Development of Dust Separator/Filter for Automotive Fuel Vapor Storage Systems (FVSS)

Fuel Vapor Storage Systems (FVSS) on automobiles are susceptible to particle contamination. This is especially true for FVSS components mounted under the automobiles (undercarriage, chassis frame, etc.) and required to meet stringent EPA standards. Particle contamination significantly increases system restriction and reduces the effectiveness of FVSS. This paper describes a dust separator/filter developed to protect the FVSS. Accelerated field durability evaluations and measurement techniques were developed to identify clean locations, ingested contamination levels and ingested contaminant size distributions. Based on field evaluations, test methods were developed in the lab to evaluate effectiveness of several devices to control and reduce contamination. The dust separator design developed was a combination of baffle separators in series with an open cell foam filter. The dust separator was designed to meet and exceed several vehicle system design requirements. Further, the dust separator was designed to meet 150,000 miles vehicle durability requirements without requiring service. Also, along with performance requirements, the separator device was designed to satisfy manufacturing and production feasibility. The development time from concept to production readiness for the dust separator was just under 18 months.