Project Number:
08-22
Research Project:
Development of a Portable Remote Sensing System for Measurement of Diesel Emissions from Passing Diesel Trucks
P.I. Name & Address:
Hamid R. Rahai
California State University at Long Beach
Center for Energy and Environmental Research and Services (CEERS)
Long Beach, CA 90840
Email: rahai@csulb.edu
Website: http://www.csulb.edu/colleges/coe/mae/views/personnel/fulltime_adj/rahai.shtml
Phone: (562) 985-5132
Fax: (562) 985-4408
Co-P.I.
Bei Lu
California State University at Long Beach
Center for Energy and Environmental Research and Services (CEERS)
Long Beach, CA 90840
Email: blu3@csulb.edu
Website: http://www.csulb.edu/colleges/coe/mae/views/personnel/fulltime_adj/lu.shtml
Phone: (562) 985-5194
Fax: (562) 985-4408
Project Objective:
Presently, proposals and regulations are under consideration to require diesel truck operators to either switch to low sulfur diesel fuel or retrofit their engines and exhaust systems with emission control devices that reduce diesel engine emissions. These regulations have direct impact on the nearly 6000 existing trucks serving the two major ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Implementation of these regulations should result in significant improvements in local air quality. However, a major task with the execution of the new regulations is verification of emissions abatement of the retrofitted truck.
The proposed investigation will develop a new remote sensing system to verify compliance of the truckers that serve the Los Angeles/Long Beach ports with the anticipated new emission standards and mitigation requirements. The proposed system comprises of an infrared (IR) light source along with carbon monoxide, CO, carbon dioxide, CO2, and hydrocarbons, HC, detectors. The light source is passed across a single lane of the road at an elevation above the passing trucks and is captured by the detectors. Microprocessors collect and analyze the information from the detectors and also send them via wireless network to a remote computer for further processing. Based on comparison of the signals with a reference signal and acceptable bandwidths, a pass/no pass display provides the driver and the regulators with conditions of the vehicle. The system can be equipped with on site cameras to identify worst vehicle polluters for enforcement purposes.
Task Descriptions
Task 1. Development of an IR System for Diesel Emissions Measurements from Passing Trucks. (8 months)
The IR system will be developed at the Center for Energy and Environmental Research and Services (CEERS) laser laboratory. The laboratory is equipped with several high power lasers, including a 20 W Excimer laser along with optical tables and corresponding optics for Laser-induced florescence, laser Doppler velocimetry system, and a Mach-Zehnder Interferometric system. The IR light source will be placed on a tripod for versatility. The concentrated IR beam will be passed through a beam splitter and one beam will be emitted across a distance equivalent to the width of a standard truck road and the other beam will be used as a reference. The emitted beam will be directed toward a rotating drum with multiple mirrors on its surface to direct the beam toward the emission detectors. The rotating drum and the detectors will be housed within a packaged container which is installed on another tripod. The two tripods allow elevation and movement adjustment for detecting the signals and optimizing the parameters of the system. There will be three detectors for measurements of CO, CO2, and HC and another detector for the reference beam. Signals from these detectors will be sent to a local microprocessor and then via campus wireless network to the CEERS server. Signal processing includes spectra analysis, defining reference band widths and assessing and comparing the signal with the reference bandwidth to identify the level of emissions. A pass or fail message will be assigned to signals that pass within the acceptable bandwidth or outside respectively.
A portable diesel engine generator will be used to generate the initial plume for testing the signals. Later on the system will be tested with the exhaust of a Komatsu 6 cylinder 207 horsepower fuel injected diesel engine. The engine is similar to the diesel truck engines serving the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The diesel engines are available for testing at CSULB.
Results for task 1 provide the optimum parameters such as the speed of the rotating drum with mirrors, the elevation where effective measurements of the exhaust plume can be made, the dispersion effect of the IR light to identify optimum maximum horizontal distance, the speed that the processing can be made to make the pass/no pass decision, and the total power required for continuous operation of the system. Based on these results, the system will be packaged for field testing.
Task 2. Field Testing of the Developed System. (4 months)
The field testing of the developed system will be performed at the Comador Heim Bridge and the Badger Bridge in the city of Wilmington near the port of Los Angeles.
The Commodore Heim Bridge is the main bridge for the truck passage along the terminal island freeway serving the LA/LB ports. The Badger Bridge is along the Alameda corridor railroad where the locomotives serving the two major ports pass through. Since these two bridges are adjacent to each other and there are available poles for installation of the system, we will test our system across these bridges. During the operation, the light sources are projected across the road 15-30 cm above the vehicles. The detectors will be positioned either on the other side of the road or mirrors placed on the other side of the road reflect the beams to the same side (as the light sources) with detector are positioned under the light sources. The system will also be equipped with meteorological stations and speed/acceleration system that are used for interpretation of measured emissions.
During the field-testing, a displayer connected to the system will be installed downstream of the system along the road to inform drivers with pass/ no pass sign of the condition of their vehicles.
Milestones, Dates:
September 1, 2007 – August 31, 2008
Total Budget:
$89,979
Student Involvement:
Two students at 50% for 12 months
Two students at 50% for 4 months
Relationship to Other Research Projects:
Related to 06-04; part of the goods movement focus area
Technology Transfer Activities:
Project report will be posted soon
Potential Benefits of the Project:
This research could lead to more effective enforcement of emissions standards for trucks serving the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
TRB Keywords:
Emissions, Truck, Diesel, Air Quality, Port of Los Angeles, Port of Long Beach
