Emission test cycle

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An emission test cycle is a protocol contained in an emission standard to allow repeatable and
comparable measurement of exhaust emissions for different engines or vehicles. Test cycles
specify the specific conditions under which the engine or vehicle is operated during the emission
test. There are many different test cycles issued by various national and international
governments and working groups.[1] Specified parameters in a test cycle include a range
of operating temperature, speed, and load. Ideally these are specified so as to accurately and
realistically represent the range of conditions under which the vehicle or engine will be operated
in actual use. Because it is impractical to test an engine or vehicle under every possible
combination of speed, load, and temperature, this may not actually be the case. [2] Vehicle and
engine manufacturers may exploit the limited number of test conditions in the cycle by
programming their engine management systems to control emissions to regulated levels at the
specific test points contained in the cycle, but create a great deal more pollution under conditions
experienced in real operation but not represented in the test cycle. This results in real emissions
higher than the standards are supposed to allow, undermining the standards and public health. [3][4]

Application[edit]
Emission test cycles are typical tests for research and development activities on engines at
automobile OEMs.
The commonly used hardware platforms therefore are:

 engine test stand - for just a single engine

 vehicle test stand (also "chassis dynamometer" or "chassis dyno" or "emission dyno") -
for the complete car with engine

 ASM Test - Accelerated Simulation Mode: (California inspections) Vehicles tested at 15

MPH & 25 MPH where vehicle undergoes a load.