Fast Response CO2 Sensor for Automotive Exhaust Gas Analysis

A fast response sensor for measuring carbon dioxide concentration has been developed for laboratory research and tested on a spark ignition engine. The sensor uses the well known infra-red absorption technique with a miniaturized detection system and short capillary sampling tubes, giving a time constant of approximately 5 milliseconds; this is sufficiently fast to observe changes in CO₂ levels on a cycle-by-cycle basis under normal operating conditions. The sensor is easily located in the exhaust system and operates continuously.

The sensor was tested on a standard production four cylinder spark-ignition engine to observe changes in CO₂ concentration in exhaust gas under steady state and transient operating conditions. The processed sensor signal was compared to a standard air-to-fuel ratio (AFR) sensor in the exhaust stream and the results are presented here. The high frequency response CO₂ measurements give new insights into both engine and catalyst transient operation.