1
|
Huang Y, Ng ECY, Zhou JL, Surawski NC, Lu X, Du B, Forehead H, Perez P, Chan EFC. Impact of drivers on real-driving fuel consumption and emissions performance. Sci Total Environ 2021; 798:149297. [PMID: 34332382 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2021] [Revised: 07/22/2021] [Accepted: 07/23/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Eco-driving has attracted great attention as a cost-effective and immediate measure to reduce fuel consumption significantly. Understanding the impact of driver behaviour on real driving emissions (RDE) is of great importance for developing effective eco-driving devices and training programs. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the performance of different drivers using a portable emission measurement system. In total, 30 drivers, including 15 novice and 15 experienced drivers, were recruited to drive the same diesel vehicle on the same route, to minimise the effect of uncontrollable real-world factors on the performance evaluation. The results show that novice drivers are less skilled or more aggressive than experienced drivers in using the accelerator pedal, leading to higher vehicle and engine speeds. As a result, fuel consumption rates of novice drivers vary in a slightly greater range than those of experienced drivers, with a marginally higher (2%) mean fuel consumption. Regarding pollutant emissions, CO and THC emissions of all drivers are well below the standard limits, while NOx and PM emissions of some drivers significantly exceed the limits. Compared with experienced drivers, novice drivers produce 17% and 29% higher mean NOx and PM emissions, respectively. Overall, the experimental results reject the hypothesis that driver experience has significant impacts on fuel consumption performance. The real differences lie in the individual drivers, as the worst performing drivers have significantly higher fuel consumption rates than other drivers, for both novice and experienced drivers. The findings suggest that adopting eco-driving skills could deliver significant reductions in fuel consumption and emissions simultaneously for the worst performing drivers, regardless of driving experience.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yuhan Huang
- Centre for Green Technology, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia.
| | - Elvin C Y Ng
- Centre for Green Technology, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia; Jockey Club Heavy Vehicle Emissions Testing and Research Centre, Vocational Training Council, Hong Kong, China
| | - John L Zhou
- Centre for Green Technology, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia.
| | - Nic C Surawski
- Centre for Green Technology, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia
| | - Xingcai Lu
- Key Laboratory for Power Machinery and Engineering of M.O.E., Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Bo Du
- SMART Infrastructure Facility, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia
| | - Hugh Forehead
- SMART Infrastructure Facility, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia
| | - Pascal Perez
- SMART Infrastructure Facility, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia
| | - Edward F C Chan
- Centre for Green Technology, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia; Faculty of Science and Technology, Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Huang Y, Lei C, Liu CH, Perez P, Forehead H, Kong S, Zhou JL. A review of strategies for mitigating roadside air pollution in urban street canyons. Environ Pollut 2021; 280:116971. [PMID: 33774541 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.116971] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2021] [Revised: 03/02/2021] [Accepted: 03/16/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Urban street canyons formed by high-rise buildings restrict the dispersion of vehicle emissions, which pose severe health risks to the public by aggravating roadside air quality. However, this issue is often overlooked in city planning. This paper reviews the mechanisms controlling vehicle emission dispersion in urban street canyons and the strategies for managing roadside air pollution. Studies have shown that air pollution hotspots are not all attributed to heavy traffic and proper urban design can mitigate air pollution. The key factors include traffic conditions, canyon geometry, weather conditions and chemical reactions. Two categories of mitigation strategies are identified, namely traffic interventions and city planning. Popular traffic interventions for street canyons include low emission zones and congestion charges which can moderately improve roadside air quality. In comparison, city planning in terms of building geometry can significantly promote pollutant dispersion in street canyons. General design guidelines, such as lower canyon aspect ratio, alignment between streets and prevailing winds, non-uniform building heights and ground-level building porosity, may be encompassed in new development. Concurrently, in-street barriers are widely applicable to rectify the poor roadside air quality in existing street canyons. They are broadly classified into porous (e.g. trees and hedges) and solid (e.g. kerbside parked cars, noise fences and viaducts) barriers that utilize their aerodynamic advantages to ease roadside air pollution. Post-evaluations are needed to review these strategies by real-world field experiments and more detailed modelling in the practical perspective.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yuhan Huang
- Centre for Green Technology, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia
| | - Chengwang Lei
- Centre for Wind, Waves and Water, School of Civil Engineering, The University of Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Chun-Ho Liu
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Pascal Perez
- SMART Infrastructure Facility, University of Wollongong, NSW, 2522, Australia
| | - Hugh Forehead
- SMART Infrastructure Facility, University of Wollongong, NSW, 2522, Australia
| | - Shaofei Kong
- Department of Atmospheric Sciences, School of Environmental Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China
| | - John L Zhou
- Centre for Green Technology, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Tomson M, Kumar P, Barwise Y, Perez P, Forehead H, French K, Morawska L, Watts JF. Green infrastructure for air quality improvement in street canyons. Environ Int 2021; 146:106288. [PMID: 33395936 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2020.106288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2020] [Revised: 11/07/2020] [Accepted: 11/16/2020] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Street canyons are generally highly polluted urban environments due to high traffic emissions and impeded dispersion. Green infrastructure (GI) is one potential passive control system for air pollution in street canyons, yet optimum GI design is currently unclear. This review consolidates findings from previous research on GI in street canyons and assesses the suitability of different GI forms in terms of local air quality improvement. Studies on the effects of various GI options (trees, hedges, green walls, green screens and green roofs) are critically evaluated, findings are synthesised, and possible recommendations are summarised. In addition, various measurement methods used for quantifying the effectiveness of street greening for air pollution reduction are analysed. Finally, we explore the findings of studies that have compared plant species for pollution mitigation. We conclude that the influences of different GI options on air quality in street canyons depend on street canyon geometry, meteorological conditions and vegetation characteristics. Green walls, green screens and green roofs are potentially viable GI options in existing street canyons, where there is typically a lack of available planting space. Particle deposition to leaves is usually quantified by leaf washing experiments or by microscopy imaging techniques, the latter of which indicates size distribution and is more accurate. The pollutant reduction capacity of a plant species largely depends on its macromorphology in relation to the physical environment. Certain micromorphological leaf traits also positively correlate with deposition, including grooves, ridges, trichomes, stomatal density and epicuticular wax amount. The complexity of street canyon environments and the limited number of previous studies on novel forms of GI in street canyons mean that offering specific recommendations is currently unfeasible. This review highlights a need for further research, particularly on green walls and green screens, to substantiate their efficacy and investigate technical considerations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mamatha Tomson
- Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE), Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, United Kingdom
| | - Prashant Kumar
- Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE), Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, United Kingdom; Department of Civil, Structural & Environmental Engineering, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
| | - Yendle Barwise
- Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE), Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, United Kingdom
| | - Pascal Perez
- SMART Infrastructure Facility, Faculty of Engineering and Information Science, University of Wollongong, Wollongong 2522 NSW, Australia
| | - Hugh Forehead
- SMART Infrastructure Facility, Faculty of Engineering and Information Science, University of Wollongong, Wollongong 2522 NSW, Australia
| | - Kristine French
- Centre for Sustainable Ecosystem Solutions, School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong 2522 NSW, Australia
| | - Lidia Morawska
- Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE), Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, United Kingdom; International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health, School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, 2 George Street, Brisbane, Queensland, 4001, Australia
| | - John F Watts
- Department of Mechanical Engineering Sciences, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Forehead H, Barthelemy J, Arshad B, Verstaevel N, Price O, Perez P. Traffic exhaust to wildfires: PM2.5 measurements with fixed and portable, low-cost LoRaWAN-connected sensors. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0231778. [PMID: 32330173 PMCID: PMC7182254 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0231778] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2019] [Accepted: 04/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Air pollution with PM2.5 (particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micro-metres in diameter) is a major health hazard in many cities worldwide, but since measuring instruments have traditionally been expensive, monitoring sites are rare and generally show only background concentrations. With the advent of low-cost, wirelessly connected sensors, air quality measurements are increasingly being made in places where many people spend time and pollution is much worse: on streets near traffic. In the interests of enabling members of the public to measure the air that they breathe, we took an open-source approach to designing a device for measuring PM2.5. Parts are relatively cheap, but of good quality and can be easily found in electronics or hardware stores, or on-line. Software is open source and the free LoRaWAN-based "The Things Network" the platform. A number of low-cost sensors we tested had problems, but those selected performed well when co-located with reference-quality instruments. A network of the devices was deployed in an urban centre, yielding valuable data for an extended time. Concentrations of PM2.5 at street level were often ten times worse than at air quality stations. The devices and network offer the opportunity for measurements in locations that concern the public.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hugh Forehead
- SMART Infrastructure Facility, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia
- Clean Air and Urban Landscapes (CAUL) hub, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Johan Barthelemy
- SMART Infrastructure Facility, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia
| | - Bilal Arshad
- SMART Infrastructure Facility, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia
| | - Nicolas Verstaevel
- SMART Infrastructure Facility, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia
- Université Toulouse 1 Capitole, Institut de Recherche en Informatique de Toulouse (IRIT), Toulouse, France
| | - Owen Price
- Centre for Sustainable Ecosystem Solutions, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia
| | - Pascal Perez
- SMART Infrastructure Facility, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia
- Clean Air and Urban Landscapes (CAUL) hub, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Forehead H, Huynh N. Review of modelling air pollution from traffic at street-level - The state of the science. Environ Pollut 2018; 241:775-786. [PMID: 29908501 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2018.06.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2018] [Revised: 06/05/2018] [Accepted: 06/05/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Traffic emissions are a complex and variable cocktail of toxic chemicals. They are the major source of atmospheric pollution in the parts of cities where people live, commute and work. Reducing exposure requires information about the distribution and nature of emissions. Spatially and temporally detailed data are required, because both the rate of production and the composition of emissions vary significantly with time of day and with local changes in wind, traffic composition and flow. Increasing computer processing power means that models can accept highly detailed inputs of fleet, fuels and road networks. The state of the science models can simulate the behaviour and emissions of all the individual vehicles on a road network, with resolution of a second and tens of metres. The chemistry of the simulated emissions is also highly resolved, due to consideration of multiple engine processes, fuel evaporation and tyre wear. Good results can be achieved with both commercially available and open source models. The extent of a simulation is usually limited by processing capacity; the accuracy by the quality of traffic data. Recent studies have generated real time, detailed emissions data by using inputs from novel traffic sensing technologies and data from intelligent traffic systems (ITS). Increasingly, detailed pollution data is being combined with spatially resolved demographic or epidemiological data for targeted risk analyses.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- H Forehead
- SMART Infrastructure Facility, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia.
| | - N Huynh
- SMART Infrastructure Facility, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Forehead H, Thomson P, Kendrick GA. Shifts in composition of microbial communities of subtidal sandy sediments maximise retention of nutrients. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 2012; 83:279-98. [PMID: 22891892 DOI: 10.1111/j.1574-6941.2012.01472.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2012] [Revised: 08/08/2012] [Accepted: 08/09/2012] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | - Peter Thomson
- CSIRO Division of Marine and Atmospheric Research; Hobart; Tas.; Australia
| | - Gary A. Kendrick
- The UWA Oceans Institute and School of Plant Biology; University of Western Australia; Crawley; WA; Australia
| |
Collapse
|