Effects of Errors on Vehicle Emission Rates from Portable Emissions Measurement Systems

Portable emissions measurement systems (PEMS) are useful for quantification of real-world vehicle activity, energy use, and emissions. However, there is no standard methodology for processing PEMS data; this can lead to errors in reported results. PEMS typically include tailpipe exhaust gas and particle analyzers, Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers, engine sensors, and electronic control unit (ECU) data loggers. The sensitivity of estimated emission rates to random errors in measurements is quantified. Methods are evaluated for identification and correction of improper synchronization of PEMS, ECU, and GPS data streams and for road grade estimation. Estimated fuel use and emission rates for light- and heavy-duty vehicles are sensitive to errors in intake manifold absolute pressure and engine revolutions per minute values and in indicators of air-to-fuel ratio including carbon dioxide and oxygen concentrations. Synchronization can be aided by maximizing the Pearson correlation coefficient between two indicator variables and confirming the result by matching concurrent increases in indicator variables. The effect of improper synchronization on estimated modal emission rates is quantified. Modal average emission rates based on vehicle-specific power (VSP) are more sensitive to improperly synchronized engine versus GPS data. Improperly synchronized data streams result in decreased variability between the lowest and highest modal average emission rates. Estimation of road grade from a linear least squares slope of elevation over a specified distance is demonstrated. VSP-based modal fuel use and pollutant emission rates are less sensitive to differences in road grade than to errors in synchronization.