Effect on Emissions of Multiple Driving Test Schedules Performed on Two Heavy-Duty Vehicles

Chassis based emissions characterization of heavy-duty vehicles has advanced over the last decade, but the understanding of the effect of test schedule on measured emissions is still poor. However, this is an important issue because the test schedule should closely mimic actual vehicle operation or vocation. A wide variety of test schedules was reviewed and these cycles were classified as cycles or routes and as geometric or realistic. With support from the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Transportation Technologies (DOE/OTT), a GMC box truck with a Caterpillar 3116 engine and a Peterbilt over the road tractor-trailer with a Caterpillar 3406 engine were exercised through a large number of cycles and routes. Test weight for the GMC was 9,980 kg and for the Peterbilt was 19,050 kg. Emissions characterization was performed using a heavy-duty chassis dynamometer, with a full-scale dilution tunnel, analyzers for gaseous emissions, and filters for PM emissions. In units of g/mile, the emissions varied substantially from test schedule to test schedule. For example, emissions of oxides of nitrogen for the GMC truck varied by nearly a factor of seven, being highest for a low speed, high idle content cycle, and lowest for a highway cycle. Emissions values were not unified by expressing the values in units of g/ahp-hr or g/gallon of fuel.