A prototype solid particle counting system (SPCS) has been developed in Horiba. It measures the engine exhaust solid particle number emissions in real-time. The instrument is designed to follow the recommendation in the PMP proposal for solid particle number emissions measurement on Light-duty diesel vehicles.
Two wide range continuous diluters, which were developed during this project, have been used as cold and hot diluters, respectively. The accuracy of the dilution ratio is normally ± 4% for the designed range. The instrument has low particle losses, and exhibits over 95% penetration for solid particles.
The new instrument has functions such as, normal measurement, dilution ratio control, daily calibration for condensation particle counter (CPC), etc. These functions have been automated to make the instrument's operation simple.
The performance of the instrument was evaluated in different laboratories, and all measured parameters are above the minimum requirements recommended by the PMP. Consistent test results have been obtained.