Undiluted Measurement of sub 10 nm Non-Volatile and Volatile Particle Emissions from a DISI Engine Fueled with Gasoline and Ethanol

In this paper, a High-Temperature Electrical Low-Pressure Impactor (HT-ELPI+) was used to measure particles from a light-duty direct injected spark ignited (DISI) engine fueled with gasoline and ethanol. The HT-ELPI+ measured volatile and non-volatile particle emissions down to 6 nm without the need for dilution. Particle emissions were measured at four operating points while sweeping the end of injection, and at idle operation. The total particle number (PN) and particle size distribution (number and mass) for both non-volatile and volatile emissions were measured with the HT-ELPI+ and compared to the measured PN using two 71.4 times diluted Condensation Particle Counters (CPCs) with two different cut-off sizes, with 23 nm and 7 nm cut-off, respectively. The results show an increase in particle emissions in terms of particle mass and total particle number for ethanol compared to gasoline. The difference in soot mass emissions is small between the fuels. However, PN shows a significant increase for ethanol, especially at low engine speed due to a deterioration in the evaporation, mixture formation and air entrainment of ethanol. A majority of the emitted particles exhibit particle sizes below 23 nm, wherein the highest numbers occurred below 10 nm. At steady-state operation, no clear difference was observed between the diluted and undiluted measurements. On the contrary, a significant difference is detected between the undiluted and diluted measurements of ethanol at idle. These observations could indicate a greater significance of dilution at lower exhaust gas temperatures and mass flow rates or when a large number of nucleation mode particles are emitted from the engine.