Portable Emissions Measurement Systems (PEMS) represent a robust and accurate solution to study the in-use emissions of combustion engines and are becoming part of the emissions control regulations, as evidenced by the latest requirements introduced in the United States. Their application is ranging from large heavy duty engines to small light-duty vehicles and off-road mobile machinery. Currently, PEMS for gaseous exhaust measurements exhibit performances that are close to the ones of laboratory grade systems, but the development of portable PM instruments remain a complex challenge, as simultaneous progress take place in engine and after-treatment technologies.
This paper presents the PM phase of the European PEMS program, aiming at checking the feasibility of PEMS to measure accurately particle mass at low PM levels. Several PEMS, (Dekati DMM, ETaPs, Horiba OBS TRPM, Sensors SEMTECH-PPMD, AVL MSS, Control Sistem micro-PSS) are evaluated in parallel under controlled laboratory conditions (i.e. on reference test cycles) against laboratory instruments using a Euro III and a Euro V heavy-duty engine, running on low sulphur fuel. Preliminary results are presented.
