Sensors licensing EPA emission measurement technology

3 July 2003

Saline, MI-based Sensors Inc. signed a five-year licensing agreement with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to employ EPA’s patented technology which combines independent exhaust flow measurement with gaseous emissions measurements, to determine mass emissions from both gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles.

Sensors has previously developed instruments for determining the mass emissions of vehicles under real-world operating conditions, using information provided by a vehicle’s electronic control module (ECM) in combination with gaseous emissions measurement at the tailpipe. License of the EPA technology will permit the measurement of exhaust flow on vehicles not equipped with ECMs. In addition, an independent measurement of exhaust gas flow can provide valuable information for regulatory agencies, as well as for development engineers who need to validate information provided by the vehicle’s ECM.

Sensors has started the development of a new instrument that would meet EPA requirements, which is called the SEMTECH Electronic Flow Measurement (EFM) system. It utilizes exhaust mass flow measurement technology supplied to Sensors under an exclusive, five-year agreement by EPIQ Sensor-Nite, B.V. The working principle of the EFM is similar to that of a hot wire anemometer, with a sensor module consisting of two ceramic elements mounted inside a stainless steel tube. An electronic control module manages the system, communicating via RS232 communication link to a host PC. Both modules have been designed to meet the demands and environmental conditions of in-use vehicle testing.

Source: Sensors Inc.