Bath University CLEVeR at measuring vehicle emissions

Bath University has unveiled its new Centre for Low Emission Vehicle Research (CLEVeR). And what timing – automated vehicle testing has never been so newsworthy. And yes, it will help measure vehicle emissions (both diesel and petrol engines) while taking into account different driver behaviours.

The aim is to bridge the gap between the lab and the real world by allowing vehicles to be analysed in a series of real-world driving conditions, but within a precisely controlled laboratory environment.

Features of the centre include a climatically controlled temperature range of -10°C to +50°C, humidity control, a road speed fan for representative vehicle cooling of the full powertrain system, and a Chassis Dynamometer. A 4WD AVL RoadSimTM 48-in Chassis Dynamometer, to be precise.

The spec of the “rollling road” Chassis Dynamometer is:

200kW max total continuous power with 250kW short term 10s overload.
Maximum axle load of 2000kg.
AVL ‘4×2’ motor-in-the-middle chassis dynamometer configuration.
Class-leading, low-parasitic losses, fast response time, high force accuracy and high precision.
Inertia simulation range 2WD: 454 to 2722kg, 4WD: 800 to 2722kg.
Maximum tractive force ~6kN with ~10kN short term overload.
Automatic vehicle centering, heated load cells and rotating trunion bearings.
Bleyer rigid vehicle restraint system with vehicle position monitoring.

Vehicle emissions

The facility will measure vehicle emissions taking into account driver behaviours

According to the university:

This ground breaking CLEVeR facility has far reaching experimental capabilities. In addition to the four wheel drive dynamometer, the facility is able to analyse vehicle performance at a range of temperatures (from -10ºC through to +50ºC), vary the humidity of the driving conditions, and carry out state-of-the-art emission measurements, ensuring that the emissions from cars out on the open road are not different to those established by traditional laboratory analysis.

This is essential with EU targets for automotive emissions demanding a 40 per cent reduction in CO2 by 2020, based on 2007 levels.

As you might expect, the University of Bath specialises in automotive research. CLEVeR is now the flagship facility within the University’s Powertrain & Vehicle Research Centre (PVRC), part of the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

It is the result of a £1.8m equipment funding award from the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), and £600,000 of funding from the university itself.

“This unique new facility will open avenues of automotive research that were not previously possible,” said Professor Gary Hawley, lead investigator for CLEVeR and Dean of the University of Bath’s Faculty of Engineering & Design.

“We have established a platform where fundamental academic research can be undertaken alongside applied industry investigations in a world-class environment. CLEVeR will address many of the future research challenges associated with current and future low and ultra-low carbon vehicles under real world driving conditions.”

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