This is a past event.

Civil Engineering Graduate Seminar

Steve Fritz, PE
Manager, Medium-Speed Diesel Engines
Southwest Research Institute (SwRI)
San Antonio, Texas Area

Steve Fritz, manager of medium-speed diesel engine research at the SwRI, will present recent research activities at SwRI.

This should be of interest to students, faculty and staff across the campus. Emissions research includes diesel engines, electronic control systems and chemical systems for turning emissions into less harmful products. And of course, this presentation focuses on locomotive systems.

Abstract: Locomotive engines in the U.S. are generally diesel-electric machines, and were first regulated for air pollution by the EPA in 2000. Today’s “Tier 4” locomotives have NOx levels 95 percent lower than pre-regulated locomotives. Because locomotives have a life span of 40+ years, EPA regulations include cleaning up older legacy locomotives. As in industry, remarkable progress in cleaning up the fleet has been made in a relatively short number of years, but much work remains. Today, more than 100 million Americans still live in communities with unhealthy air.

This presentation will provide an overview of diesel-electric locomotives, some of the technologies used to reduce emissions and a look at some of the technical challenges and R&D at SwRI to meet future regulations.