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Increasingly stringent vehicle emissions legislation is being introduced throughout the world, regulating the allowed levels of particulate matter emitted from vehicle tailpipes. The regulation may prove challenging for gasoline vehicles equipped with modern gasoline direct injection (GDI) technology, owing to their increased levels of particulate matter production. It is expected that gasoline particulate filters (GPFs) will soon be fitted to most vehicles sold in China and Europe, allowing for carbonaceous particulate matter to be effectively captured. However, GPFs will also capture and accumulate non-combustible inorganic ash within them, mainly derived from engine oil. Studies exist to demonstrate the impact of such ash on GPF and vehicle performance, but these commonly make use of accelerated ash loading methods, which themselves introduce significant variation.

In the auto industry, lightweight window designs are drawing more attention for improved gas mileage and reduced exhaust emission. Corning’s Gorilla® Glass used in laminate design enables more than 30% weight reduction compared to conventional soda-lime glass laminates. In addition, Gorilla® Glass hybrid laminates (which are a laminate construction of a thick soda-lime glass outer play, a middle polyvinyl butyral interlayer, and a thin Gorilla Glass inner ply) also show significantly improved toughness due to advanced ion-exchange technology that provides high-surface compression. However, the reduced mass also allows increased transmission of sound waves through the windshield into the vehicle cabin. A system-level measurement approach has always been employed to assess overall vehicle acoustic performance by measuring sound pressure levels (SPL) at the driver’s ears. The measured sound signals are usually a superimposition of a variety of noise sources and transmission paths.

Diesel Oxidation Catalyst in conjunction with large frontal area substrates is a key element in HDV Diesel emission control systems. This paper describes and reviews tests on a set of various Diesel Oxidation Catalyst configurations (for example cell densities), all with the same catalyst coating. The Diesel Oxidation Catalyst specimens were subjected to the European Stationary Cycle (ESC), the European Transient Cycle (ETC), and the US heavy duty Federal Test Procedure (US FTP). The focus was to study relative emissions, pressure drop, and light-off performance. All tests were conducted using the same Detroit Diesel Series 60 engine operating on ultra low sulfur diesel fuel. In addition to this, the exhaust was regulated so that the backpressure on the engine, upstream of the catalyst was also the same for all catalysts.

This summary covers representative developments from 2008 in diesel regulations, engine technology, and NOx, particulate matter (PM), and hydrocarbon (HC) control. Europe is finalizing the Euro VI heavy-duty (HD) regulations for 2013 with the intent of technologically harmonizing with the US. A new particle number standard will be adopted. California is considering tightening the light-duty fleet average to US Tier 2 Bin 2 levels, and CO2 mandates are emerging in Europe for LD, and in the US for all vehicles. LD engine technology is focused on downsizing to deliver lower CO2 emissions, enabled by advances in boost and EGR (exhaust gas recirculation). Emerging concepts are shown for attaining Bin 2 emission levels. HD engines will make deNOx systems optional for even the tightest NOx standards, but deNOx systems enable much lower fuel consumption levels and will likely be used. NOx control is centered on SCR (selective catalytic reduction) for diverse applications.

Driven mainly by tightening of regulations, advance diesel emission control technologies are rapidly advancing. This paper will review the field with the intent of highlighting representative studies that illustrate the state-of-the-art. First, the author makes estimates of the emission control efficiency targets for heavy and light duty applications. Given the emerging significance of ultrafines to health, and to emission control technologies, an overview of the significant developments in ultrafine particulate science is provided, followed by an assessment of filter technology. Major deNOx catalyst developments, in addition to SCR and LNT progress is described. Finally, system integration examples are provided. In general, progress is impressive and studies have demonstrated that high-efficiency systems are within reach in all sectors highway vehicle sectors. Engines are making impressive gains, and will increase the options for emission control.

It has been reported that particulate emissions from diesel vehicles could be associated with damaging human health, global warming and a reduction in air quality. These particles cover a very large size range, typically 3 to 10 000 nm. Filters in the vehicle exhaust systems can substantially reduce particulate emissions but until very recently it was not possible to directly characterise actual on-road emissions from a vehicle. This paper presents the first study of the effect of filter systems on the particulate emissions of a heavy-duty diesel vehicle during real-world driving. The presence of sulfur in the fuel and in the engine lubricant can lead to significant emissions of sulfate particles < 30 nm in size (nanoparticles).

An axisymmetric finite element model is generated to simulate the windshield glass damage propagation subjected to impact loading of a flying object. The windshield glass consists of two glass outer layers laminated by a thin poly-vinyl butyral (PVB) layer. The constitutive behavior of the glass layers is simulated using brittle damage mechanics model with linear damage evolution. The PVB layer is modeled with linear viscoelastic solid. The model is used to predict and examine through-thickness damage evolution patterns on different glass surfaces and cracking patterns for different windshield designs such as variations in thickness and curvatures.

A previous paper reported (SAE Paper 2002-01-2884) that it was possible to decrease mode-weighted NOx emissions compared to the OEM calibration with corresponding increases in particulate matter (PM) emissions. These PM emission increases were partially overcome with the use of oxygenated diesel fuel additives. We wanted to know if compounds of toxicological concern were emitted more or less using oxygenated diesel fuel additives that were used in conjunction with a modified engine operating strategy to lower engine-out NOx emissions. Emissions of toxicologically relevant compounds from fuels containing triproplyene glycol monomethyl ether and dibutyl maleate were the same or lower compared to a low sulfur fuel (15 ppm sulfur) even under engine operating conditions designed to lower engine-out NOx emissions.

The effect of web thickness on emission performance, pressure drop, and mechanical properties was investigated for a series of catalyzed ceramic monolith substrates having cell densities of 900, 600 and 400 cpsi. As expected, thinner webs provide better catalyst light off performance and lower pressure drop, but mechanical strength generally decreases as web thickness is reduced. Good correlations were found between emission performance and geometric parameters based on bare and coated parts. An improved method for estimating the effects of cell density and web thickness on bare substrate strength is described, and the effect of porosity on material strength is also examined. New mechanical strength correlations for ceramic honeycombs are presented. The availability of a range of ceramic product geometries provides options for gasoline exhaust emission design and optimization, especially where increased levels of performance are desired.

Engine laboratory tests were conducted to assess the impact of B20 biodiesel on the performance of cordierite diesel particulate filters (DPFs). Test fuels included 20% soy based methyl ester blended into ultra low sulfur diesel fuel, and two ULSD on-road market fuels. B20 has a higher cetane number, boiling point and oxygen content than typical on-road diesel fuels. A comparative study was performed using a model year 2007 medium duty diesel truck engine. The aftertreatment system included a diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC) followed by a cordierite wall flow DPF. A laboratory-grade supplemental fuel doser was used in the exhaust stream for precise regeneration of the DPF. Tests revealed that the fuel dosing rate was higher and DOC fuel conversion efficiency was poorer for the B20 fuel during low exhaust temperature regenerations. The slip of B20 fuel past the DOC was shown to produce significantly higher exotherms in the DPF during regeneration.

With the introduction of a stringent particulate number (PN) limit and real driving emission (RDE) requirements, gasoline particulate filters (GPF) are widely adopted for gasoline engines in Europe and China. The filter collects soot and ash. Like in diesel applications, the collected soot will continuously burn under favorable exhaust conditions. However, at extreme conditions, there could be large amounts of soot build-up, which may induce a highly exothermal event, potentially damaging the filter. Thus, it is important to understand what drives the over-heating in application, and develop counter measures. In this study, an on-vehicle fuel cut (FC) testing procedure was developed. The testing was conducted on two vehicles, one gasoline direct injection (GDI) vehicle and one multiple port injection (MPI) vehicle, with different exhaust systems designs (a close coupled GPF and an under floor GPF) and catalyst coating levels (bare and heavily coated GPFs).

Over the past decade, regulations for mobile source emissions have become more stringent thus, requiring advances in emissions systems to comply with the new standards. For the popular diesel powered passenger cars particularly in Europe, diesel particulate filters (DPFs) have been integrated to control particulate matter (PM) emissions. Corning Incorporated has developed a new proprietary aluminum titanate-based material for filter use in passenger car diesel applications. Aluminum titanate (hereafter referred to as AT) filters were launched commercially in the fall of 2005 and have been equipped on more than several hundred thousand European passenger vehicles. Due to their outstanding durability, filtration efficiency and pressure drop attributes, AT filters are an excellent fit for demanding applications in passenger cars. Extensive testing was conducted on engine to evaluate the survivability and long-term thermo-mechanical durability of AT filters.

The diesel oxidation catalyst is required to remove hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide from the diesel engine exhaust stream while minimizing the impact of all other features such as cost, space, pressure drop, weight, fuel consumption, etc. The challenge of designing a catalytic converter for a particular application then becomes to: first, understand the emissions and other performance targets and requirements for the engine; second, understand the influence each of the converter parameters has on the overall system performance and; third, optimize the system using these relationships. This paper will explore some of the considerations with respect to the second of the above challenges.

Driven by the worldwide automotive emission regulations, ceramic substrates were developed to serve as catalyst support. Since the introduction of Standard wall substrates in 1974, substrates with thinner walls and higher cell densities have been developed to meet the tighter emission requirements; Worldwide, the amount of Thinwall and Ultrathinwall substrates in series applications is increasing continuously. The properties of the substrates determine their performance regarding pressure drop, heat-up and conversion efficiency. These properties are analyzed, as well as the packaging process for Thinwall and Ultrathinwall substrates; A new packaging technique with lower pressure load is described.

Sub-23nm particles emission from the light-duty vehicle is widely discussed now and possible to be counted into the next stage emission legislation, such as Euro7. In this article, 16 China6 gasoline vehicles were tested over the WLTC and two surrogate RDE lab cycles for particulate number (PN) emission, the difference between PN23 (particle size >23nm) and PN10 (particle size>10nm) emission was analyzed. Testing results showed that the average PN10 emission increased 59% compared to PN23, which will bring great challenges for those vehicles to meet the future regulation requirement if sub-23nm particle is counted. The sub-23nm particles emission was proportional to the PN23 particles emission and generated mostly from the cold start or the transient engine conditions with rich combustion. Compared to the proposal of Euro 7, PN10 emission from some tested vehicles will need further two orders of magnitude reduction.