David explained his role and involvement with regards to the seminar, critical engineering challenges, what he is looking forward to at the event and why it is important for industry professionals to attend.
Q: Could you briefly explain your role, involvement and experience with regards to emissions testing?
David Sykes (DS): My role within Ricardo Energy and Environment is as a senior consultant specialising in particle science and measurement, but also helping in many air quality tasks within our busy consultancy. My main focus is calibrating engine particle emissions equipment, chiefly for one customer, however we have at least four such worldwide customers who rely on us to provide UKAS / ISO 170205 calibration for this type of equipment. I also do some roadside calibration work, ratification of AQ data, provide bioaerosol measurements and expertise, and work on SO2 and CO2 emissions inventories.
Q: What is the main challenge facing the industry at the moment regarding emissions testing?
DS: Apart what this seminar is focusing on, I believe the industry needs to look at sub 23nm particles in more detail, and I am aware of several collaborative projects that are working to measure particle sizes down to 10nm in size. I know equipment design and methodology for this are challenging, especially considering losses and equipment ability to measure well at these sizes.
Q: What is the most exciting development in improving emissions testing at the moment, either within your company or in the industry in general?
DS: The recognition of the vital role played by standardisation of instrumentation, measurement methods and QC conventions, along with the international collaboration and openness to enable it to be achieved.
Q: What do you think is the most important factor to consider when carrying out emissions testing?
DS: Being able to calibrate to a standard and ensuring accreditation is adhered to. We find our customers value our ISO 17025 and UKAS accreditation.
Q: What do you think is the biggest challenge facing those involved with emissions testing and how do you think it can be overcome?
DS: As noted above sub 23nm particles measurement, but this is being dealt with as an industry-wide development program. Otherwise, the departure from static measurement of emissions and use of Portable Emissions Measurement systems (PEMs) is challenging, especially considering the data from PEMs needs to be as reliable and correlated with the data obtained from static systems. Reliable calibration is a good start to solving these issues but understanding the sampling process is essential to overcoming this challenge.
Q: Why do you think it is important for industry professionals to attend this seminar?
DS: As well as giving a background to RDE and WLTP, the variety of speakers and topics will help professionals attending gain a greater understanding of the many difficulties and challenges in this area.
Reducing Driving Emissions: Ensuring Compliance with RDE and WLTP will take place on 9 July 2019 at One Birdcage Walk, London.
Join this seminar to:
- Hear from experts in emissions testing including the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA), McLaren Automotive, HORIBA MIRA, Volvo Group, MAHLE Powertrain, Ricardo Energy & Environment, University of Bath and Cambustion
- Mitigate risk of testing failure of your vehicles by developing best practice in preparing for and carrying out emissions testing
- Learn more about cutting-edge technology and testing techniques to make your testing procedures more efficient
- Prepare for testing cars of the future with the growth of hybrid and electric vehicles leading to further regulatory changes
- Discuss management of emissions testing challenges with OEMs, testing facilities, regulators, testing solution providers and academic institutions
To book your place, please visit www.imeche.org/emissions.