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Diesel Particulate Filters (DPF) made of cordierite are generally used for diesel engine aftertreatment systems in both on-road and commercial off-highway vehicles to meet today’s worldwide emission regulations. PM/PN and NOx emission regulations will become more stringent worldwide, as represented by CARB2027 and Euro7. Technologies that can meet these strict regulations are required. As a result, aftertreatment systems have become more complex with limited space. Recently, off-highway OEMs have been interested in downsizing the aftertreatment system using concepts such as DOConFilter in an effort to reduce the size of the exhaust system. DOConFilter can effectively replace DOC + CSF or DOC + bare DPF systems with a single zone coated particulate filter. DOConFilter systems have an increased amount of coating compared to CSF as higher-filtration filters will become the norm. An undesirable increase in pressure drop is expected by adopting this new technology.

Honeycomb substrates are widely used to reduce harmful emissions from gasoline engines and are exposed to numerous thermal shocks during their lifetime making thermal shock resistance one of the key factors in designing honeycomb substrates. More stringent emission regulations will require the honeycomb substrates to be lighter in weight to improve light-off performance and to have better thermal shock resistance than conventional honeycomb substrates to handle higher expected temperature gradients. Thermal shock resistance is generally evaluated on a substrate by evaluating the thermal strain caused by temperature gradients inside the substrate during durability testing [1,2]. During the test, a heated substrate is cooled at a surface face to generate temperature gradients while the temperature inside the honeycomb substrate is monitored by multiple thermocouples.

Since the implementation of Euro 6 in September 2014, diesel engines are facing another drastic reduction of NOx emission limits from 180 to only 80 mg/km during NEDC and real driving emissions (RDE) are going to be monitored until limit values are enforced from September 2017. Considering also long term CO2 targets of 95 g/km beyond 2020, diesel engines must become cleaner and more efficient. However, there is a tradeoff between NOx and CO2 and, naturally, engine developers choose lower CO2 because NOx can be reduced by additional devices such as EGR or a catalytic converter. Lower CO2 engine calibration, unfortunately, leads to lower exhaust gas temperatures, which delays the activation of the catalytic converter. In order to overcome both problems, higher NOx engine out emission and lower exhaust gas temperatures, new aftertreatment systems will incorporate close-coupled DeNOx systems.

A Particle Number (PN) limit for Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) vehicles was introduced in Europe from September 2014 (Euro 6b). In addition, further certification to Real Driving Emissions (RDE) is planned [1] [2], which requires low and stable emissions in a wide range of engine operation, which must be durable for at least 160,000 km. To achieve such stringent targets, a ceramic wall-flow Gasoline Particulate Filter (GPF) is one potential emission control device. This paper focuses on a catalyzed GPF, combining particle trapping and catalytic conversion into a single device. The main parameters to be considered when introducing this technology are filtration efficiency, pressure drop and catalytic conversion. This paper portrays a detailed study starting from the choice of material recipe, design optimization, engine bench evaluation, and final validation inside a standard vehicle from the market during an extensive field test up to 160,000 km on public roads.

Today the Ammonia Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) system with good NOx conversion is the emission technology of choice for diesel engines globally. High NOx conversion SCR systems combined with optimized engine calibration not only address the stringent NOx emission limits which have been introduced or are being considered for later this decade, but also reduce CO2 emissions required by government regulations and the increase in fuel economy required by end-users. Reducing the packaging envelope of today's SCR systems, while retaining or improving NOx conversion and pressure drop, is a key customer demand. High SCR loadings ensure high NOx conversion at very low temperatures. To meet this performance requirement, a High Porosity Substrate which minimizes the pressure drop impact, was introduced in SAE Paper 2012-01-1079 [1], [2], [3].

Low fuel consumption and improved power output are the main market drivers in the automotive industry. For these challenges, Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) technology provides higher thermal efficiency than Multi Point Injection (MPI) engines and this technology is expanding as a solution to reduce CO₂ and improve driveability. In Europe under the Euro 5 regulation, engine downsizing becomes a major solution to reduce CO₂ of gasoline engines. For this concept GDI is essential together with turbocharging technology. However GDI technology increases particulate matter (PM) emissions compared to MPI engines. As the introduction of a Particle Number (PN) regulation for Euro 6 GDI vehicles has been decided, technologies to reduce GDI PN emissions start to become necessary. For this requirement, a gasoline particulate filter (GPF) is an effective solution.

Diesel particulate filters (DPF) are a common component in emission-control systems of modern clean diesel vehicles. Several DPF materials have been used in various applications. Silicone Carbide (SiC) is common for passenger vehicles because of its thermal robustness derived from its high specific gravity and heat conductivity. However, a segmented structure is required to relieve thermal stress due to SiC's higher coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE). Cordierite (Cd) is a popular material for heavy-duty vehicles. Cordierite which has less mass per given volume, exhibits superior light-off performance, and is also adequate for use in larger monolith structures, due to its lower CTE. SiC and cordierite are recognized as the most prevalent DPF materials since the 2000's. The DPF traps not only combustible particles (soot) but also incombustible ash. Ash accumulates in the DPF and remains in the filter until being physically removed.

The automotive industry is currently evaluating the gasoline particulate filter (GPF) as a potential technology to reduce particulate emissions from gasoline direct injection (GDI) engines. In this paper, several GPF design measures which were taken to obtain a filter with lower pressure drop when compared to our previous concept will be presented. Based on engine test bench and vehicle test results, it was determined some soot will accumulate on the GPF walls, resulting in an increase in pressure drop. However, the accumulated soot will be combusted under high temperature and high O₂ concentration conditions. In a typical vehicle application, passive regeneration will likely occur and a cycle of soot accumulation and combustion might be repeated in the actual driving conditions.

Diesel engines are more fuel efficient due to their high thermal efficiency, compared to gasoline engines and therefore, have a higher potential to reduce CO2 emissions. Since diesel engines emit higher amounts of Particulate Matter (PM), DPF systems have been introduced. Today, DPF systems have become a standard technology. Nevertheless, with more stringent NOx emission limits and CO2 targets, additional NOx emission control is needed. For high NOx conversion efficiency, SCR catalysts technology shows high potential. Due to higher temperature at the close coupled position and space restrictions, an integrated SCR concept on the DPFs is preferred. A high SCR catalyst loading will be required to have high conversion efficiency over a wide range of engine operations which causes high pressure for conventional DPF materials.

Ammonia Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) and Lean NOx Trap (LNT) systems are key technologies to reduce NOx emission for diesel on-highway vehicles to meet worldwide tighter emission regulations. In addition DeNOx catalysts have already been applied to several commercial off-road applications. Adding the DeNOx catalyst to existing Diesel Oxidation Catalyst (DOC) and Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) emission control system requires additional space and will result in an increase of emission system back pressure. Therefore it is necessary to address optimizing the DeNOx catalyst in regards to back pressure and downsizing. Recently, extruded zeolite for DeNOx application has been considered. This technology improves NOx conversion at low temperature due to the high catalyst amount. However, this technology has concerned about strength and robustness, because the honeycomb body is composed of catalyst.

The DPF(Diesel Particulate Filter) has been established as a key technology in reducing diesel PM emission. Also Catalyzed-DPF Systems are viewed as the next generation DPF System in the automotive sector, replacing the current Fuel Additive System. The performance requirements of the DPF-equipped vehicle are good fuel economy, good driving performance, high PM regeneration performance of accumulated soot and high durability. In this paper the effect of Catalyzed-DPF characteristics, such as porosity, pore size, cell structure and catalyst loading have been defined on pressure drop, filtration efficiency, regeneration efficiency and regeneration behavior.