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The clear objective of future powertrain development is strongly characterized by lowest emission impact and minimum overall system cost penalty to the customer. In the past decades emission impact has been primarily related to both optimization of combustion process and exhaust after-treatment system efficiency. Nowadays, weight reduction is one of the main objectives for vehicular applications, considering the related improvements both in fuel consumption (i.e. CO2 production) and engine-out emissions. The state of the art of catalytic converter systems for automotive ZEV-oriented applications has yet to be introduces into mass production. This paper investigates the successful application o metallic turbulent structures for catalytic converters along with innovative packaging considerations, such as structured outer mantle, which lead to significant weight reductions, exhaust backpressure minimization and improved overall emission conversion efficiency.

Modern Diesel Engines equipped with Common-Rail Direct Injection and EGR are characterized by an increasingly high combustion efficiency. Consequently the exhaust gas temperature, especially during a cold start, is significantly reduced compared to typical values measured in previous engine generations. This leads to a potential problem with CO emission limit compliance. The present paper deals with an experimental investigation of turbulent-flow metal substrates, carried out on a vehicle roller bench using a production 1.3 Liter diesel engine equipped passenger car. The tested metal supported catalysts proved to yield extremely high conversion rates both during cold start and in warm operation phase. The improved mass transfer efficiency of the advanced metal substrates is related on one hand to the optimized coating technology and, on the other hand, to the enhanced flow performance in the single converter channels which is caused by structured metal foils.

A study was performed to develop optimum design strategies for a production V6 engine to maximize catalyst performance at minimum pressure loss and at minimum cost. Test results for an advanced system, designed to meet future emission limits on a production V6 vehicle, are presented based on FTP testing. The on-line pressure loss and temperature data serves to explain the functioning of the catalyst.

Emissions during the useage phase of vehicles are of increasing interest in environmental protection, and consequently, there is considerable interest in exhaust systems. The automotive exhaust system including the catalytic converter is, because of the precious metals in the catalyst, of particular interest for the recycling of automotive parts. The paper will describe the recycling technology of ceramic and metal catalyst substrates. The process will be analyzed in detail with the example of metal supports. As a result the complete life cycle and the recycling efficiency are presented.

Future emission legislation and new diesel engine technology tighten the requirements for modern diesel vehicle exhaust after-treatment systems. In particular, the oxidation catalyst system requires more efficiency to treat increasing raw emissions of HC and CO at low exhaust gas temperatures resulting from advanced combustion processes. This represents a big challenge for all developers today where the cost of raw materials continues to rise. Splitting the oxidation catalyst volume into two parts and mounting a very small part in front of a turbocharger on Euro III or Euro IV Diesel engines has been proved very efficient: Light off and maximum pollutant conversion rates were improved. New results gained with Pre Turbocharger Catalyst (PTC) on a Euro V type diesel engine are confirming previous observations. The complete after-treatment system of today's vehicles should be designed and developed for the whole life of the vehicle.

Further tightened emission legislation and new engine technologies increase the requirements for the exhaust after-treatment system of modern diesel passenger cars. Especially the increasing raw emissions of HC and CO as well as the low temperature of the exhaust gas for a long period during cold start of the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) require additional efforts in the design of the oxidation catalyst system [1]. A highly efficient micro catalyst, which is mounted in front of a turbocharger, can help to treat efficiently these high HC and CO emissions. Due to the higher temperature level in front of the turbine and the significantly increased mass and heat transfer by turbulent flow, efficiency especially during cold start is highly increased. However the packaging constraints are more critical in this area due to heat considerations and also to maintain engine performance.

Future emission legislation can be met through substantial improvement in the effectiveness of the exhaust gas after-treatment system, the engine and the engine management system. For the catalytic converter, differentiation is necessary between the cold start behavior and the effectiveness at operating temperature. To be catalytically effective, a converter must be heated by the exhaust gas up to its light-off temperature. The major influential parameter for the light-off still is the supply of heat from the exhaust gas. Modification of the cold start calibration of engine control such as spark retard or increased idle speed can increase the temperature level of the exhaust gas. One further possibility is represented by a reduction of the critical mass ahead of the catalyst (exhaust manifold and pipe). Nevertheless the best measure to obtain optimal cold start effectiveness still seems to be locating the converter close to the engine.

Nearly all real Diesel engine operation is leading to low exhaust temperatures. Standard catalyst technique remains therefore for significant time below light off. To improve the conversion behavior two approaches were made: placement of tailor fitted catalysts as close as possible to the engine exhaust port before turbocharger and usage of close coupled catalysts with the so-called hybrid design. Both measures are providing visible progress in reducing Diesel engine emissions. Tests were made with modern Diesel engines both for passenger cars and heavy duty vehicles.

Modern Diesel Engines equipped with Common-Rail Direct Injection, EGR and optimized combustion technology have been proven to reduce dramatically engine raw emissions both in terms of Nox and Particulate Matter. As a matter of fact the recently introduced FIAT 1.3 JTD 4 Cylinder Engine achieves Euro 4 limits with aid of conventional 2-way oxidation catalyst. Nevertheless some special applications, such as platforms with relatively higher gross vehicle weight possibly yield to PM-related issues. The present paper deals with the development program carried out to design a cost effective aftertreatment solution in order to address particulate matter tailpipe emissions. The major constraint of this development program was the extremely challenging packaging conditions and the absolute demand to avoid any major impact on the system design. The flow-through metal supported PM Filter Catalyst has been extensively tested on the specific vehicle application with aid of roller bench setup.

Future stringent emission levels for NOx and PM will lead to the introduction of innovative combustion processes for diesel engines, such as premixed combustion, with the results to enhance the engine out emission of HC and CO. Therefore very efficient oxidation catalyst will be needed to face this possible issue. This paper deals with the optimization of a EU IV exhaust system by means of innovative metal supported catalyst, as for example the Pre Turbo Catalyst and the Hybrid Catalyst in combination with dedicated catalyst coatings. Moreover a base study over the use of PM-Filter Catalyst has been made, to show the efficiency of such a device with EU IV engine calibration. The second part of the paper deals with the turbulent like structured foils substrates to have an even more efficient diesel oxidation catalyst with very high volumetric efficiency.

Future tighter emission limits for 2 wheelers in Europe and worldwide will require a completely new approach in catalyst system design. In particular, the EU5 scenario, probably with the same emission limits as 4 wheelers and, for the first time, emission durability requirements, needs a new strategy to combine higher and durable conversion efficiency with the classical characteristics of 2 wheeler systems: low cost, low weight with minimum impact on exhaust system layout and engine out performances such as low fuel consumption and good power output. This paper deals with the investigation of innovative metallic substrates keeping constant, as a first step towards the development of an EU5 system, both washcoat technology and PGM loading. In particular the effect of turbulent structures in the substrate, using PE (Perforated Foils) and LS (Longitudinal Structure) have been thoroughly investigated in testing 400cpsi PE and LS substrates.

This paper gives a thorough review of the HC/CO emissions challenge and discusses the effects of different diesel oxidation catalyst designs in a pre turbine and post turbine position on steady state and transient turbo charger performance as well as on HC and CO tailpipe emissions, fuel economy and performance of modern Diesel engines. Results from engine dynamometer testing are presented. Both classical diffusive and advanced premixed Diesel combustion modes are investigated to understand the various effects of possible future engine calibration strategies.

The study presented in this paper focuses on measures to minimize exhaust gas emissions to meet SULEV targets on a V6 engine by using a cost efficient system configuration. The study consists of three parts. A) In the first stage, the influence of engine management both on raw emissions and catalyst light off performance was optimized. B) Afterwards, the predefined high cell density catalyst system was tested on an engine test bench. In this stage, thermal data and engine out emissions were used for modeling and prediction of light-off performance for further optimized catalyst concepts. C) In the final stage of the program, the emission performance of the test matrix, including high cell density as well as multifunctional single substrate systems, are studied during the FTP cycle. The presented results show the approach to achieve SULEV emission compliance with innovative engine control strategies in combination with a cost effective metallic catalyst design.

Soot filtration represents a major problem for the complete exploiting of Diesel engines characteristics in terms of global efficiency and CO2 emissions. Even though the engines development in the last years let the engine performances improve, exhaust gas after treatment is still required to respect the foreseen limits for soot and NOx emissions. A flow-through particle trap has been presented with a great potential in soot removal without major penalties in terms of exhaust back pressure. The device performance is strictly connected to channel geometry. This paper deals with that relation by means of an experimental-numerical approach.

Recent engine development has been mainly driven by increased specific volumetric power and especially by fuel consumption minimization. On the other hand the stringent emission limits require a very fast cold start that can be reached only using tailored catalyst heating strategy. This kind of thermal management is widely used by engine manufactures although it leads to increased fuel consumption. This fuel penalty is usually higher for high power output engines that have a very low load during emission certification cycle leading to very low exhaust gas temperature and, consequently, the need of additional energy to increase the exhaust gas temperature is high. An alternative way to reach a fast light off minimizing fuel consumption increase is the use of an Electrical Heated Catalyst (EHC) that uses mechanical energy from the engine to generate the electrical energy to heat up the catalyst.

Future stringent emission limits both in the European Community and USA require continuously increased conversion efficiency of exhaust after-treatment systems. Besides the obvious targets of fastest light-off performance, overall conversion efficiency and durability, catalytic converters for maximum output engines require highly optimized flow properties as well, in order to create minimum exhaust backpressure for low fuel consumption. This work deals with the design, development and serial introduction of a close coupled main catalyst system using the innovative technology of Perforated Foils (PE). By means of PE-technology, channel-to-channel gas mixing within the metal substrate could be achieved leading to dramatically reduced backpressure values compared with the conventional design.

Nearly all real diesel engines operations are leading to low exhaust temperatures. Standard catalyst technique remains therefore for significant time below light-off. To improve the conversion behavior two approaches were made: placement of tailor-fitted catalysts as close as possible to the engine exhaust port before turbocharger and usage of close coupled catalysts with the so-called hybrid design. Both measures are providing visible progress in reducing diesel engine emissions. Tests were made with modern diesel engines both for passenger cars and heavy-duty vehicles.

1 An experimental study has been carried out on a production vehicle by means of roller-bench emission tests in order to optimize alternative aftertreatment systems. To this aim different comparisons between the production exhaust system and new strategies are discussed in the present paper with aid of both modal emission data and bag tailpipe figures. The present work shows the application of a alternative solution that complies with future emission legislation with regard both to HC, CO, NOx and PM without any major engine power output or fuel consumption penalty.

The influence of physical parameters of the catalyst's substrate such as thermal mass, hydraulic diameter and geometric surface area on catalyst's efficiency is well known as published in numerous works. This paper will show interactions of these parameters and will provide a guideline on how to design the optimum system for a specific application, taking into account system's back pressure and system costs. Based on engine test bench results that show the influence of the physical parameters, the results for the optimized design regarding emission tests and maximum conversion rate at higher loads will be demonstrated.

It is well known that the optimal management of cold start is crucial to fulfill present and future emission legislation. During past years the catalytic converter has left its original under floor position to get increasingly closer to the engine in order to exploit higher exhaust gas temperature. Simultaneously, the exhaust gas temperature is becoming significantly lower, both in gasoline engines due to the extensive use of turbo charging, and in diesel engines thanks to very high combustion efficiency and in some cases the use of two stage turbo charging. A well established way to reach the catalyst light-off temperature fast enough to fulfill emission limits consists of artificially increasing the exhaust gas temperature. This has the drawback of a higher fuel consumption which conflicts with the tight CO2 targets now required of the OEMs.