FALL/WINTER 2005-06 — Vehicle Systems
CTR and EPA Collaborate to Test Vehicle Tie-Down Methods
In an ongoing informational dialogue and collaborative effort between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) National Vehicle Fuels and Emissions Laboratory or NVFEL and Argonne's Center for Transportation Research, researchers conducted tests at Argonne's Advanced Powertrain Research Facility (APRF) during a five-week period in November-December 2005.
Over 130 drive-cycle tests were conducted with two vehicles as part of an EPA-initiated study to determine the effects of different vehicle tie-down methods utilized during dynamometer testing. Personnel from the EPA's NVFEL worked at Argonne's facility for five days to assist with set-up of the rigid-type vehicle tie-downs and observe the initial tests. They also loaned one of their emissions correlation vehicles, a 1998 Ford Expedition, for the tests. The other vehicle is a 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid Sports Utility Vehicle (part of another collaborative effort with the University of Alabama-Birmingham). This will give the APRF a valuable opportunity to correlate emissions data during these tests with data generated by the EPA's NVFEL on their correlation vehicle.
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Front and rear views of the EPA's 1998 Ford Expedition correlation vehicle on the APRF dyno using the EPA rigid tie-down method. |
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Front and rear views of the University of Alabama's 1998 Ford Escape Hybrid test vehicle on the APRF dyno using the EPA rigid tie-down method. |
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The testing presented a unique challenge for the APRF team. Normally, Argonne test vehicles remain positioned on the dynamometer for days or weeks at a time during a study. During this particular test process, the two vehicles needed to be swapped out twice a day to examine the effects of repositioning on the coast-down measurements and other parameters, similar to what the EPA does on a daily basis. This swap-out process had to be performed the same way each time to prevent test irregularities. Another part of the test process involved several tests run consecutively to examine the effects of this type of testing.
As follow-up to the testing, methods and data will be shared and analyzed to perhaps chart a new course that will more accurately test vehicles on a daily basis for the EPA and the APRF.
Sponsor
U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies Program
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