Visualization of soot-trapped diesel particulate filters (DPF) using nuclear magnetic resonance imaging
EMSL Project ID
21606
Abstract
Legislators in the United States and Europe have been aggressive in the pursuit of diesel engine particulate control, especially focusing on the reduction of particulate matter below 2.5 microns in diameter, i.e. PM2.5 to improve the air quality. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 20% of all particulates are due to heavy duty diesel truck engines alone. Furthermore, they believe that diesel particulates are highly detrimental to human health and have classified them as a likely carcinogen. In response, a 90% of reduction in particulate emissions has been mandated for diesel trucks by 2007. Currently, diesel particulate filters (DPF) stand at the forefront of research and development.The issue of capturing particulates in an exhaust stream is efficient filtration by DPF. Standard filtration techniques have associated pressure drops that directly impede engines fuel efficiency. The challenge is to minimize backpressure without sacrificing capture efficiency. Achieving this requires understanding of the capturing process in a spatial resolution. Although there are a lot of efforts on simulating the capturing mechanism by using the 3-D model system, no method is reported to observe the real soot-trapped filters with a spatial resolution in a microscopic scale (~20 μm). Here we propose the use of nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques to visualize the soot-trapped diesel particulate filters.
Project Details
Project type
Capability Research
Start Date
2007-03-01
End Date
2008-09-18
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator
Team Members