Road vehicles exhaust emissions and fuel consumption evaluation under real driving conditions

The study on the assessment of emissions from road vehicles that led to the development of the Progress code also highlighted the need to deepen knowledge regarding two-wheeled vehicles and heavy commercial vehicles.

The investigations on motorcycles and mopeds focused on defining their emissions behavior under cold and hot operating conditions, through dedicated experimental campaigns conducted in collaboration with the CNR Motor Institute in Naples. Vehicles equipped with a GPS system were used to record instantaneous speed profiles for urban driving, while emissions and fuel consumption were measured on a roller dynamometer using various homologation and real-world driving cycles, along with appropriately selected measured speed profiles.

The investigations on commercial vehicles primarily focused on analyzing operations in port and urban areas, defining the relevant work cycle in these zones, recording instantaneous speed profiles using GPS, and calculating fuel consumption and pollutant emissions associated with these profiles using different approaches, based on instantaneous speed (PHEM model), traffic conditions (HBEFA model), and average speed (Covert model). This study was conducted in collaboration with the Laboratoire Transport et Environnement (LTE) – IFSTTAR.

Recently, a procedure was implemented to calculate emissions associated with the production of electricity used to charge the batteries of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. This allows for the assessment of the effects on chemical pollutants and CO2 resulting from the replacement of conventional vehicles belonging to older regulatory classes with alternative vehicles, in the case of cars, motorcycles, and buses.

Laboratories 

  • Internal Combustion Engine Laboratory

Publications

  • Zamboni G., Dressino L., Boileau H. A tool for the assessment of the potential benefits of electric and hybrid cars for emissions reduction in urban areas. International Journal of Environmental Studies 2020, ISSN: 0020-7233; doi: 10.1080/00207233.2020.1736845
  • Zamboni G., André M., Roveda A., Capobianco M. Experimental evaluation of Heavy Duty Vehicle speed patterns in urban and port areas and estimation of their fuel consumption and exhaust emissions. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, vol.35, pp.1-10, March 2015, doi:10.1016/j.trd.2014.11.024.
  • Zamboni G., Malfettani S., André M., Carraro C., Marelli S., Capobianco M. Assessment of heavy-duty vehicle activities, fuel consumption and exhaust emissions in port areas. Applied Energy, vol. 111, pp. 921-929, November 2013, doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2013.06.037.
  • Zamboni G., Prati M.V., Carraro C., Malfettani S., Costagliola M. A., Meccariello G., Marelli S., Capobianco M. Influence of Driving Cycles on Powered Two-Wheelers Emissions, Fuel Consumption and Cold Start Behavior. SAE 2013 World Congress & Exhibition, SAE Technical Paper 2013-01-1048, 2013, doi:10.4271/2013-01-1048. Published in SAE Special Publication 2340 “Emission Measurements and Testing, 2013”, ISBN 978-0-7680-8006-3, p. 65-77, 2013.
  • Prati M. V., Zamboni G., Costagliola M. A., Meccariello G., Carraro C., Capobianco M. Influence of driving cycles on Euro 3 scooter emissions and fuel consumption. Energy Conversion and Management 52, pp. 3327-3336, 2011, doi:10.1016/j.enconman.2011.06.004.

 

 

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