For the type approval of compression ignition (diesel) and gasoline direct injection vehicles, a particle number (PN) limit of 6 × 1011 p/km is applicable. Diesel vehicles in circulation need to pass a periodical technical inspection (PTI) test, typically every two years, after the first four years of circulation. However, often the applicable smoke tests or on-board diagnostic (OBD) fault checks cannot identify malfunctions of the diesel particulate filters (DPFs). There are also serious concerns that a few high emitters are responsible for the majority of the emissions. For these reasons, a new PTI procedure at idle run with PN systems is under investigation. The correlations between type approval cycles and idle emissions are limited, especially for positive (spark) ignition vehicles. In this study the type approval PN emissions of 32 compression ignition and 56 spark ignition vehicles were compared to their idle PN concentrations from laboratory and on-road tests. The results confirmed that the idle test is applicable for diesel vehicles. The scatter for the spark ignition vehicles was much larger. Nevertheless, the proposed limit for diesel vehicles was also shown to be applicable for these vehicles. The technical specifications of the PTI sensors based on these findings were also discussed.
Keywords: idle; particle number; periodical technical inspection; roadworthiness; vehicle emissions.