SMARTEMIS
State-of-the-art aircraft engine emissions measurement system in accordance with ICAO standards and recommended practices
System Description
The Swiss Mobile Aircraft Emission Measurement System (SMARTEMIS) is a state-of-the-art mobile emission measurement system for particle and gas emissions from aircraft turbine engines. The prototype of SMARTEMIS was built by the Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA) and installed in the engine test cell at SR Technics, Zurich airport. The system was further developed by Empa/SR Technics, who also integrated particle measurement and made the system fully mobile in early 2017. The development and construction of SMARTEMIS is closely linked to the establishment of the first global non-volatile particulate matter (nvPM) standard for aircraft engines by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
The nvPM sampling and measurement part of SMARTEMIS is fully compliant with the ICAO nvPM certification standard. Besides the standardized instruments for nvPM mass and number measurements, SMARTEMIS includes instruments for the measurement of particle size distribution, smoke number, the regulated gaseous pollutants (CO, HC and NOx) and an unregulated gaseous pollutant (SO2). Coupled with a unique 2-axial traversable exhaust sampling probe installed at SR Technics, SMARTEMIS has been used to collect emissions data for a variety of in-service turbofan engines.
Smartemis Instruments
| Particle Measurement | Instrument List | Function/Species measured |
|---|---|---|
| Present Instruments | AVL Micro Soot Sensor (MSS) | nvPM mass (black carbon) concentration |
| AVL Particle Counter Advanced Plus (APC) | nvPM number concentration | |
| TSI Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer Model 3938 (long and nano DMA) | Particle number size distribution | |
| Chell CSM2000 + Photovolt 577PC ( SAE ARP 1179 compliant smoke meter and reflectometer) | ICAO Smoke Number | |
| Catalytic Instruments Catalytic Stripper CS08 | removal of volatile PM fraction | |
| Aerodyne CAPS PMssa Monitor (660 nm) | aerosol scattering, extinction, and single scattering albedo (SSA) | |
| ELPI®+ - Analyzer for real-time aerosol measurements | real-time particle size distribution and concentration | |
| Possible extensions | Filter sampling system for thermal-optical analysis | |
| * nvPM = non-volatile particulate matter; DMA = Differential mobility analyser |
| Gas phase measurement | Instrument List | Function/Species measured |
|---|---|---|
| Present instruments | Horiba PG350 multi-gas analyser | CO, CO2, NOx, SO2 |
| Ecophysics CLD 844 S hr NOx analyser | NO, NO2, NOx | |
| Horiba MEXA 1170HFID Hydrocarbon (HC) analyser | Total HC | |
| Thermo Scientific 48iQ CO analyser | CO | |
| Thermo Scientific 410i and 410 iQ CO2 analysers | CO2 | |
| Thermo Scientific 43i SO2 analyser | SO2 | |
| Thermo Scientific 146iQ Multi-gas calibrator | calibration gas dilution for span and multipoint calibrations | |
| Possible extensions | Custom-built VOC sampling system for thermal desorption GC-MS analysis |
SMARTEMIS and ICAO Emission Regulations
SMARTEMIS is one of three independently-built reference systems for nvPM measurements worldwide. In 2013, to demonstrate the maturity of the nvPM measurement methodology developed by the SAE E-31 committee for aircraft engine emissions measurement (SAE Aerospace Information Report 6241), SMARTEMIS was deployed in the first-ever nvPM measurements of a representative engine at conditions compliant with the future ICAO nvPM standard in the test cell at SR Technics. Later test campaigns also focused on the effects of fuel composition (including sustainable aviation fuels like HEFA) on nvPM emissions and provided valuable data to CAEP for the development of correction equations for nvPM emissions certification. The measurement campaigns at SR Technics as well as recent deployments at engine manufacturers' facilities abroad have contributed to the development of an nvPM emissions database of representative aircraft turbofan engines in production and the future limit lines for the CAEP/11 nvPM mass and number standard.
New ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) for nvPM emission were accepted for adoption in March 2020. These new standards came into effect on 1 January 2021. In addition, the newly accepted LTO nvPM emission limits came into effect on 1 January 2023. A summary of these SARPs was presented in the ICAO 2019 Environmental report. They concern nvPM measurements, reporting, and nvPM limits for new and in-production aircraft engines. The new regulations aim to prevent backsliding in the development of turbine engine combustion technology and should motivate improvements in emission performance of new engines.
High-Performance Field Analytics with SMARTEMIS
Although SMARTEMIS is a highly sophisticated piece of infrastructure, it has been designed for full operational mobility in the field. This portability requires careful logistical planning to maintain precise environmental conditions, particularly temperature control, and to ensure a reliable supply of power and gases. During the 2025/2026 ADVISAR campaigns in Buochs, our team demonstrated the system’s robustness by successfully carrying out high-accuracy measurements under extreme conditions, from summer temperatures of 35°C to winter lows close to 0°C.
The quality of these studies depends heavily on the careful transport of sensitive components and on the ability to perform complex installations in demanding outdoor environments. Because SMARTEMIS is specifically developed for engine exit plane analysis, sampling directly from a jet engine presents unique challenges and requires tailored technical adaptations on site. Despite these difficulties, field studies remain essential: on-wing testing provides the most representative ground-based data available and serves as a key benchmark for assessing how different jet fuels affect emission profiles under real-world operating conditions.
SMARTEMIS at ZHAW
In collaboration with FOCA and SR Technics, our group (the research unit Meteorology, Environment and Aviation) continues to apply SMARTEMIS in generating turbine engine gaseous and particulate emissions data. In addition, we continue to optimize and upgrade SMARTEMIS while participating in both international and local collaborative projects.
More Information
ICAO Emission Databank
Information on exhaust emissions of production aircraft engines
Sustainable fuels significantly reduce soot emissions.
A ZHAW team, together with partners, investigated the emissions of a Pilatus PC-24. Initial results show great potential for more environmentally friendly aviation.
ICAO Emission Databank
Sustainable fuels significantly reduce soot emissions.
ZHAW Meteorology and Environment in Aviation Blog
Information on exhaust emissions of production aircraft engines
A ZHAW team, together with partners, investigated the emissions of a Pilatus PC-24. Initial results show great potential for more environmentally friendly aviation.
Get more information in our blog.