David Bergeal

The Diesel Exhaust Aftertreatment (DEXA) Cluster: A Systematic Approach to Diesel Particulate Emission Control in Europe

The DEXA Cluster consisted of three closely interlinked projects. In 2003 the DEXA Cluster concluded by demonstrating the successful development of critical technologies for Diesel exhaust particulate after-treatment, without adverse effects on NO x emissions and maintaining the fuel economy advantages of the Diesel engine well beyond the EURO IV (2000) emission standards horizon. In the present paper the most important results of the DEXA Cluster projects in the demonstration of advanced particulate control technologies, the development of a simulation toolkit for the design of diesel exhaust after-treatment systems and the development of novel particulate characterization methodologies, are presented. The motivation for the DEXA Cluster research was to increase the market competitiveness of diesel engine powertrains for passenger cars worldwide, and to accelerate the adoption of particulate control technology.

Development and validation of a one-dimensional computational model of the continuously regenerating diesel particulate filter (CR-DPF) system

Diesel emissions legislation continues to tighten around the world, and Particulate Matter (PM) emissions are currently the focus of much attention. Diesel PM can be controlled using Diesel Particulate Filters (DPFs), which can effectively reduce the level of carbon (soot) emissions to ambient background levels. In the Heavy Duty Diesel (HDD) area, the Continuously Regenerating Trap (CRT®) [1] has been widely applied in the retrofit market. This system will henceforth be referred to as the Continuously Regenerating DPF (CR-DPF). There are currently over 100,000 of these systems in use in retrofit applications worldwide. This system comprises a specially formulated Diesel Oxidation Catalyst (DOC) upstream of a DPF; the NO 2 generated by the DOC is used to combust the carbon collected in the DPF at low temperatures. A model describing the performance of the CR-DPF has been developed. This model comprises two basic components: i) a 1-D DOC model based on laboratory microreactor data, and ii) a 1-D DPF model. The DOC model includes Langmuir-Hinshelwood expressions to describe the kinetics of the NO, CO and HC oxidation reactions. This model has been validated using engine data measured over both low and high temperature driving cycles. The DPF model has been validated using engine bench pressure drop data measured over the ESC (European Stationary Cycle). These 2 models have been combined to create a full model of the CR-DPF system, which has been validated over a wide range of conditions. Very good agreement between the experimental data and the model has been achieved.