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Testing was performed on Corning's Generation 3 Electrically Heated Catalyst (EHC) to determine product reliability and durability. A number of functional measurements was performed before and after all electrical, thermal/mechanical and environmental tests. EHCs were also successfully tested on vehicles for 100,000 miles. The results of all tests were favorable and indicated that the new design meets or exceeds requirements.

Low mass, extruded electrically heated catalysts (EHC) followed directly by a light-off and main converter reduced cold start non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC) by greater than 80 percent. These reductions were demonstrated on several vehicle applications operating over the Light Duty Federal Test Procedure (FTP). To achieve this level of reduction, the design of the EHC cascade system, power level and heating time must be appropriately established. This paper discusses the impact of these design parameters on cold-start emissions reduction. From the test results, a generic empirical model was developed to predict EHC system conversion efficiency as a function of EHC power, heating time, and inlet exhaust temperature to the EHC.

Low mass extruded electrically heated catalysts (EHC) followed directly by light-off and main converters resulted in non-methane hydrocarbon emissions (NMHC) between .020 and .023 g/mi at power levels as low as 1 kw and energy levels as low as 4 whr. These results were achieved on a 1993, 2.2 liter vehicle. The success of this system is due to rapid heat up of the catalyzed surface areas of both the heater and light-off converter. The energy added to the exhaust from both the heater and the light-off is then efficiently transferred to the main converter. In addition, the impact of power and energy on NMHC levels was determined. The Ultra-Low Emissions Vehicle (ULEV) standard was also achieved with uncatalyzed heaters and on a 1990, 3.8 L vehicle. The new California Low Emission Vehicle (LEV) and Ultra Low Emission Vehicle (ULEV) standards require a significant reduction in tail pipe emissions compared to current standards.

Improved designs of extruded metal electrically heated catalysts (EHC) in combination with a traditional converter achieved the California ultra-low emission vehicle (ULEV) standard utilizing 50% less electrical energy than previous prototypes. This energy reduction is largely achieved by reducing the mass of the EHC. In addition to energy reduction, the battery voltage is reduced from 24 volts to 12 volts, and the power is reduced from 12 kilowatts to 3 kilowatts. Also discussed is the impact EHC mass, EHC catalytic activity, and no EHC preheating has on non-methane hydrocarbon emissions, energy requirements, and power requirements.

The primary objective of this work is to demonstrate that an extruded metal electrically heated catalyst (EHC) in combination with a traditional converter can achieve the Low and Ultra-Low California standards. With various aged EHC/converter systems and various heating strategies, typical FTP non-methane hydrocarbon (NMHC) emissions range from .015 to .030 g/mi. However, NMHC emissions as low as .008 g/mi are achieved. In addition to reducing emissions, experiments were conducted to investigate the impact various heating strategies and system design parameters have on electrical energy usage. The conclusions are that electrical energy requirements can be significantly reduced by: Locating the EHC close to the main converter. Locating the EHC and main converter close to the engine. Reducing the mass of the EHC. Heating the EHC prior to engine start-up.

The high temperature creep data for radial specimens, cut from metal and ceramic substrates and subjected to compressive loads representative of mounting and thermal pressure are presented as function of load and temperature. These data show that the creep resistance of metallic specimens under sustained loading varies with temperature and is orders of magnitude lower than that of ceramic specimens. The observed creep deformation in metallic specimens reduces their open frontal area and hydraulic diameter with potentially adverse impact on pressure drop across the metallic substrate.

The high temperature strength and deformation behavior of ceramic and two different metal substrates were measured in the 25°-1200°C temperature range in uniaxial and biaxial bending using rectangular bars and circular discs, respectively, prepared from the substrates. The data show that both of the metal substrates exhibit permanent deformation and lose their load carrying capability by an order of magnitude above 800°C. The ceramic substrate, on the other hand, preserves its strength and behaves elastically over the entire temperature range exhibiting neither permanent deformation nor cell distortion. These data suggest that the upper use temperature for metal substrates could be significantly lower than that for ceramic substrates to meet 50-100K vehicle mile durability