Space Industry and Business News  
See What You're Spewing As You Speed Along

The team measured the emissions produced by a Rover K-series car engine mounted on a test bed - but they have also taken the process outside the laboratory and measured exhaust emissions in passing vehicles.
by Staff Writers
Manchester UK (SPX) Aug 06, 2007
In future drivers may only have to glance at the dashboard to see the pollution spewing out of their vehicle's exhausts. A team from The University of Manchester has constructed a laser measuring device capable of recording levels of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and methane from directly inside an exhaust. Once optimised, the process could be incorporated into onboard diagnostic systems that would monitor emissions as vehicles drive along - and potentially help people reduce their emissions by adjusting their driving style.

Reporting in the Optical Society of America's journal Applied Optics, academics claim this approach is faster and more sensitive than the extractive techniques normally used to monitor emissions.

In an MOT test, for example, exhaust emissions are extracted into a box while the engine is idling and the gases present are then measured.

The University of Manchester team employed a device known as a 'near-IR diode laser sensor' to measure the variation in gas concentration during changes in the operating conditions of a Rover engine, such as increasing and decreasing the throttle, adjusting the air to fuel ratio, and start-up.

"This is the first instance of this type of near-IR diode laser sensor being used directly in the exhaust of a static internal combustion engine to measure emissions," said Dr Philip Martin, one of the paper's authors.

The team say the components for the device are readily available and the near-IR technology allows highly accurate readings to be taken and also cuts out interference.

In the studies reported in Applied Optics, the near-IR device used two diode lasers operating at different frequencies; one detecting carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide and the other detecting methane.

The team measured the emissions produced by a Rover K-series car engine mounted on a test bed - but they have also taken the process outside the laboratory and measured exhaust emissions in passing vehicles.

"Components handling the high sensitivity and robustness required to apply this approach in the real world are only now becoming available," added Dr Martin. "We have already constructed a battery-powered roadside unit using the same technology, employing rugged and robust telecommunications components."

The next steps will be to fully quantify the technique and add additional lasers for other key emissions such as nitrogen oxide, nitrogen dioxide and specific hydrocarbons.

Related Links
University of Manchester
Car Technology at SpaceMart.com



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


Toyota To Test Electric Plug-In Hybrid Prius Cars
San Francisco (AFP) Jul 27, 2007
Toyota announced this week a partnership with the University of California to road test two plug-in hybrid cars, a step toward getting the fuel-efficient vehicles to consumers. The study to be launched this fall will be the first time a major automaker puts the experimental cars on US roads. UC Berkeley will analyze the behavior of the drivers, and UC Irvine will study air quality and energy use.







  • Satellite Multimedia For Mobile Phones
  • Vizada Launches SkyFile Access For Better Mobile Satellite Data Transfer
  • Bringing Mobile Cellular Phones To The Skyways
  • Rockwell Collins And ARINC Sign Agreement For Broadband Offering

  • A Double Transfer At The Spaceport For The Next Two Ariane 5 Launchers
  • European Automated Space Truck Arrive At South American Spaceport
  • India Plans To Double Satellite Launches Within Five Years
  • Spaceway 3 Is Delivered To The Spaceport For Its Mid-August Ariane 5 Launch

  • Boeing Flies Blended Wing Body Research Aircraft
  • Steering Aircraft Clear Of Choppy Air
  • EAA AirVenture 2007
  • Sensors May Monitor Aircraft For Defects Continuously

  • Northrop Grumman Tests Airborne Networking System For Aeronautical and Land Vehicular Broadband Services
  • TSAT Teams Submit Production Proposals To US Air Force
  • LockMart And Northrop Grumman TSAT Team Announces Partnership With Juniper Networks
  • Northrop Grumman Wins Production Contract For E-2D Advanced Hawkeye

  • Bridges Too Far As Infrastructure Ages Across The Old West
  • Lockheed Martin Completes Key End-To-End Test Of Space Based Infrared System
  • Nanotech Clay Armour Creates Fire Resistant Hard Wearing Latex Emulsion Paints
  • Russia To Have Integrated Radar System By 2010

  • Senior Official Of Energia Space Appointed President
  • New SIDC Commander Has The Wright Stuff
  • NASA Administrator Names Ryschkewitsch As New Chief Engineer
  • Hall Appoints Feeney To Top GOP Position On Space And Aeronautics Subcommittee

  • Mapping Mountains From Space With GOCE
  • ESA Mission Highlighted At Remote Sensing Conference
  • Ball Aerospace Prepares To Ship WorldView I
  • Third Sino-Brazilian EO Satellite To Be Launched By October

  • ShoZu One-Click Image Upload Service To Be Embedded In Samsung Handsets
  • T-Mobile Austria Customers Can Now Avoid Becoming Lost With GPS SatNav From TeleNav
  • Cell Phones And PDAs Revolutionize How Consumers Find Homes On REALTOR.com
  • Salco Technologies Obtains Intrinsically Safe UL913 Certifications For Remote Monitoring Equipment

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright Space.TV Corporation. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space.TV Corp on any Web page published or hosted by Space.TV Corp. Privacy Statement