GB2546095A

GB2546095A - System for simulating an aftertreatment of an engine

Info

Publication number: GB2546095A
Application number: GB1600322.0A
Authority: GB
Inventors: J Stainsby Michael; Barrett Richard; Purushothaman Radhakrishnan; Turner Christopher
Original assignee: Perkins Engines Co Ltd
Current assignee: Perkins Engines Co Ltd
Priority date: 2016-01-08
Filing date: 2016-01-08
Publication date: 2017-07-12
Also published as: GB201600322D0

Abstract

A system for simulating particulate exhaust emissions of an engine includes a soot generator 12 and an exhaust conduit assembly 14 which comprises a first assembly 22 coupled to the soot generator 12 and containing an air inlet 34 and a sintered filter (74, fig.2) to assist mixing of air and soot which flows through a conduit 24 to a third assembly 26 containing a catalyst (76, fig.3), eg a diesel oxidation catalyst, and a number of ports 54, 56 and 58 to receive sensor probes 66, 68 and 70, eg for measuring the temperature of the catalyst and of the diluted soot before and after passing through the catalyst. The outlet of the third assembly 26 is connected to a tail pipe 60 which may include a particle counter probe 72. A heating coil 16 wrapped in insulation is disposed around the first assembly 22 and the conduit 24. The supply of air to air inlet 34 may be controlled by a controller 18.

Description

Description SYSTEM FOR SIMULATING AN AFTERTREATMENT OF AN ENGINE Technical Field [0001] The present disclosure relates to a system for simulating particulate exhaust emissions of an engine, and more specifically, to the system for simulating an aftertreatment of the engine having a catalyst designed for reduction of gaseous emissions.

Background [0002] Exhaust gas coming out of an engine such as a diesel engine is a complex mixture of gaseous components and particulate matter. The particulate matter primarily includes carbon as a main component, also known as soot. The high amount of the particulate matter or the soot in exhaust gases is very harmful for human beings and the environment, and therefore, standards are defined for amount and size of the particulate matter in the exhaust gases. Also, the particulate matter coming out of the engine needs to be tested periodically for enhancing life of engine exhaust components and engine performance. A variety of instruments are used for determining particulate matter in engine exhaust emission (these consists of, among others, particle counters, particle sizers, soot/smoke meters, and gravimetric systems). However, these instruments have to be periodically checked for accuracy and compared to understand uncertainty of one’s measurement technique. In order to check these kinds of instruments, it needs to be tested in a laboratory environment.

[0003] Typically, a diesel engine is employed in the laboratory environment for generating particulates to compare the instruments. However, using a diesel engine in a laboratory causes inconvenience to the users. The diesel engine generates a lot of noise and requires dampening, which increases the overall cost of the testing procedure. Also, weight of the diesel engine makes the entire system bulky and cumbersome requiring rig construction for proper mounting of the diesel engine. Further, using the diesel engine increases the operating and maintenance costs and is possibly unsafe in the laboratory environment. Therefore, a system is desired for simulating the engine particle exhaust emission, which does not require the engine.

[0004] Chinese Patent Number 103410588 discloses a test system for simulating particulate matter for testing the particulate matter and engine exhaust components. The system includes a diesel engine generator simulation, gas-solid injector, an air pump, a heater, and aerosol generators. The system is used to simulate exhaust speed, temperature, soot particle concentration, and particle size. However, such type of the system is complex and uses additional consumables, which increases the overall costs for testing the particle number counters. Therefore, there is a need for a cost effective system for simulating exhaust aftertreatment in order to test particle number counters, which is less complex.

Summary of the Disclosure [0005] In one aspect of the present disclosure, a system for simulating particulate exhaust emissions of an engine is provided. The system includes a soot generator adapted to generate soot. An exhaust conduit assembly is in fluid communication with the soot generator. The exhaust conduit assembly including a first assembly having a sintered filter disposed therewithin. The first assembly having a first inlet coupled to the soot generator, and a second inlet disposed at a first surface of the first assembly. The second inlet is adapted to receive an air flow. A second conduit is coupled to the first assembly. The second conduit being in fluid communication with the first assembly, and placed downstream of the first assembly. The second conduit having a second surface. A third assembly having a first end, a second end, and a catalyst disposed therewithin. The first end of the third assembly is in fluid communication with the second conduit and the second end of the third assembly is in fluid communication with a tail pipe. The third assembly including at least one port disposed at a third surface of the third assembly. A heating coil is disposed at the first surface of the first assembly and the second surface of the second conduit with the first assembly and the second conduit being wrapped in insulation for its entire length.

Brief Description of the Drawings [0006] FIG. 1 shows a system for simulating particulate exhaust of an engine, in accordance with the concepts of the present disclosure; [0007] FIG. 2 shows a side sectional view of a portion of a first assembly of the system for simulating the particulate exhaust of the engine, in accordance with the concepts of the present disclosure; and [0008] FIG. 3 shows a side sectional view of a portion of a third assembly of the system for simulating the particulate exhaust of the engine, in accordance with the concepts of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description [0009] FIG. 1 shows a system 10 for simulating particulate exhaust of an engine, in accordance with the concepts of the present disclosure. The system 10 includes a soot generator 12, an exhaust conduit assembly 14, a heating coil 16, and a controller 18. The soot generator 12 having a first outlet 20. The exhaust conduit assembly 14 includes a first assembly 22, a second conduit 24, and a third assembly 26. The first assembly 22 includes a first inlet 28, a number of pipe-covers 30, a number of hose clamps 32, a second inlet 34, a first surface 36, a first sensor probe 38, and a second outlet 40. The second conduit 24 having a first end 42, and a second surface 44. Similarly, the third assembly 26 having a first end 46, a number of ports 48, a third surface 50, and a second end 52. The ports 48 include a first port 54, a second port 56, and a third port 58. The exhaust conduit assembly 14 further includes a tail pipe 60. The system 10 further includes various other components such as, but not limited to, a support frame, fasteners etc. For the purpose of simplicity, the various other components of the system 10 are not labeled in FIG. 1. The exhaust conduit assembly 14 is made of materials such as, but not limited to, steel, stainless steel, chromium-steel alloys, or nickel-steel alloys.

[0010] The soot generator 12 is adapted to generate soot which is a mass of impure carbon particles resulting from an incomplete combustion of hydrocarbons. For example, the soot generator 12 is a MiniCAST soot generator which generates same amount of soot that is generated by the engine. The soot generator 12 having the first outlet 20 which is coupled to the first inlet 28 of the first assembly 22 using the pipe-covers 30. The pipe-covers 30 are tightened using the hose clamps 32. The soot is passed through the first outlet 20 of the soot generator 12 to the first inlet 28 of the first assembly 22. The first assembly 22 includes the second inlet 34 which is disposed at the first surface 36 of the first assembly 22. The second inlet 34 is adapted to receive an air flow through a hose 62, and the controller 18 is communicatively coupled to the hose 62 and is configured to control the amount of the air supplied to the first assembly 22 through the hose 62 via an orifice (not shown). A feed tube 64 is in fluid communication with the hose 62 and supplies the air to the hose 62. Further, the first assembly 22 includes the first sensor probe 38 which is positioned at the second inlet 34, and is adapted to enable thermocouple to be fitted to monitor temperature of diluent air. The received air flow is mixed with the soot within the first assembly 22 to dilute the soot entering from the first inlet 28. The detailed description of the first assembly 22 is described later in conjunction with FIG. 2. Thereafter, the diluted soot flows through the second conduit 24 which is coupled to the first assembly 22, and placed downstream of the first assembly 22. The second conduit 24 having the first end 42 which is in fluid communication with the first assembly 22, and adapted to receive the diluted soot through the second outlet 40 of the first assembly 22.

[0011] Further, the heating coil 16 is disposed at the first surface 36 of the first assembly 22 and the second surface 44 of the second conduit 24, with the first assembly 22 and the second conduit 24 being wrapped in insulation for its entire length. The heating coil 16 is operated to regulate the temperature of the diluted soot present therewithin, and is wrapped inside a blanket (not shown). A temperature cool and the blanket (not shown) is utilized to keep the first surface 36 of the first assembly 22 and the second surface 44 of the second conduit 24 at the temperature above dew point. As an example, the heating coil 16 is adapted to maintain temperature upto 47°C. Similarly, the second conduit 24 is in fluid communication with the third assembly 26 which is positioned in a direction perpendicular to the second conduit 24. The third assembly 26 having the first end 46 which is in fluid communication with the second conduit 24. The first end 46 of the third assembly 26 receives the diluted soot from the second conduit 24. Further, the third assembly 26 includes the first port 54, the second port 56, and the third port 58 which are disposed at the third surface 50 of the third assembly 26. The first port 54, the second port 56, and the third port 58 are adapted to hold a second sensor probe 66, a third sensor probe 68, and a fourth sensor probe 70 respectively. The detailed description of the third assembly 26 is described later in conjunction with FIG. 3.

[0012] Referring to FIG. 1, the diluted soot flows through the third assembly 26. The third assembly 26 having the second end 52 which is coupled to the tail pipe 60, and in fluid communication with the tail pipe 60. The tail pipe 60 receives the diluted soot through the second end 52 of the third assembly 26 by means of vacuum from the tail pipe 60. Further, the tail pipe 60 includes a fifth sensor probe 72 which is a probe of a particle counter (not shown), and measures particle count in the diluted hydrocarbon free soot. As an example, measurements taken by the fifth sensor probe 72 is used as a reference, the particle counter which ensures that the third assembly 26 is operating correctly. Thereafter, the diluted soot is expelled from the system 10 through the tail pipe 60.

[0013] FIG 2. shows a side sectional view of a portion of the first assembly 22 of the system 10 for simulating the particulate emission of the engine, in accordance with the concepts of the present disclosure. As discussed above, the first inlet 28 of the first assembly 22 receives the soot from the soot generator 12 (shown in FIG. 1), and then flows through the first assembly 22. The first assembly 22 includes the second inlet 34 which is disposed at the first surface 36 of the first assembly 22. The second inlet 34 is adapted to receive an air flow through the hose 62 (as shown in FIG. 1). Further, the first assembly 22 includes a sintered filter 74 which is disposed therewithin. The received air flow is then passed through the sintered filter 74 to form a cushion of air around the sintered filter 74, and thus the sintered filter 74 helps in proper mixing of the air with the soot to form diluted soot. After passing through the sintered filter 74, the density of the diluted soot is reduced. For example, if the density of the soot generated by the soot generator 12 is very dense i.e., 108 particles/cm3, then after passing through the sintered filter 74, the density of the soot is reduced to 106 particles/cm . The diluted soot is then passed through the second outlet 40 of the first assembly 22 to the second conduit 24.

[0014] FIG. 3 shows a side sectional view of a portion of the third assembly 26 of the system 10 for simulating the effect that aftertreatment has on the particulate emission of the engine and to remove any unstable volatile hydrocarbon formed particles from the soot generator 12 fuel, in accordance with the concepts of the present disclosure. As discussed above, the first end 46 of the third assembly 26 is in fluid communication with the second conduit 24, and receives the diluted soot from the second conduit 24. Further, the third assembly 26 includes the first port 54, the second port 56, and the third port 58, which are disposed at the third surface 50 of the third assembly 26. The first port 54 having the second sensor probe 66 measures the temperature of the diluted soot present within the third assembly 26 at its inlet. Thereafter, the diluted soot is passed through a catalyst 76 which is disposed within the third assembly 26. The catalyst 76 reacts with the diluted soot in such a way that the catalyst 76 reduces unstable volatile hydrocarbon formed particles present in the diluted particulate. For example, the catalyst 76 reduces the number of various types of unbumt hydrocarbons such as, but not limited to, Carbon Monoxide (CO), and different oxides of nitrogen such as Nitric Oxide (NO), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) etc. Further, the second port 56 having the third sensor probe 68 which measures the temperature of the catalyst 76. Similarly, the third port 58 having the fourth sensor probe 70 which measures the temperature of the diluted soot after passing through the catalyst 76. The diluted soot is then passed through the second end 52 of the third assembly 26 to the tail pipe 60 (shown in Fig. 1). As an example, the catalyst 76 is a diesel oxidation catalyst.

[0015] It should be noted that the controller 18, may be a processor for controlling the amount of the air flow. Further, the controller 18 may include power electronics, preprogrammed logic circuits, data processing circuits, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, software, firmware, combinations thereof, or any other controller structures known in the art. Although, the controller 18 is shown embodied in a single housing, the controller 18 may be a separate entity communicatively coupled to the hose 62.

Industrial Applicability [0016] The present disclosure provides the system 10 for simulating the particulate exhaust emission of the engine. The system 10 discloses the soot generator 12 which is in fluid communication with the first assembly 22. The first assembly 22 having the second inlet 34 which is adapted to supply the air flow through the hose 62. Further, the controller 18 is communicatively coupled to the hose 62 and is configured to control the amount of the air supplied to the first assembly 22 through the hose 62 via an orifice (not shown). Thereafter, the air flow is passed through the sintered filter 74 to form a cushion of air around the sintered filter 74, and thus the sintered filter 74 helps in proper mixing of the air with the soot to form the filtered diluted soot. The filtered diluted soot then flows through the second outlet 40 of the first assembly 22 to the second conduit 24. Further, the heating coil 16 is disposed at the first surface 36 of the first assembly 22, and the second surface 44 of the second conduit 24, with the first assembly 22 and the second conduit 24 being wrapped in insulation for its entire length. The heating coil 16 is operated to regulate temperature of the diluted soot present therewithin, and is wrapped inside the blanket (not shown) which is utilized to keep the first surface 36 of the first assembly 22 and the second surface 44 of the second conduit 24 at a temperature above the dew point, and thus prevents water forming and potentially growing size of particles. Additionally, heating the first surface 36 of the first assembly 22 and the second surface 44 of the second conduit 24, prevents particle losses through thermophoresis. Thus, the heating coil 16 reduces agglomeration of the filtered diluted soot. Hereinafter, the diluted soot will be equivalent to the filtered diluted soot.

[0017] The diluted soot then flows through the second conduit 24 to the third assembly 26. The third assembly 26 having the catalyst 76 which is disposed therewithin. The catalyst 76 reacts with the diluted soot in order to reduce unstable volatile hydrocarbon formed particles present in the diluted particulate. Further, the tail pipe 60 includes the fifth sensor probe 72 which is a probe of a particle counter (not shown), and measures particle count in the diluted hydrocarbon free soot. Thereafter, the diluted soot is expelled from the system 10 through the tail pipe 60. Such type of the system 10 performs accurate measurement of the particle count in the diluted soot, and thus ensures proper calibration of the particle counter. Also, the system 10 is a cost effective system for simulating the particulate exhaust of the engine in order to test the particle counter.

[0018] While aspects of the present disclosure have been particularly shown and described with reference to the embodiments above, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various additional embodiments may be contemplated by the modification of the disclosed machines, systems and methods without departing from the spirit and scope of what is disclosed. Such embodiments should be understood to fall within the scope of the present disclosure as determined based upon the claims and any equivalents thereof.

Claims

Claims What is claimed is:
1. A system for simulating particulate exhaust emissions of an engine, the system comprising: a soot generator adapted to generate soot; an exhaust conduit assembly in fluid communication with the soot generator, the exhaust conduit assembly including: a first assembly having a sintered filter disposed therewithin, the first assembly having a first inlet coupled to the soot generator, and a second inlet disposed at a first surface of the first assembly, the second inlet adapted to receive an air flow; a second conduit coupled to the first assembly, the second conduit being in fluid communication with the first assembly, and placed downstream of the first assembly, the second conduit having a second surface; and a third assembly having a first end, a second end, and a catalyst disposed therewithin, the first end of the third assembly is in fluid communication with the second conduit and the second end of the third assembly is in fluid communication with a tail pipe, the third assembly including at least one port disposed at a third surface of the third assembly; and a heating coil disposed at the first surface of the first assembly and the second surface of the second conduit with the first assembly and the second conduit being wrapped in insulation for its entire length.