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The Millbrook automotive test and development centre in Bedfordshire is set to cash in on global harmonised efforts to make car manufacturers carry out more emissions testing procedures under real-world driving conditions.
Millbrook has been investing heavily in Portable Emissions Measurement Systems (PEMS), which can be attached directly to on-road vehicles to measure the output of a range of gases and particulates. PEMS carries out measurements under a wide range of parameters such as drive-cycle routes, driving style, gradient, ambient temperature and ancillary loading settings.
The use of PEMS, in conjunction with laboratory-based chassis dyno testing, gives a much better picture of how a vehicle performs in the real world. The move to the World Harmonised Light Vehicles Test procedure in 2017, which will replace the mainly laboratory-based New European Driving Cycle, will also be underpinned by PEMS testing.
Millbrook has been quick to position itself for the change, having taken delivery of a third PEMS system. The addition of this most recent equipment means that Millbrook now has the latest systems from each of the three major PEMS manufacturers – Horiba, AVC and Sensors Inc. “PEMS is a growing area and we have invested heavily in it,” said Phil Stones, head of emissions and fuel economy at Millbrook. “I’d say that certainly within commercial sectors we have the most PEMS systems and the most diverse range of technologies. We are at the forefront in Europe, in what is a fast-evolving sector.”
As well as full gaseous measurements of CO, NOx, NO, NO2, CO2 and O2, the latest systems have a Particle Number (PN) unit. The PN unit is a ‘clone’ of the system on trial by the European Commission to evaluate the parameters required to reliably and accurately measure particulates emitted from vehicle exhausts.
Stones said that he expected more companies to start using PEMS testing, as air quality moved higher up political agendas.