Effect of Aspect Ratio on Pressure Drop and Acoustics in Diesel Particulate Filters

With the ever increasing need for diesel exhaust particulate filters to meet the stringent emission regulations, it is imperative that a system approach be adopted in the design and optimization of these filters. A performance study is conducted to study the effect of filter parameters like aspect ratio. An extension of this study includes the effect of inlet and outlet cones on the contraction and expansion of flow at inlet and exit of the filter channels. The study covers both cordierite and silicon carbide (SiC) diesel exhaust particulate filters.

The experimental data is used to validate the pressure drop models developed previously in the literature. Also the effect of the system parameters on the acoustic performance parameter transmission loss of the particulate filters, Light-, Medium- and Heavy duty truck exhaust mufflers and integrated particulate filter/muffler is investigated. The contribution of the filter to the acoustic attenuation in an exhaust system is measured experimentally and discussed.