Modelling of particulate matter mass emissions from a light-duty diesel vehicle

• Published in: Transportation research. Part D, Transport and environment Transport and environment, 2006-09, Vol.11 (5), p.344-357
• Main Authors: North, Robin J., Noland, Robert B., Ochieng, Washington Y., Polak, John W.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Emissions fingerprint; Emissions modelling; Particle emissions; Particulates
• ISSN: 1361-9209; 1879-2340
• DOI: 10.1016/j.trd.2006.06.006

Emissions from motor vehicles are a major source of air pollution and studies have shown that exposure to the particulate matter in fresh diesel exhaust is a significant risk to health. Short-term peak exposures are thought to have the greatest impact. Despite the development of several vehicle power-based models to estimate the second-by-second mass emission rates of gaseous pollutant species such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides, none of these models predicts particulate matter emissions. This paper presents a new technique for modelling the second-by-second particulate matter mass emission rate of a light-duty diesel vehicle. Here, particulate matter emission rates are modelled as a function of both vehicle kinematic parameters (i.e., speed or acceleration) and the mass emission rates of the gaseous co-pollutants. The importance of time alignment in the calibration data is evaluated and a technique for deriving an appropriate lag structure is devised. Various regression models are estimated that provide a good model fit, comparable to existing models of gaseous pollutants.