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Two and Three Wheeler industry in the Asian region is growing at a rapid pace, as commuting by these vehicles is more affordable and efficient, specially in the developing nations. However, tightening of emission legislations, aimed at creating a cleaner and healthier environment, has led to increasingly demanding efforts required in making more efficient engines / vehicles and also focus on effective after-treatment systems. Catalytic converters, being the most preferred option for after-treatment solutions, play an important role in achieving the desired end results. Over the past several years, monolithic catalytic converters with laminar flow profile were being used by automotive industry. These catalytic converters though create some turbulence at the inlet, make the majority of the rest of the flow laminar, thereby reducing the mass transfer of the exhaust gas components to the effective catalytic sites.

An two-dimensional axial symmetrical finite volume model will be introduced for the calculation of catalytic converters. It is able to predict transient temperatures and conversion rates in different converter systems according to the driving conditions. Input data are the mass-flow rate, the converter inlet temperature and the raw emissions. The performance of this model is demonstrated on an Indian motorcycle application. Cold start behavior and peak temperatures are investigated. This model has proven to be an effective tool for the preselection of an optimal cost effective catalyst system.

A three-wheeler is a symbol of mobility at low cost for a common man in India. Due to high loading compared to its 2-wheeler counterpart, the 3-wheeler emit higher emissions and serious efforts are being made by the manufacturer to minimize the emissions. ARAI and Emitec have undertaken a Technology Demonstrator Project to investigate the application of metallic substrates and Emitubes for a typical carburetted 2-stroke 3-seater 3-wheeler with an aim to introduce a cost effective practically viable option of reducing exhaust emissions to meet INDIA 2000 emission norms. Now-a-days, there are 3-wheelers available which are offering lower emissions levels. It was the intention of the authors, not to use such a clean vehicle for a better demonstration of the efficiency of current catalyst technology. Here, a 3-wheeler manufactured in 1996 has been selected, for which a converter is designed employing a software developed by Emitec.