Experimental verification of principal losses in a regulatory particulate matter emissions sampling system for aircraft turbine engines.

A sampling system for measuring emissions of nonvolatile particulate matter (nvPM) from aircraft gas turbine engines has been developed to replace the use of smoke number and is used for international regulatory purposes. This sampling system can be up to 35 m in length. The sampling system length in addition to the volatile particle remover (VPR) and other sampling system components lead to substantial particle losses, which are a function of the particle size distribution, ranging from 50 to 90% for particle number concentrations and 10-50% for particle mass concentrations. The particle size distribution is dependent on engine technology, operating point, and fuel composition. Any nvPM emissions measurement bias caused by the sampling system will lead to unrepresentative emissions measurements which limit the method as a universal metric. Hence, a method to estimate size dependent sampling system losses using the system parameters and the measured mass and number concentrations was also developed (SAE 2017; SAE 2019). An assessment of the particle losses in two principal components used in ARP6481 (SAE 2019) was conducted during the VAriable Response In Aircraft nvPM Testing (VARIAnT) 2 campaign. Measurements were made on the 25-meter sample line portion of the system using multiple, well characterized particle sizing instruments to obtain the penetration efficiencies. An agreement of ± 15% was obtained between the measured and the ARP6481 method penetrations for the 25-meter sample line portion of the system. Measurements of VPR penetration efficiency were also made to verify its performance for aviation nvPM number. The research also demonstrated the difficulty of making system loss measurements and substantiates the E-31 decision to predict rather than measure system losses.

Effect of fuel and lube oil sulfur on the performance of a diesel exhaust gas continuously regenerating trap.

The continuously regenerating trap (CRT) is a diesel exhaust emission control that removes nearly all diesel particulate matter on a mass basis, but under some circumstances oxidation of sulfur leads to the formation of nanoparticles. The objective of the four year study was to determine CRT performance under controlled, real-world, on-road conditions, and to develop quantitative relationships between fuel and lubrication oil sulfur concentration and particle number exhaust emissions. It was shown that nanoparticle emissions are minimized by the use of ultralow sulfur fuels and specially formulated low sulfur lubrication oil. Nanoparticle emissions increased with higher exhaust temperatures. Fuel and lubrication oil sulfur increased the particle concentration by, on average, 36 x 10(6) and 0.14 x 10(6) part/cm3 for each 1 ppm increase in sulfur. On the other hand there was a decrease in nanoparticle emissions by the CRT as the system aged.

Enhanced coagulation due to evaporation and its effect on nanoparticle evolution.

A new explanation for the evolution of particles near a roadway is proposed. The explanation starts with data that suggest that small (<15 nm) liquid nanoparticles shed semivolatile organics (

On-road exposure to highway aerosols. 1. Aerosol and gas measurements.

On-road experiments were conducted to determine the sensitivities of rats to real-world aerosol. This article summarizes the on-road aerosol and gas measurements and provides background information for the companion paper on the rat exposures. Measurements were carried out over 10 days, 6 h/day, driving a route from Rochester to Buffalo. Aerosol instrumentation used in this study included two scanning mobility particle sizers (SMPS) to determine the aerosol size distribution from 10 to 300 nm, 2 stand-alone condensation particle counters to determine the total aerosol number concentration, and an electrical aerosol detector to determine the aerosol length concentration. A thermal denuder (TD) was used with one of the SMPS instruments to determine the size distribution of the non-volatile fraction. Filter samples were collected and analyzed for elemental carbon, and gas analyzers measured ambient levels of CO, CO(2), and NO. Average daily total aerosol number concentration ranged from 200,000 to 560,000 particles/cm(3). Past studies on urban highways have measured total number concentrations ranging between 10(4) and 10(6) particles/cm(3). The average daily NO concentration ranged from 0.10 to 0.24 ppm and the corresponding CO(2) concentration ranged from 400 to 420 ppm. The average daily geometric number mean particle size determined by the SMPS ranged from 15 to 20 nm. The TD reduced the average SMPS number concentration between 87 and 95% and the SMPS volume between 54 and 83%, suggesting that most of the particles consisted of volatile material. The TD also increased the geometric number mean diameter from 15 to 20 nm to 30 to 40 nm.

Chemical analysis of diesel engine nanoparticles using a nano-DMA/thermal desorption particle beam mass spectrometer.

Diesel engines are known to emit high number concentrations of nanoparticles (diameter < 50 nm), but the physical and chemical mechanisms by which they form are not understood. Information on chemical composition is lacking because the small size, low mass concentration, and potential for contamination of samples obtained by standard techniques make nanoparticles difficult to analyze. A nano-differential mobility analyzer was used to size-select nanoparticles (mass median diameter approximately 25-60 nm) from diesel engine exhaust for subsequent chemical analysis by thermal desorption particle beam mass spectrometry. Mass spectra were used to identify and quantify nanoparticle components, and compound molecular weights and vapor pressures were estimated from calibrated desorption temperatures. Branched alkanes and alkyl-substituted cycloalkanes from unburned fuel and/or lubricating oil appear to contribute most of the diesel nanoparticle mass. The volatility of the organic fraction of the aerosol increases as the engine load decreases and as particle size increases. Sulfuric acid was also detected at estimated concentrations of a few percent of the total nanoparticle mass. The results are consistent with a mechanism of nanoparticle formation involving nucleation of sulfuric acid and water, followed by particle growth by condensation of organic species.