Aftertreatment Technology Section

The Aftertreatment Technology Section in the Engine, Emissions and Vehicle Research Division is principally involved with projects related to the advanced control of exhaust emissions for a range of engine types and sizes. Studies may include the effects of fuels (gasoline, diesel, and alternatives) and/or lubricants on catalyst performance, the physical and catalytic durability of catalysts, development of catalyst formulations for standard and novel applications, and much more. Catalyst testing experience includes oxidation, partial oxidation and three-way catalysts for gasoline engines, and oxidation catalysts, lean oxides of nitrogen (NO_x) catalysts, lean NO_x traps, and SCR catalysts for diesels, and even plasma-assisted catalysis.

Project topics range widely from accelerated aging of catalysts using bench engines or the FOCAS® rig, physical durability of converters using hot vibration techniques, diesel particulate filter (DPF) reconditioning, and catalyst performance evaluation using synthetic gas reactors such as SwRI's USGR® (universal synthetic gas reactor system), bench engines, or vehicles on chassis dynamometers, to sampling of lubricants in aircraft cabin air, and even lift gas generation for aerobots to be used in the atmosphere of Titan, a moon of Saturn).

The section has unique research tools developed in-house such as the FOCAS® rig, often used for controlled catalyst aging in the presence or absence of lubricating oil, the USGR® for measuring catalyst core performance in a range of tightly controlled synthetic gas mixtures and conditions, and the ERIC system for exploring vehicle calibration effects on emissions system effectiveness.

To learn more about the Universal Synthetic Gas Reactor™ (USGR™) at SwRI, visit syntheticgas.swri.org.

Martin J. Heimrich, Manager

Technical strengths in the section include:

• Aftertreatment technology design, development, testing and integration
   
• Catalyst aging, durability and performance evaluations
   
• Catalyst R&D, all engine and fuel applications
   
• Synthetic gas reactor and non-thermal plasma studies
   
• Exhaust system validation and durability
  §   Hot vibration testing
  §   Thermal cycling
  §   Water quench testing
  §   Thermal profile testing
   
• Diesel particulate filter (DPF) R&D
  §   Filtration efficiency measurement
  §   PM mass and soluble organic fraction measurement
  §   Total and solid particle number and size distribution measurement
  §   cDPF catalyst formulation evaluation
  §   cDPF balance point determination
  §   Automated PM loading and regeneration
  §   Ash accumulation and analysis
  §   Regeneration survivability tests
  §   On-vehicle performance and durability testing
  §   DPF plugging investigations and cleaning strategies
   
• Heavy-duty DPF durability test procedure development
  §   On-vehicle exhaust system environment measurement
  §   Accelerated test development
  §   Durability test validation
   
• SCR catalyst system evaluations
  §   NO_x reduction performance
  §   Urea dosing technology
  §   Durability testing
   
• LNT system evaluations
  §   NO_x reduction performance
  §   Regeneration and desulfurization strategy development
  §   Durability testing
  §   System integration
   
• EGR cooler and system evaluations
  §   Thermal cycling
  §   PM fouling
  §   Accelerated corrosion testing
  §   Vibration durability
  §   Metallurgical analysis
  §   PM deposition rate determination
   
• Lubricating oil effects on diesel aftertreatment and sensors
  §   DPFs, cDPFs, DOCs, LNTs, SCRs, NO_x sensors
  §   Catalyst deactivation
  §   Poisoning mechanisms
  §   Ash exposure

Division Publications

Emissions R&D Department
Engine, Emissions and Vehicle Research Division
SwRI Technical Divisions SwRI Home

September 30, 2008