Trap Protection by Limiting A/F Ratio During Regeneration

The purpose of this paper is to investigate a new, universally applicable technique to protect the filter from overheating that could overcome the need for trap bypassing; namely, the trap protection by limiting A/F ratio during regeneration. The technique is supported by control of A/F ratio, leading to an indirect control of exhaust oxygen content and consequently trap regeneration rate. Realisation of the above-mentioned, very simple idea, so as to work effectively in the multitude of possible trap failure scenarios occuring during vehicle driving, is shown to be a fairly complicated task. The new method of trap protection, now being at the stage of initial investigations, is expected to lead to a safe and reliable system with wide applicability, without the need to bypass the trap at any circumstances. As such, it will also be attractive for passenger car applications, supported by the recent advances in wide application of electronic fuel control.