Diesel Emissions Laboratory - CanmetMINING

Natural Resources Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
What the facility does

Certification and type approval of diesel engines for mining; research and evaluation of diesel emissions control technologies

Areas of expertise

The Diesel Emissions Laboratory tests and certifies diesel engines for underground mines to the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) M424 family of standards as required by various mining regulations in Canada. The laboratory is also fully accredited for engine certification testing to the US Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), and international Standards Association (ISO) 8178. The laboratory has over 45 years of experience in conducting diesel emissions research for application in underground mines.

The Certification Laboratory facilities have been used to develop alternative powertrains and emission control technologies through R&D projects. CanmetMINING has had a long history of collaboration with CanmetENERGY in the field of emission control catalyst development and with Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) in the fields of certification testing and characterization of exhaust pollutants. CanmetMINING also has close ties to certification and research organizations with both American entities, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

Research services

CanmetMINING provides unique expertise and a wide range of research and specialized services for its clients. The Business Office can arrange any of several forms of partnership to suit the particular needs of the client and to support Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) and Government of Canada priorities. Amongst the most frequently used are cooperative and cost-recovery business agreements. In addition to conducting basic and applied research, demonstrations and testing, we provide guidelines on intellectual property, licensing and marketing strategies to facilitate the transfer of technology.

Sectors of application
  • Automotive
  • Clean technology
  • Energy
  • Environmental technologies and related services
  • Mining, minerals and metals
EquipmentFunction
Custom-designed regenerative drive and 440 kW transient dynamometerAbsorbs power from the engine under test over various test cycles. Power is regenerated back to the electric grid.
Horiba SPARC ControllerProvides control of test engine and dynamometer for steady state and transient speed and load conditions
Custom-designed hardened diesel engine test cell laboratoryProvides separation of engine and test cell operator for safe operations and containment during coal mining engine tests
Custom-designed California Analytical Instruments (CAI) raw emissions test benchDetermination of gaseous component  concentration from raw diesel exhaust according to test protocol
Sierra instruments BG-03 microdilution systemDetermination of solid particle mass emissions rate from raw diesel exhaust according to test protocol
Custom-designed combustion air measurement systemDetermination of volumetric engine air-intake flow rate in real time according to test protocol
AVL 753CH fuel temperature with AVL fuel pressure control modulesMaintains fuel temperature and pressure entering and exit engine fuel pump, according to test protocol
AVL 733S/734 Dynamic fuel meter system with AVL 4210 instrument controllerDetermination of engine gravimetric fuel consumption in real time, according to test protocol
Custom-designed fuel handling systemProvides control and safe delivery of diesel engine certification fuel to the engine test cell
Custom-designed air handling unitProvides temperature and humidity control of engine intake air, according to test protocol
Custom-designed diesel engine exhaust back pressure control systemProvide diesel engine back pressure control according to test protocol
Custom-designed methane delivery and control systemFor coal mining engine tests to M424.1
  • Diesel Emissions Evaluation Program
  • Mining Diesel Emission Council
TitleURL
CanmetMINING facility video - The Heart of Green Mining Technologyhttps://youtu.be/s9bS-4ExOd8
List of certified diesel engineshttps://diesel.nrcan.gc.ca