Assessment of heavy-duty vehicle activities, fuel consumption and exhaust emissions in port areas

An experimental and theoretical investigation is being performed to evaluate exhaust emissions and fuel consumption of Heavy Duty Vehicles (HDVs) circulating in urban areas and involved in commercial shipping activities. The study is focused on the city of Genoa, whose urban road network is influenced by highway connections and shipping activities, as seven motorway exits and more than twenty accesses to port area are located within the urban area. In a first step, the HDV flows crossing highway exits, urban zones and port areas were evaluated, as well as the relevant vehicle classes. The typical urban trips linking highway exits to port gates and the HDV mission profiles within the port area were then defined, whose validation was performed through an experimental campaign for HDV instantaneous speed measurements on urban trips and in port zones. The availability of speed patterns enabled the application of Passenger Car and Heavy Duty Emission Model (PHEM) for the estimation of fuel consumption and emission factors for selected HDV classes. The main results of the different investigation steps are presented and discussed in the paper, outlining the specific activities of HDVs in port area and the relevant emissive behaviour.