Measurement and Analysis of Brake and Tyre Particle Emissions from Automotive Series Components for High-Load Driving Tests on a Wheel and Suspension Test Bed

A current challenge in realising clean road transport is non-exhaust emissions. Important advances regarding measurement systems, including well-defined characterisation techniques, as well as regulation, will be made in the next few years. In this work, we present the detailed results of particle emission analyses, consisting of aerosol (size distribution, particle number (PN), and mass (PM)) and electron microscopy (EM) measurements, under different load conditions on a test bed for a wheel suspension and brakes. Standard tyres and brakes from serial production were tested with a high-load driving cycle, while particle measurements were conducted by gravimetric measurements and with a TSI SMPS, a TSI APS, and a GRIMM OPS. Furthermore, samples were analysed by electron microscopy. A bimodal particle size distribution (PSD) was obtained with an SMPS, with peaks at 20nm and around 400nm. The results of an EM analysis of >1400 single particles from the electrostatic sampler match the PSD results. The EM analysis also showed ultrafine particles, mainly containing O, Fe, Si, Ba, Mg, and S, and also fractal particles with high-C fractions. Our results suggest, in agreement with the previously published literature, that particulate emissions are related to the brake disc temperature and occur in significant amounts above a threshold temperature.