer contributions to ambient air pollution inventories.

“The goal of this cross-country study is to provide comprehensive data on heavy-duty diesel engines that we can secure by examining emissions in a real-world operating situation for a long period of time,” Carder said. “The study will then be used to establish the environmental impact, if any, of the current advanced technology heavy-duty diesel engines.”

The research is being sponsored by the South Coast California Air Quality Management District, the California Air Resources Board, the US Department of Energy and the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Next week, WVU researchers will climb aboard a 2011 Mack over-the-road tractor that will pull WVU’s mobile emissions testing laboratory to measure the truck’s emissions. Along the way, the team will keep Morgantown posted about their progress by Twitter along with videos. You can keep up with the team’s progress by following @WVU-CAFEE on Twitter.

The WVU experts will be joined by a team of engineers from HORIBA Instruments, a company that provides an array of instruments and systems for applications ranging from automotive research and development to measurement systems.

Carder said the emissions will be monitored the entire way with live data streams sent back to WVU. At the end of every travel day, Carder said there will be data reviews and analysis sessions.

All the finalized data will then be used to verify the performance of current emissions technologies and the effect of road grades on both emissions and fuel economy.

CAFEE has become a national leader in applied and fundamental research in heavy-duty engine emissions that, among other achievements, helps fuel suppliers and vehicle manufacturers make better products that comply with complex and changing federal requirements and helps US cities improve air quality while maintaining a realistic handle on technology costs.

CAFEE researchers and experts are no strangers to fieldwork. Carder explained that one of the things that makes CAFEE unique, is, “a willingness to go ‘extremely applied’ to compliment fundamental research in advanced engines, fuels, emissions and combustion processes.

CAFEE experts have pursued their research on top of working dozers on Mt. Storm in the middle of January, in transit buses in Miami, FL in July, in Mexico City twice, Denali National Forest in Alaska, and in the hull of a ship in southern California, and many states in between.

The CAFEE staff works extensively on emission reduction research, particularly engine technologies, post-combustion technologies, after-treatment evaluation, and fuel technologies.

Its research extends to all types of engines, including heavy-duty on-road, light-duty automobile, aircraft, marine, mining equipment, locomotive, and power generation.

CAFEE also possesses the only mobile heavy-duty chassis dynamometer in the U.S., which allows it to visit sites where vehicles are being used in real-world situations.

Carder said the capability appeals to both manufacturers, who must certify that their vehicles meet government emissions performance standards, and to government agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, which enforce such regulations.

-WVU-

gg/09/26/11

CONTACT: Dan Carder; Center for Alternative Fuels, Enginees and Emissions
304.293.0650; Dan.Carder@mail.wvu.edu

Follow @WVUToday on Twitter.