West Virginia University is field-testing emissions from heavy-duty vehicles such as trucks and buses. Many of the tested vehicles use alternative fuels including compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG), methanol, ethanol, and biodiesel. WVU Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) has designed and built two mobile emissions testing labs that are capable of testing vehicles up to 30,000 kg (66,000 lbs.)in the field. These transportable facilities perform full chassis dynamometer tests using speed and load cycles that simulate vehicle operation in service. WVU has tested over 700 buses and trucks from more than thirty-five locations throughout the United States. Much of the data collected from the buses and trucks are available in database form.

The objective of this research program is to measure and characterize emissions from a wide range of vehicles that use various types of fuels. Most of the vehicles tested use alternative fuels. Conventionally fueled vehicles are also tested for comparison purposes. Certain vehicles are retested in successive years to study degradation of their emissions. If defects are uncovered in the emissions control systems, repairs may be performed on the vehicle; thus allowing the emissions benefits of conducting these repairs to be quantified. During testing, a vehicle is placed on the chassis dynamometer test platform. A technician drives the vehicle through one of several standardized transient driving cycles. The exhaust emissions from the vehicle are measured using a dilution tunnel and full exhaust gas emissions measurement instrumentation. Each test is run three times to ensure repeatability and data quality. The laboratories measure carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, oxides of nitrogen or NOx, methane, total hydrocarbons, aldehydes and particulate as well as the performance of the vehicle. The Department of Energy largely funds this heavy-duty emissions lab, though we also work on a contract basis. Please contact us if you need to test the emissions of your fleet of heavy-duty vehicles.