Development of a constant dilution sampling system for particulate and gaseous pollutant measurements

This paper presents a new concept of a partial flow sampling system (PFSS), involving a two-stage diluter which operates on the principle of underpressure, while exhaust is sampled through a capillary. Due to the low flowrate through the capillary, the diluter may be sampling from a freely exhausting tailpipe and is not prone to pressure variations in the exhaust line. In addition, the PFSS operates at constant pressure conditions even upstream of diesel particle filters that increase the backpressure in the tailpipe. As a result, the PFSS offers a constant dilution ratio (DR) over any engine or vehicle operation condition. This study presents the diluter concept and a straightforward model developed to calculate the DR, depending on the dilution air flowrate and the diluter underpressure. The model is validated using CO₂ as a trace gas, and very good agreement is demonstrated between the calculated and the measured DR values. Following validation, the PFSS is combined with aerosol measurement instruments to measure the exhaust particle concentration of a diesel engine operating at different steady-state modes. For demonstrating the stability of the DR and applicability of the PFSS, measurements are conducted with both heavy duty and light duty diesel exhaust gases. Future applications of this device include gas and particle exhaust measurements both in laboratory environments and on-board vehicles.