Southwest Research Institute® (SwRI®) News
Printer Friendly VersionSwRI expands locomotive engine test facility
San Antonio -- December 10, 2003 -- Southwest Research Institute® (SwRI®) has expanded its locomotive engine test facility to help industry keep pace with federally mandated exhaust emission regulations. The newly enlarged SwRI Locomotive Technology Center will provide increased testing capabilities for the railroad and marine industries.
SwRI added 2,000 square feet of laboratory and test space, more than doubling the facility's size and test capabilities. In addition to building a second test track, allowing simultaneous testing of two locomotives, the Institute added an EMD SD45 test stand, which serves as a platform to test 8-, 12-, 16- and 20-cylinder EMD 645- to 710-series engines. These engines, with power ratings of 1,000 to 4,300 horsepower, are used in locomotives, industrial power generation and marine vessels. The SD45 platform, capable of variable loads and engine speed, allows SwRI to test these same engines for marine engine certification under Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations.
EPA locomotive exhaust emission regulations, which took effect in 2000, are unique in that they apply not only to new locomotives but also to the existing fleet of roughly 20,000 locomotives manufactured between 1973 and 2000. Because these existing locomotives must meet EPA regulations during their next overhaul cycle, SwRI provides significant support for the industry in new engine research and in development of cost-effective emission reductions for the in-use fleet.
"One of the center's major objectives is to help our clients minimize the fuel consumption penalty that often occurs with reducing oxides of nitrogen (NOx)," said Steven Fritz, a principal engineer in SwRI's Engine and Emissions Research Department and work coordinator for the center. "Class 1 railroads use approximately four billion gallons of diesel fuel each year. A two-percent fuel economy penalty resulting from emission controls would cost the industry approximately $80 million per year."
Originally established in 1990 as the Association of American Railroads (AAR) Locomotive Emissions Test Center, the facility's name was recently changed to the SwRI Locomotive Technology Center. The center, located near downtown San Antonio, has tested more than 100 locomotives for exhaust emissions. Clients have included the EPA, California Air Resources Board and the California Department of Transportation, the U.S. Department of Energy, the AAR, individual railroads and original equipment manufacturers.
Typical projects include exhaust emission tests to support certification applications for locomotive and marine engines to EPA and IMO requirements; production-line testing of engines and locomotives to ensure EPA compliance; and in-use compliance testing of locomotives.
The Institute has more than 33 years of experience in locomotive engine research, beginning in 1971 with emissions testing of in-use locomotives for EPA inventories. Since then, work has included assessing effects of different fuel properties on exhaust emissions; determining future applications of diesel aftertreatment systems, such as oxidation catalytic converters and diesel particulate filters; and evaluating the role of crankcase blowby in exhaust particulate emissions.
As an independent, multidisciplinary research, development and testing organization, SwRI provides a nonbiased, third-party perspective. The SwRI Engine, Emissions and Vehicle Research Division has achieved certification to ISO 9001, an internationally recognized quality standard, and ISO 14001, an environmental management system.
For more information, contact Robert Leibold, Communications Department, (210) 522-2258, Fax (210) 522-3547, PO Drawer 28510, San Antonio, TX 78228-0510.
