Experimental–theoretical methodology for determination of inertial pressure drop distribution and pore structure properties in wall-flow diesel particulate filters (DPFs)

Wall-flow particulate filters have been placed as a standard technology for Diesel engines because of the increasing restrictions to soot emissions. The inclusion of this system within the exhaust line requires the development of computational tools to properly simulate its flow dynamics and acoustics behaviour. These aspects become the key to understand the influence on engine performance and driveability as a function of the filter placement. Since the pressure drop and the filtration process are strongly depending on the pore structure properties – permeability, porosity and pore size – a reliable definition of these characteristics is essential for model development. In this work a methodology is proposed to determine such properties based on the combination of the pressure drop rement in a steady flow test rig and two theoretical approaches. The later are a lumped model and a one-dimensional (1D) unsteady compressible flow model. The purpose is to simplify the integration of particulate filters into the global engine modelling and development processes avoiding the need to resort to specific and expensive characterisation tests. The proposed methodology was validated against measurements of the response of an uncoated diesel particulate filter (DPF) under different flow conditions as cold steady flow, impulsive flow and hot pulsating flow.