Michael George Aimone

ADVANCED TECHNIQUES FOR THERMAL AND CATALYTIC DIESEL PARTICULATE TRAP REGENERATION

Advanced techniques for regenerating diesel particulate traps are described. A bypassable trap system minimized regeneration thermal energy requirements. Thermal regeneration systems with burners or electric resistance heaters were evaluated. Regeneration emissions and fuel consumption penalties were measured. Catalytic fuel additives consisting of octoate based compounds of copper and nickel, and copper and cerium provided reductions of up to 410/sup 0/F in trap regeneration temperature. Durability tests confirmed frequent self regeneration with fuel additives.

A Structural Ceramic Diesel Engine-The Critical Elements

A structural ceramic diesel engine has the potential to provide low heat rejection and significant improvements in fuel economy. Analytical and experimental evaluations were conducted on the critical elements of this engine. The structural ceramic components, which included the cylinder, piston and pin, operated successfully in a single cylinder engine for over 100 hours. The potential for up to 8-11% improvement in indicated specific fuel consumption was projected when corrections for blow-by were applied. The ringless piston with gas squeeze film lubrication avoided the difficulty with liquid lubricants in the high temperature piston/cylinder area. The resulting reduction in friction was projected to provide an additional 15% improvement in brake specific fuel consumption for a multi-cylinder engine at light loads.