Automotive Pollution Control legislation started in the US in the early seventies. Immediately following, the European Union promulgated its first legislation (70/220/EC). In Athens, Greece, pollution from automobiles started to become annoying by the late seventies. During the early eighties we had the first incidents of the Athens smog phenomenon. By that time, we worked with Prof. Pattas in the Lab of Applied Thermodynamics, Aristotle University Thessaloniki in the development of Solar Energy Technologies, that could help Greece to reduce its dependence on fossil fuel imports. However, by 1983 president Reagan had officially declared the end of Energy Crisis in the US and the prices of oil had descended in very low levels, resulting in a sharp decrease of available funding for alternative energy technologies. At the same time, a further increase of the number of automobiles, especially in developing countries, like Greece was observed due to the low fuel prices. The implication was clear that the time had come to shift the center of gravity of our activity to the automotive pollution control, and this was indeed our decision. In 1983 the group of Prof. Pattas inspected, for the first time in Greece, by testing according to the existing European emissions legislation, about 500 cars to allow assessment of the current emissions factors and service condition.

During the early eighties our group, directed by Prof. Pattas, worked exclusively with diesel emission control. This was the case because Athens at that time had a severe problem of diesel smoke (particulate), emitted by the about 3,000 buses of old technology and about 10,000 diesel-powered taxis, also of old technology and uncontrolled servicing. In 1985 we received EC funding for such activity to support Athens pollution reduction. We worked on a number of diesel filters and regeneration devices, and we tested them on Athens buses and passenger cars. The outcome of this activity was the installation and testing of fuel additive assisted diesel filters on a large pilot fleet of about 100 old technology ’ Ikarus’ buses. This project that lasted until 1990, was the source of useful experience on the problems associated with diesel exhaust aftertreatment. Also, it was a good opportunity to interface with Greek vehicle manufacturers and understand their peculiarities and problems. In 1991 we supplied consulting services to the Greek Government and assisted in the preparation of exhaust emissions reduction legislation. By this legislation, 91/441/EC Directive (3-way catalytic converters for gasoline vehicles) was adopted in Greece, and also the emissions inspection card was introduced, that allowed a more tight control of the service condition of exhaust after-treatment systems of in-use vehicles.

THE SETTING-UP OF THE EXHAUST SYSTEMS CAE GROUP AT AUTH

The experience gained during the above-mentioned activities, gave me the impression that the design of exhaust after-treatment systems was an area requiring high sophistication, that was not taken very seriously into account by the automotive manufacturers at that time. Having a regular view on the developments in the US, we worked since 1985 in the modeling of diesel filters. In 1990, US car manufacturers had stopped R&D in diesel filters, however, I continued and expanded modeling activities to cover also exhaust system heat transfer and the modeling of 3-way catalytic converters for gasoline engines. In this activity we received strategic support from EC-DG XII/C, and this allowed me to organize a group of researchers that exclusively worked on this subject from 1991 to 1997. However, we mainly focused on software development because we had limited access to testing capabilities, and we relied almost exclusively on test data supplied by our customers and partners.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF LTTE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF THESSALY

During the same period, I held a visiting professor's appointment in the newly established (1990) Mechanical & Industrial Engineering Department of the University of Thessaly. This Department was lucky to attract a number of highly qualified, young professors from eminent US Universities' Engineering Departments (mainly Mechanical and Chemical Engineering). We cooperated with these faculty members, profiting from available EC funding in the period 1996-2000, to restructure this Department's curricula, both undergraduate and post-graduate, aiming at the production of qualified engineers and researchers. Ample EC funding was also directed to the development of vital infrastructures as the communications, computers, networks and libraries.

Thus, by the start of 2000, the time was mature for me to accept a tenured faculty position in this promising Department and transplant my group's Exhaust After-treatment CAE activity in the new environment of the LTTE (Laboratory of Thermodynamics & Thermal Engines).

Today, in LTTE, we model nearly every available type of after-treatment device, for gasoline, diesel or GDI engines. We work in close collaboration with automotive, catalyst and exhaust systems manufacturers, understand their problems and ways of thinking and designing, and try to interpret them in the form of fundamental or applied engineering problems to be solved by our researchers. The most brilliant of our students engage very early in research activity, even from their undergraduate years, and this gives them an impetus for their post-graduate research. Thus, we have eventually found a role in producing efficient engineers and researchers for the European Industry.