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Wall-flow filter technology has been used for many years to remove particulate emissions from a select number of diesel engine exhaust systems. Significant implementation of diesel particulate filters will require the definition of regeneration strategies that permit the filters to be regularly and durably purged of accumulated non-volatile particulates. This paper will examine the laboratory-bench characterization of filter responses to the wide variety of input conditions to which they may be exposed in practice. The lab-bench filter characterization will be done as a function of generic independent variables such as flow rate, inlet temperature, oxygen content and soot loading. The testing will be conducted on uncatalyzed filters for this preliminary study. The characterization approach will examine such dependent variables as completeness of regeneration and maximum exotherm temperatures.

In this study quantitative techniques were established to assess the low temperature durability of commercially available mat systems. A new low temperature dynamic resistive thermal exposure (LT-RTE) test method was developed. The mats were evaluated in thermal cycling with maximum substrate skin temperatures from 280°C to 450°C. Results indicate that at low use temperatures the residual shear strength of the mat fell to ∼5-15KPa following 280°C cycling. Under the same LT-RTE exposure conditions an equivalent mat system, following thermal preconditioning to 500°C for 3 hours, possessed a residual shear strength of ∼30KPa. An alternative mat system with a lower shot content fiber was also evaluated, following the same thermal preconditioning previously described. This alternative mat was found to exhibit substantially higher residual shear strengths following LT-RTE aging. A residual shear strength of ∼95KPa was observed for this alternative mat following 280°C LT-RTE aging.