Innovative Metallic Substrate Technology to Meet Future Emission Limits 2007-32-0054

Exhaust after-treatment systems will have to become increasingly efficient in order to comply with the strict emission limits that will apply in the European Union and worldwide in future. Moreover, space constraints, weight and low pressure drop are just some of the issues that have to be addressed by an EU III-compliant catalytic system. The development of metallic substrates over the past few years has shown that turbulent-like substrates increase specific catalytic efficiency. This has made it possible to enhance overall performance for a specific catalytic volume or reduce the volume while keeping catalytic efficiency constant. This paper focuses on the emission efficiency of standard, TS and PE metallic substrates. A simulation tool and flow bench measurements were used to develop a test matrix with catalyst similar pressure drop in order to examine different cell densities, substrate lengths and coating technologies. Emission tests were carried out on a KTM 990 Adventure motorcycle to evaluate substrates based on standard, TS and PE technology. The LC8 EFI engine is a state-of-the-art, typical high-performance engine with electronic injection and lambda sensor control. Results confirm that compared to standard catalysts PE technology increases the emission efficiency of the catalyst without any adverse effect on pressure drop. On the other hand, TS technology as applied in high mass-flow engines is less efficient than PE technology, provided the PE and TS substrates have the same pressure drop. Engine performance measurement has been carried out at the end of emission test to check the influence of catalyst pressure drop on power output.