Novel Approaches to an Efficient Trap of Diesel Particulates and It's Regeneration

To develop the reliable and practical method for efficiently collecting diesel particulates and for its regeneration, novel approach with a pellet-packed bed was proposed. This trap has the labyrinths of the flow passage which favors inertial impaction to ceramic pellets, ensuring the required trap efficiency with a longer lifetime prior to clogging as long as the appropriate pellet diameter and trap size are selected. From the experimental results on a single-cylinder test engine, it is shown that the pellet-packed bed has smaller pressure loss during engine operation compared to the monolith filter. Also, the regeneration test was made using a peculiar system by pellet circulation in place of conventional oxidation of particulates. Based on the results, the feasibility of the pellet-packed bed for diesel particulate trap was demonstrated.