Beginning in October 2006, SwRI will benchmark three light heavy-duty diesel engines from pickup trucks including the Cummins ISB used by Dodge, the Isuzu Duramax used in Chevrolet and GMC models, and the International PowerStroke V8 offered by Ford. Four heavy heavy-duty diesel engines will also be evaluated: the Caterpillar C15, Cummins ISX, Volvo D13 and DDC Series 60.

The data sets for these engines will include a 200-point steady-state performance, heat rejection and gaseous emissions map; 22 speed/load points with combustion and particulate data; European Stationary Cycle (ESC) and US FTP transient testing; constant-speed step load transient response tests; engine teardown; and cylinder head flowbench evaluations.

Additional engines of interest may be added later in the year. The program already includes data from 10 previously benchmarked heavy-duty diesel engines.

Diesel engine manufacturers are responding to the new EPA regulations by incorporating new exhaust aftertreatment systems compatible with ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel. These engines are expected to be quite different from their predecessors that met 2004 EPA regulations. It will be interesting to see how each OEM [original engine manufacturer] has addressed the fuel economy issue.

We are looking at these engines because they represent a new level of emissions control technology. Currently, engine manufacturers individually perform competitive engine benchmarking. SwRI’s program offers a cost-effective method for obtaining reliable data by pooling resources.

—Mike Ross, SwRI program manager

SwRI also manages the Clean Diesel IV Consortium, the primary objective of which is to reduce oxides of nitrogen (NO_x) to 0.2 g/hp-hr and particulates to 0.01 g/hp-hr. A secondary objective is to achieve US Tier 2 / Bin 5 emission standards for light-duty vehicles.