Report by the Committee on Motor Vehicle Emissions (1973)

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4. POTENTIAL OF S PARK-IGNI TION INTERNAL -COMBUSTION ENGINES FOR MEETING STANDARDS IN USE 4.1 Introd uc tion S ec tion 3 pres ent ed an eva luat ion of the feas ibi l i ty o f s park­ ignit ion int ernal-comb u s t ion engines pas s ing the cer t i fication t e s t f o r 1 9 7 5 and 1 9 7 6 . Thi s s ec t ion a s s e s s e s the feas ibi l ity of s uch en­ g ines cont inuing to meet the s tandard s in cus tomers ' hand s . In thi s asses sment , the firs t ques t ion to be answered i s the adequacy of the certi ficat ion t e s t to evaluate the emi s s ions p er form­ ance o f vehi c l e s in cus tomers ' hand s . The next ques tion i s the main­ tenance r equi red on prosp ective 1975 - 7 6 cont rol systems to achieve c omp l ianc e in us e . This cal l s for d i sc us s ion of the proc ed ures neces ­ sary t o ens ure proper maintenanc e , namely the nature and feas ib i l i ty o f required t es t ing and maint enance . The lat ter d epend s in turn on the adequacy o f the s ervic e indus try and the intere s t o f s tate govern­ ment a l b odies enact ing required l eg i s lat ion . Perhap s the overrid ing ques t ion is whether ad equate c ons idera tion has b een given to maint en­ anc e in the design of p lanned 1 9 7 6 emis s ion-cont rol sys tems , mo s t o f which invo lve the u s e o f catalytic converters . 4. 2 D i f ferences between C erti fication Te s t and In-Us e Operat ion I t is rel evant t o d i s c u s s here some o f the more signi ficant d i f ferenc es be tween the s tres ses on the emi s s ion-cont ro l sys t em expe­ rienc ed during certification and dur ing normal cus tomer op erat ion . The driving mod es speci fied in the mi l eage-accumulat ion s chedule o f the c erti ficat ion proc edure do not represent al l t h e po s s ib l e mod es encount ered in real l i fe . There are some no t inc lud ed , s uch as s u s ­ tained operat ion at high engine power and long decel erations , that wi l l p rovid e s evere tes ts for emi s s ion-cont r o l systems , especial ly those us ing catalytic converters . Ford b e l i eve s the certi fication t e s t - 69 - Digitized byGoogle 

d riving does not provid e enough mechanical s tres s on the catalys t , e s ­ pecial ly i f th e driving i s c arried o u t on an aut omatical ly operated dynamometer , which i s the usual proc edure for the ac cumulation o f mi le­ age . The vehicles are s topped only for t es t s every 4 , 000 mi les ; in normal u s e , o f c our s e , vehic l e s s t op much more frequent ly . With cata­ lytic sys t ems , catalys t s wi l l heat up and cool down s evera l hund red more t imes in 5 0 , 000 mi les of normal use than in certi fication . The New York C i ty D epartment of Air Resourc es has also point ed out that the certi fication procedure does no t repres ent ac tual driving cond i t ions b ecaus e of ins u f ficient al lowanc e for the effect of acc es sories . S u f fi c i ent data are not ava i l ab l e to ful ly as s es s the effec t s o f low-temperature operation on cataly s t d urab i l i ty . However , in­ creas ed loading on the cataly s t s due to low amb i ent temperatures , as wel l as occasional bout s o f freez ing and thawing , appear to o f fer in­ u s e cond i tions that would lead to the nec es s i ty for more frequent cata­ lys t rep l acement than during the cer t i fication proced ure . The durab i lity phase of th e c erti fication t e s t should be s u f f i ­ c i ent ly demand ing to estab l ish that the emi s s ion-cont rol systems wi l l perform in the hand s o f cus tomers . The allowab l e maint enance in the d urab i lity test - one maj or tuneup in 5 0 , 000 mil es - was s e l ec t ed to make the test tough and reali s t ic . In real life , much more frequent maint enanc e wi l l prob ab ly be nec es s ary to keep 1 9 75 - 1 9 7 6 sys tems within the spec i fied emis s ions level s , and the Ac t (S ec tion 207 {c) (3» requi res the manu fac turers to furni sh wr i t t en maint enance ins truc tions with each new vehi c l e . Manufac turers are in agreement that more maintenance than i s a l lowed in the c erti fication tes t wi l l be nec es sary in ac t ual u s e . This i s s upport ed by the fac t that manufac turers are now requiring more maint enanc e as a cond i t ion o f warranty than they were al lowed in the cer t i fication procedure . In s ummary , the Commi t t e e recogni zes that vehicles in customers ' hand s wi l l not be driven accord ing to the CVS - 1975 test procedure , wi l l - 70 - Digitized by Coogle 

not b e d riven accord ing to the durab i l i ty driving s chedule , and wi l l not receive the maintenance speci fied b y the manufacturer wi thout rigid enforcement proced ures . There fore , s tres s es on the sys t ems may b e s ub ­ s tanti a l ly greater i n c u s t omer u s age than i n c erti fication , and in-use emis s ion leve l s may thus be correspond ingly higher . 4.3 Maintenance Procedures Requi red for 1 9 75 - 7 6 Sys t ems Al though there are no d ata on the deterioration o f the proj ec t ­ ed 1 9 75 - 7 6 control sys tems i n c u s t omer us e , there are d a t a o n the typical deterioration o f emis s ion leve l s from the cars now being d riven . These data provide some l imi ted indication o f the deterioration as a func t ion o f mi leage that can be expected to occur wi th the new sys t ems . Information provided by EPA , Cali forni a , and ARCO on 1 9 7 1 and prior mode l year c ars ind icates a s ub s tantial increa s e in emis s ions in c u s ­ tomer us e . Emi s s i ons were found t o exceed the app licab l e s t andard s a t relat ive ly low mi leage . The mos t comprehensive s urve i l lanc e data on the emi s s ions o f cars i n u s e have been t aken b y the Cali fornia A i r Res ources Board . Data taken between January and March 1 9 7 2 showed that 1 970 mode l year cars , with an average ac cumulation o f 3 2 , 000 mi les , exc�ed the app l i ­ cab l e Cali fornia s tandard s for a l l three pol lutant s b y amount s ranging from 10 to 60 percent . 1 9 7 1 mode l year cars , with an average mi leage accumulation o f only 13 , 000 mi les , exceeded the app licab l e standard s for a t leas t one o f the pol lutants . Cars for thes e model years c onta in nei ther catalys t s nor much o f the o ther comp lex hardware propos ed by mos t manu fac turers for 1 9 75 - 7 6 mode l years . Further , the app licab le s tandard s for Cali fornia for the s e mode l years are many t imes higher than the federal s t andard s for 1 9 75 and 1 9 7 6 . The d ual -catalyst emis s ion- control sys tem proposed by mos t manufac turers for 1 9 7 6 mode l year vehic les i s a far more comp lex sys ­ tem than that u s ed on current vehicles . Involved are a mul t i t ude o f - 71 - Digitized by Coogle 

c ont rol va lves , quick-warm- up systems , control circui t s , etc . , as shown in Figure 3 - 1 . Of al l these component s , the cataly s t s themselves appear to be the least durab le i t ems . Spark p lug mi s fire , s u s tained operat ion at high engine power , and d es c ent down long hi l l s are examples o f s i tu­ ation s that would result in c ata ly s t overheat ing and po s s ib l e fai lure . Such vehic le operat ion and driving mod es wou ld no t occur in the mi leage accumu lat ion speci fied for the c er t i fic at ion t e s t . In add i tion , there appears to be l i t t l e incent ive for the c ar owner t o maint ain the emi s s ion-contro l sys t em . To th e c ontrary , the engine wi l l run more efficient ly and smoothly with s ome element s o f the emi s s ion-control system inoperative . For examp l e , plugging of the EGR sys t em would improve gas mi l eage , al though also increa s e NO emis - x s ions . Increase o f choking t ime wou ld improve vehic le s t art ing charac - teri s t ic s , yet also inc rease c o ld - s tart emi s s ions . The importance o f ad equa te maint enanc e i s recognized in S ection 2 07 (b) ( 2 ) (A) o f the C lean Air Ac t , whi ch requires manu facturers to war ­ rant their emi s s i on-c ontro l sys tems to the purchaser i f the vehic l e or engine is maintained and operated in ac cordanc e wi th the manufac turer ' s ins t ruc t ions , and , in the recal l provi s ions o f S ec t ion 2 07 ( c ) ( l) , which empowers the Admini s trator to reca l l a c las s o f veh i c l e s or engines i f a subs tantial number o f vehi c les i n each c l as s , a l though properly main­ tained and used , do no t conform wi th the s tandard s . The reca l l p rovi ­ s ions could be enforc ed by relat ively frequent analys i s o f emi s s ions from a s amp l e fleet , care ful ly cho s en for appropriate s tat i s tical rep­ res entation . Should these give evidence o f rapid deterioration of the control sys t em , the recal l power provided by S ec tion 207 ( c ) of the Ac t may then be invoked , wi th the manufac turer spec i f i c a l ly enj oined t o rep l ac e defective part s , and t o d e fray the a s s ociated l abor c o s t s a t h i s expens e . In thi s s i t uat ion , the b urd en fal l s not only o n the manu ­ fa c t urer for reca l l and rep a ir , but a l s o on the car owner , for per form­ ing the required rout ine ma intenance and for respond ing to not ific a t ions o f rec a l l . - 72 - Digitized byGoogle 

In order t o achi eve the reduct ion in automot ive emi s s ions ant i ­ c ipated by the C l ean Air Act , i t i s apparent that method s mus t b e pro­ vided for ensuring proper maint enanc e o f the 1 97 5 and 1 9 7 6 emi s s i on­ c ontrol sys tems in pub lic u s e . Method s o f ens uring the required main­ t enance inc lud e : 1. Requiring the s ervic e ind u s t ry to ad j us t each car to manu fac turer ' s spec i fications when performing any maint enanc e . 2. Periodical ly t e s t ing a l l car s and des ignat ing for adj us tment or repair thos e not meeting pre- selected s tandard s . 3. Periodical ly s ub j ec t ing a l l cars to ad j us tment or repair . The firs t method i s bas ed on the prob ab i l i ty that the manu­ fac turer ' s spec i fications for 1 975 - 7 6 vehic les wi l l represent ad j us t ­ ment t o minimum emi s s ions . Mechanic s c urren t ly ad j u s t car s for high per formanc e . I f they cont inue t o do thi s when manufac turers ' spec i fi ­ cations are for low- emi s s ion ad j us tment s , the cars wi l l emit above the standard s . The principal var iations in the second method are related to how much o f the work is done in s tate-owned and how much in privately owned fac i l i ties , the t e s t ing procedure u s ed , tes t ing frequency , pas s / fail s tandard s , provi s ion for retes t ing after repair / ad j us tment , and di spo s i t ion o f vehic les that c annot meet the s t andard s . The signi ficant variat ions in the third method are related to whether the cars are ad j us ted to s ome pre- s elec ted s t andards and whether prevent ive maint enanc e i s inc l uded . Prevent ive maint enanc e may be the bes t feature o f thi s method . Other method s for ens uring the - 73 - Digitized byGoogle 

maint enance o f cars in u s e are p robab ly feasible only i f engineering changes , which do not seem l ike ly by 1 9 7 6 , are mad e . They are : 4. Repair at the t ime o f fai lure o f any important emi s s ion­ control device based on the pres ence of devices that s i gnal the fai lure no t only to the driver b ut a l s o t o the tra f fic o fficer . 5. Repair at the t ime o f fai lure o f any important emi s s ion­ contro l device based on the manufac ture o f contro l sys ­ t ems that no tic eab ly degrad e the veh i c l e performance when an important component fai l s . 6. Pres cribed maintenanc e at predetermined int erval s . Thi s method wou ld require s trict qual i ty contro l o f the manufac turing proces s s o that e s s ent i a l ly every car was held t o a configuration proved to give low emis s i ons in ac tual u s e . 4.4 Adequacy of the Service Indus try 4 .4 . 1 T raining The s ervice i.ndustry at the present t ime i s no t adequate to servic e 1 975 - 7 6 c ars from an emis s ion contro l s tandpo int . Knowledge of the devices , the d iagno s t i c equipment , and the number o f mechanic s are inad equate . The number o f vehicles per mechanic in the country has r i s en from 75 in 1 9 5 0 to 145 in 1 9 7 0 . During the s ame t ime , c ars have b ecome more complex and l e s s repair-oriented in design . The s tates that have s t udied the p rob l em all fee l that training on emis s ion- control devices i s needed and that the s tates should b e respons ib l e for recom­ mend ing s u i t able equipment . New York p l ans to cer t i fy garage s as prop­ er ly equipped for emi s s ion-cont ro l work . Cali fornia licenses mechan­ i c s , and New Jer s ey wi l l depend on the p romi s e of large-vo l ume b u s ine s s - 74 - Digitized byGoogle 

to mo t ivat e the p rivate sector to e s tab l i sh i t s own t raining and l i ­ c ens ing programs . The s ervic e-industry mechanic w i l l have to b e t rained to unders tand and perform repairs and ad j us tment s whether or no t he performs the c omp lete or partial d i agno s i s to i s o late prob lems caus ing exc e s s ive emis s ions . The amount of training wi l l vary s ligh t ly with the degree of s tate c ontro l on mechani c s , but wi l l genera l ly have to be extens ive . 4 .4 . 2 Number o f Mechanic s The number o f mechanics required t o maintain 1 975 - 7 6 emis s ion­ c ontro l sys tems wi l l depend upon the interpretation of the 5 0 , 000-mi le warranty provi s ion of the 1 970 C lean Air Amendment s . I f the new-c ar d eal erships as s ume the respons ibi lity and owners are required to bring their cars into the dealers ' garages for periodic insp ec t ion and main­ t enanc e , a new force o f about 12 , 000 mechani c s per year wil l need t o be trained for the dealers , o n t h e as s ump tion that 1 9 75 - 7 6 control sys ­ t ems wi l l require ab out two hours more per year than now s p ent to per­ form rout ine inspec tion and maint enance . Thi s number of men wi l l need to be add ed each year for about five years i f new-c ar d ealers maintain new cars during war rant ies : i . e . , a new work forc e o f about 6 0 , 000 men wi l l be needed by 1 980 . When warrant ies expire , experienc e has shown that mos t owners wi l l take their cars to garages o ther than new car dealers ; hence , after 1 9 80 , an ind e fini te number of add it ional mechani cs in garages other than new car dealers wi l l need t o b e trained . The numb er o f mechanics needed in the s ervi c e industry i s di fficul t to e s t imate becaus e mos t of them wi l l probab ly work only part time on emis ­ s ion cont ro l . Cali fornia i s the only s tate that l icenses mechanic s to ins tal l and repair emi s s ion-contro l devices at thi s t ime . On ly a few other s tates have p lans to l icense mechanic s . A Northrop study for the S tate o f Cali fornia and a s imi lar s tudy by the State o f New Jer s ey have shown that a s imple indoctrinat ion o f mechanic s i s no t s ufficient to obt ain cos t -e ffec tive emis s ion tune - ups . - 75 - Digitized byGoogle 

4 .4 . 3 Equ ipment The garages in the s ervice industry wi l l need to be s i gni ficant ­ ly upgraded wi th new equipment to per form d iagno s e s and tes t s to deter­ mine i f veh i c l e s need adj us tment or repai r and t o show that the adj u s t ­ ment s and repairs were accomp l i shed . The amount o f equipment need ed wi l l depend partial ly on whether or not the s tate operates inspec t i on s tations and what kind o f ins pect ion tes t the s tate per forms . However , the s tate ins pec t i on sys t em that wou ld s ignificant ly reduc e s ervi c e ­ ind u s t ry equipment requirement s would be one i n which t h e s tate wou ld per form the complete diagno s i s and ins truc t mechanic s on what par t s to rep l ac e . 4.5 S tate Ac tion 4.5 . 1 Inspect i on and Maint enanc e Sys tems S tate government s have been interes ted in inspec tion and main­ t enanc e of mot or vehic l es as a means of reducing exhaus t emis s ions for many year s . For examp l e , the New Jers ey sys tem , put in operation on Ju ly 5 , 1 9 7 2 , is the outgrowth of an inves tigation that s tart ed in 1 9 6 6 . I t shou ld be not ed that even in the New Jer s ey sys t em , which i s the farthes t advanc ed , the features of compu l s o ry maint enanc e wi l l no t b e ins t i t ut ed unt i l July 5 , 1 9 7 3 . The firs t year o f inspect ions i s being u s ed only to educate the pub l ic and e l iminate the di fficulties . C a l i fornia has required a c ert i ficate o f comp l iance from l i ­ c ens ed ins tal lation s tations s ince PCV va lves were firs t required in 1 963 . I d l e - exhaus t measurement for HC and CO is also now done as part of C a l i fornia ' s roads ide s a fety inspec t ion . Cars exceeding ins pection s tandard s mus t b e taken to a l icens ed mechanic for adj us tment , and a notice that the work was d one mus t be returned by mai l . - 76 - Digitized byGoogle 

Thi s int ere s t in inspec tion/maint enanc e sys tems undoub t ed ly aros e from the knowledge that a we l l -maintained car emit s les s p o l lu­ tants . A large impetus toward s uch sys t ems has been add ed by the rea l ­ izat ion that the manufac ture o f cars meeting t h e 1 9 7 5 and 1 9 7 6 federal s tandard s is not sufficient unl e s s some sys t em can be found t o keep the comp lic ated emis s ion-contro l devices operating properly . A survey o f the pres ent s tatus o f the s tate e ffor t s to es tab ­ l i sh inspec tion / maintenanc e sys t ems and an inve s t i gat ion o f the reasons for the l ong - t ime d e l ay in even the mos t ac t ive programs are , there fore , relevant part s o f the Committee ' s inves t igat i on o f method s o f ensuring that the 1975 - 1 9 7 6 cars meet the federal s tand ard s in ac tua l use . C ertain federal act ion or lack thereof has had a not iceab l e e f fect on s tate act ion i n thi s field . The C lean A i r Ac t general ly preempted motor vehic l e emi s s ion control for the fed eral government . Thi s rai s ed s everal prob lems connected wi th the des ign o f s tate sys tems . The f irs t i s a t endency toward de lay ; in the few cases in which a s tate had a lready s tarted the des ign , revi s ion was nec e s s ary and the s tates which had no t s tarted tended to wait for federal ac t i on . Also pertinent are S ec tions 1 1 0 and 2 07 o f the C lean Air Act . S ec t ion 1 10 requires the s tates to submi t a plan for the imp lementation o f the nationa l amb i ent - air qual i ty s tandard s , and S ec tion 207 , deal s speci fical ly wi th mo tor vehic le comp l ianc e . Und er the l a t t er , onc e EPA det ermines that adequate inspec tion procedures are availab le , they are to be es tab lished by regulation . S inc e imp l ementation p l ans are not yet fina l for a l l the s tates , and s ince the determination c a l l ed for by 207 (b) has no t b een mad e , res u l t ing uncertainty inevi tab ly l eads to delays in program planning by the s tates . The s elec t ion o f the mos t s ui t ab l e method for a s tate system dep end s not only on the engineering approach final ly adopted by the manufac t urers and on the test proc ed ure designated by EPA , but a l s o - 77 - Digitized byGoogle 

on whether the method i s t o be used only to minimi z e emis s ions or a l so to enforce the warranty on ind ividual veh i c l es . I f the purpo s e i s only t o minimiz e emis s ions , periodic repair / ad j us tment o f al l cars inc lud ing prevent ive maintenance i s a pos sible choi c e . This approach would require no special inspec tion fac i l it i es owned by the s tate , but i t would require c areful survei l lance o f pri ­ vat e ly owned garages and add i t ional equipment in thes e garages . Requiring the garages to adj us t each car to manufac turer ' s spec i fications when performing any maint enance al s o does not require s tate -owned fac i l i t i es but does require c lo s e s upervi s ion . Preventive maintenanc e could be part o f thi s method and , with th i s add i t ion , thi s method only d i f fers from the one firs t d i sc us s ed by b eing vo luntary ins tead of mandatory . Periodi c inspec tion o f al l cars with measurement of the exhaust emi s s ions and compul s ory ad j us tment or repair o f thos e cars that have emis s i ons exc eeding pre- s e t s t andard s i s the method usua l ly meant by an inspec t i on/maint enance syst em . However , tes t s other than emis s ions measurements can be u s ed for inspec tion in thi s method . I t i s normal ly thought o f as occurring annual ly at the t ime o f l i cense renewa l . This sys tem can be operated on three bases : inspec t ion and repair / ad j us tment in s tate fac i l i t ies , inspect i on in s t ate fac i l ities and repair / adj us t ­ ment in privately owned garages , and inspec tion and repair / ad j us tment in privately owned garages l ic ensed or franchis ed by the s tate . The s econd o f the three choices i s the u sual one princ ipal ly becau s e of the pub li c d i s trus t of the s ervi c e indus try , whi ch caus es the pub l i c to pre­ fer inspec tion by the s tate . The firs t one is not chos en because o f the reluctance o f the s tate t o compete wi th private ent erpri s e and b e ­ cause o f the many comp lications connected wi th building s tate-owned repair fac i lities . - 78 - Digitized byGoogle 

I f the method s e l ec ted mus t a l s o inc l ude enforc ement o f the individual car warranty , it wi l l be bui l t around a tes t yet to be speci fied by EPA . I t i s usua l ly a s s umed that thi s wi l l be s ome type o f short emis s ions t es t , but S ection 207 (b) of the Ac t wou ld a l l ow the Adminis trator to dec ide that func t ional tes ts on the components corre­ la ted reas onably wel l with the res u l t s of the CVS -CH te s t . I t i s c on­ c eivable that the s e tes t s c ould be done in privately owned fac i l i t i e s \ ' b u t t h e quas i - o f ficial nature o f t h e warranty test and i t s cons equence s make a s tate -owned inspection l an e t h e mo r e obvious choice . I f the method inc lud e s enforc ement o f the warranty , EPA wi l l provide the appropriate tes t ; i f not , there i s wide latitud e . D iagnos ­ tic t e s t s wi l l b e part o f any sys tem, s ince such t e s t s and repair/ adj us tment canno t be s eparated , and repair by mechanic s i s the only operation that provides a direct emis s ion reduc t ion . Inspec tion lane s s e l ec t the vehicles needing ad j us tment o r repai r but otherwi s e do noth ­ ing t o reduce emi s s ions unles s the res u l t s as s i s t or control the me­ chani c s making the repairs . Inspect ion lanes c an as s i s t and control the mechanic s in one or mor e o f the fo l lowing ways : 1. Detect vehic l es with exces s ive emis sions (need ing repairs ) . 2. Detec t vehi cles with exce s s ive emis s i ons and give a partial d iagno s i s to help the mechanic s get s t arted . 3. Provide a c omp l ete diagno s i s o f repairs ' needed on vehic l e s wi th exces s ive emi s s i ons ; and 4. Ins ure that repairs are comp lete and correc t . - 79 - Digitized byGoogle 

A s tudy by Northrop Corporation for the S tate o f Cali fornia found that a sched u l e of d i agnos tic tes t s was not a c o s t - e f fec t ive approach to the emi s s ion control of u s ed c ars . The s tudy showed that exhau s t - emi s s ion t e s t s by a s hort dynamometer t e s t (Key Mode) or an i d l e t e s t gave part ial diagno s t ic information and was more cos t- effec ­ t ive . Par t ial diagnostic informa t i on was given to the repai r mechanic to as s i s t him in the final diagno s i s . The Key Mode and i d l e approach were reasonab ly e ffec t ive for c orrecting the maj or emis s ions prob l ems in u s ed cars . They may no t b e adequate for cont ro l l ing 1975 - 1 9 7 6 c ar s to much l ower emis s ion leve l s b ec aus e there i s not y e t availab l e a short test that i s prec i s e enough t o give a pas s or fai l that i s meaning ful in terms o f meeting 1 9 7 5 - 1 9 7 6 s t andard s . 1 9 7 5 - 1 9 7 6 cars wi l l require a much more thorough d iagnos i s of the comp l e te emis s ion contro l sys t em . Diagno s tic tes t s could b e u s eful i n inspect ion lanes i f they provided comp l e t e information on engine and contro l - sy s t em fai l ures and operation . Thi s c ould be accomp l ished by an automatic and com­ puteri z ed di agnos t i c c ons o le , programme d t o accomp lish quickly and inexpens ive ly one or b oth o f the fo l l owing : 1. Funct ional t e s t s showing that the engine and / or the contro l sys t em are not wi thin speci fications where it i s known that the comb ined sy s tem wi l l meet the s tandard s . 2. D i agno s t ic tes t s showing what parts need t o b e checked and / or rep l aced . The mechanic s in the s ervi ce ind u s t ry could be trained t o und er s tand and u s e t h e information s upp l i ed b y the inspec t ion- lane diagno s e s . - 80 - Digitized byGoogle 

4 5 .2 . D i agno s tic Tes t s at Garage s The fac i l i t ies and equipment o f garages can be upgraded to per­ form diagno s t ic t e s t s at period ic int erva l s . The advant age o f thi s approach i s that the mechani cs accomp l i shing the repairs would have firs t -hand knowledge of the diagno s t i c t e s t resul ts . D i s advant ages o f thi s approach for 1 9 7 6 vehic l es are : 1. Func t ional NO catalyst act ivi ty tes t s and NO X X analyzers have not yet been d eveloped to diagno s e NO controls . I t may be po s s ib l e to check the X act ivity o f a reduc tion cataly s t in the oxid i z ing mode . 2. The eng ines may need to be load ed in ord er t o produce enough N O for a meaning fu l tes t . X 4.5 .3 S e l ec t ion of Repair /Adj us tment S tandard s S ince the ob j ect of an inspec t ion / maint enance system i s to reduce the total amount of po l lutant s emi tted to the atmo s phere , there is a s t rong incentive to require repair and ad j ustment for a high p er­ centage o f the cars found to be over s tand ard s . However , as more and more car s are ad j us ted / repaired , the gain in ai r qua l i ty per d o l lar spent d ecreases ; i . e . , the c o s t effec t ivenes s dec reas es . With prac t i ­ c a l and cos t cons iderat ions thus l imit ing t h e number o f cars s ent for ad j us tment and repair , the maximum emi s s ions reduct ion is to be achi eved by adj u s t ing only thos e cars whose emi s s ions are c l ear ly high and leav­ ing a lone thos e below or near the s a t i s fac tory l evel . The percentage o f cars s ent for ad j u s tment / repair mus t b e con­ s id ered with great care also becau s e it inc reas es the l oad on both the s ervice industry and the ins pec t ion l anes and becau s e a high perc entage of re-rej ec tions wi l l des troy pub l i c support , which is so import ant . - 81 - Digitized byGoogle 

Wi th the pre s ent s tate of the servic e indus try , a s i zab l e p ercentage o f c a r s wi l l not meet t h e s t andard s after t h e fir s t repair / ad j u s tment i f the l eve l s are s trict . In addition there i s a shortage o f mechanics o f even reasonab l e training . I f t h e s tandard s are s e t t o s end a high per ­ c ent age of c ars for repair / ad j us tment , the numb er o � :,c � rs that cannot _ � meet the s tandard s wi thout c o s t ly repairs wi l l b e s large that it wi l l again affec t pub l ic s uppor t . 4.5.4 Timing and C o s t o f Inspection Fac i l ities The t ime and cos t requi red to s et up inspec t ion fac i l i ties d ep end s to a large extent on the amount and type o f related fac i l it i e s that are already ava i l ab l e . Three c as e s wi l l b e cons idered : 1. S a fety - insp ec t i on fac i l i ties are al ready avai l ab l e and emis s i ons t e s t ing can b e added to s uch fac i l it i es . 2. Proper ly contro l led , private ly owned s ervice fac i l i ­ t ies a r e ava i l ab le , wi th emis s ions t e s t ing d one a t s uch fac i l i ties . 3. Neither cond i t i on 1 or condit ion 2 exi s t s and in­ spec t ion fac i lit ies mus t be b ui l t . New Jer s ey i s an examp l e o f the fir s t s i tuation and it has p roved relat ively easy from a phy s ical s tandpoint to add emis s i ons tes t ing t o the s tate-owned s a fety- inspec tion lanes . For the idle t e s t that they are us ing , equipment costs are about $ 2 , 000 per l ane . On the a s s ump t ion that l egi s lat ive authority already exi s t s , it should be pos s ib l e to put emi s s ions t e s t ing in operat ion in one year . Extra manpower required would be one p er l ane . No meaningful e s t imate o f operat ing or cap i ta l co s ts chargeab l e to the emi s s ions tes t ing i s pos s ib l e becau s e o f shared cos t s . Time and cos t would both increas e i f the t e s t ing were a l s o intended to enforc e the federal ind ividual car warranty . - 82 - Digitized by Coogle 

C al i fornia could b e an examp le o f the s econd s i t uat ion s inc e they l i c en s e Grad e A mechanic s for various spec i a l t i e s inc lud ing emis ­ s i on-control d evice s . The time requi red in this c a s e should a l s o not exceed one year . C o s t s for add ed equipment would again b e about $ 2 , 000 per s tation for an id l e tes t . Operat ing c o s t s wou ld b e mixed wi th ad j us tment and repair cos t s and , cons equent ly , a s eparate e s timate i s prob ab ly o f ques t ionab le meaning . The third s ituat ion has been s tudi ed in cons id erab l e detai l by Northrop-Ol s on Laboratories and a l s o by TRW . B ecau s e of the cond i tions a s s umed in this s tudy , the co s t resul t s mus t be qua l i fied al though the results do give a good indication of the range t o be expec t ed . The land , s tructure , and equipment wi l l cos t from $ 23 , 000 to $ 6 0 , 000 per inspec t ion lane , with a maj or por tion o f the d i f ferenc e in c o s t cau s ed by the pre s enc e or ab s ence o f dynamomet er equipment . The s e numb ers are approximately confirmed by the TRW s tudy which es t imated $44 , 000 to $ 5 2 , 000 per lane for dynamometer -equipped faci l it i e s . D i f ferent tes t s not only u s e di fferent equipment but they a l s o have d i fferent through­ put s per l ane . Based on these fac tors , the cost o f land , s truc ture , and equip­ ment on a one -inspec tion-per-year bas i s is between $ 1 . 30 and $ 8 . 80 per car when calculated for C a l i fornia ' s population di s tribut ion and 10 mi l l ion cars . Operat ing c o s t s in 1 9 7 6 would be between $ 1 . 20 and $ 4 . 00 per car per year, again under C a l i fornia c ond itions . The original cap i t a l cos t s are a sma l l frac t ion o f thi s and they are inc l uded wi th s truc ­ t ures amor t i z ed over 2 0 years and equipment over 5 to 10 year s . Training t ime for personne l would b e between 90 and 180 hour s per man , which inc l udes 40 hours c las sroom training . - 83 - Digitized byGoogle 

Again on the as s umption that l egi s l at ive authority already exi s ted , it wou ld probab ly take 1 . 5 to 2 years to ac quire l and , erect and equip the bui lding s , and train pers onne l . At least one year mus t be add ed to any o f the above t ime s chedules i f l egi s lative au thori ty does not already exi s t . Even more t ime mus t b e add ed i f an operational p l an does no t exis t ; wi tnes s the New Jer s ey and New York experienc e s . A s tate j ust s tart ing would probab ly be fortunate t o have a ful ly op­ erat ional inspec t ion sy s t em in 4 year s . In s ummary , only few s tates have any s emb l ance o f a t e s ting / inspec t ion sys t em that wou ld be adequate to ens ure comp l ianc e in u s e . Most s tates do not even have p l ans for s uch sys tems . The pre s ent s er­ vic e indus try is inad equa te to maint ain the comp l ex emi s s i on - c ontrol hardware cal led for with the dua l - c atalys t sys tem p l anned for u s e in 1975 - 7 6 . With thi s pes s imi s t ic apprai s a l of fea s ib i l ity , it is we l l to c ons ider alternate approaches . 4.6 Inc orporation of Maint enanc e Cons iderations in Emi s s ion­ Control Sys tem Des ign The pes s imi s tic apprai s a l of the feas ib i lity o f vehic l e s equipped with dual -cataly s t c ontr o l sys tems meet ing t h e s t andard s in cus tomer use is ind ic a t ive o f a lack of cons iderat ion of maint enance in the des ign o f s uch systems . From the data pres ent ed in S ect ion 3 , i t appear s that s everal sys t ems o ffer maintenanc e advant ages over the dual-catalyst sys t em , a l though the l ow-mil eage emis s ions o f s uch sy s ­ tems , o n experimental vehic l es , may no t c urrent ly b e a s low a s tho s e of the dual-cata ly s t sys t em . The three-valve carbureted s trati fied -charge engine and the Wanke l engine with thermal reactor show potential for l ow emi s s i ons wi thout the use o f c atalys t s . HC and CO deteriorat ion factors for the former , at 1975 l eve l s and as meas ured on the federal driving cyc le , are cons id erably l es s than tho s e from catalys t - equipped vehic les . - 84 - Digitized byGoogle 

Deve lopment work is requ ired on the engine to reduce NO emis s ions to X 0 . 4 grams per mil e ; however , s uch a deve l o pment e ffor t would s eem we l l wor thwh i l e due t o the po tential o f the eng ine for reduced maintenance and improved performance in use over the dual- cataly s t sys tem. Sys tems emp loying prec i s e c ontro l of air- fuel ratio wi th a feedback loop , d is c us s ed in Sec tion 3 . 6 , have s everal pos s ib le maint en­ ance advant ages . S inc e an air- fuel rat io near s toichiometry resul t s i n a lmo s t op timum performanc e , the s erious p er formanc e and fue l pena l ­ t ies inherent in o ther N O - c ontro l method s would b e e l iminated ; the X advantage , from the owner ' s viewpoint , o f an inoperat ive cont rol sys tem would be removed . In fac t , any mal funct ion o f this sys tem might eas i ly degrad e vehic l e performance s o that the owner would b e encouraged to get the emi s s ion-c ontro l sys tem fixed . S ince s uch a feedback l oop makes the engine e s s ent ially s e l f­ tuning , thi s approach should a l s o e l iminate a large frac tion of the inherent variab i l i ty between ind ividua l vehic les that results from manu­ fac turing t o leranc e s . Pos s ib ly a l s o , operational variab i l ities that res u l t from variations in driving hab i t s , fue l cons umption , atmospheric parameters , and induc t i on- sys tem deterioration would be largely e l imina­ ted . Thus a larger frac t ion of cars would operate as des igned and emi t l e s s pol lutant s . Exc e s s ive catalys t temperature caus ed by the s imul taneous pre­ s enc e o f exces s oxygen and large amount s o f combus t ib les would be eliminated s inc e nei ther rich mixtures nor s econd ary air i s required . Fina l ly , s inc e the sys tem inc ludes an e l ec tronic c ont r o l c i rcuit , in­ s ta l l a t ion of s igna l s for ma lfunc t i ons shou ld b e relatively easy . 4.7 S unmary Emi s s ions o f 1975 - 7 6 vehi c l e s in customer usage can be expected to b e greater than tho s e meas ured during cer t i f ication . Becaus e of the - 85 - Digitized byGoogle 

add ed emi s s ion c ontro l s , mo s t veh i c l e c onfigurations proposed for these years wi l l require more maintenanc e than at p res ent . For a l l sys tems , s ome add i t ional ins pec tion and maintenance w i l l b e nec es s ary to a s s ure that the vehic les are mee ting s tandard s in us e . S ome l egal enforcement proc ed ures wi l l b e required to as s ure that neces s ary inspec tion and maint enance are per formed ; o therwi s e , vehic les w i l l very l ikely exceed the emis s ion s tandard s in u s e . The s ervice ind u s t ry at the pres ent t ime i s not adequate to s ervic e the 1975 - 7 6 cars from an emi s s ions s tandpoint . On ly few s tates have a s emb l ance o f a tes ting / inspec t i on sys tem for emis s ions that would be adequate to ens ure comp l iance in u s e . A basic prob lem i n e s t ab l i shing t echno logical feas ib i lity i s that maintenanc e cons iderat ions have no t been given ad equate a t t enti on in des ign . The three-valve c arburet ed s trat i fied - charge engine , Wankel wi th the rmal reac tor , and catalytic sys tem with exhaus t s ensors and feedback control s eem to have far more potent ial for ach ieving l ow emi s s ions i n u s e than t h e dua l -cataly s t system current ly being proposed by mos t manufac turers for the 1 9 7 6 model year . - 86 - Digitized byGoogle