REAL-e: Robust and Affordable IoT Solution for In-Service Conformity Testing

Abstract

Since 2019 in-service conformity testing for vehicles as described in EU legislation 2018/1832 is active and obliges numerous emission control tests on WLTP and RDE cycles. For the on-road portion of these tests typically Portable Emissions Measurement System (PEMS) are used. While these systems provide all necessary regulated emissions measurements, their use and handling are difficult due to their weight, cumbersome installation, and their limited accessibility due to a high price point. In order to make the real-driving measurement accessible for a maximum number of institutions, IFPEN is developing a compact measurement system with an advanced cloud modeling of the vehicle for more cost-effective and user friendly RDE and ISC testing. This real-time analyzer, named ?REAL-e? is developed as an IoT system, who?s measured data is transferred in real-time to a secured cloud service for enhanced data processing and data enrichment.

REAL-e is based on a combination of off-the-shelf and in-house developed sensors build into a compact and easy-to-maintain packaging. Data logging and data enrichment are done in a secured cloud solution. Comparisons of instantaneous and cumulative emissions of laboratory analyzers and REAL-e for NOx, CO₂ and NH₃ highlight the potential of this measurement system. The focus of this comparison lies on the integrated in-house UV-VIS spectroscopy analyzer which exhibits a performance of 85% of cumulative NOx emissions within +/- 17mg/km or 15% error bounds and for 87.5% of the tests the cumulative NH₃ mass in +/-5mg/km or 15% error bounds compared to the corresponding reference analyzer. The potential of a low-cost system with access to all the raw spectral data is demonstrated on the example of DPF regeneration with SO_X emissions.