Visualization of Automotive Catalytic Converter Internal Flows

Internal flow details of a prototype dual-bed monolith converter were determined in water-flow visualization tests run on a full-scale transparent acrylic model. Using steadily flowing water seeded with a small quantity of tracer particles, fluid motion within transparent sections of the flow model was deduced from particle pathlines illuminated with a thin plane of laser light. Flow in the inlet transition separated from the diffuser walls and impinged as a constant-diameter jet on the leading face of the first monolith. Velocity profiles from streak photographs showed that the level of flow maldistribution in the first monolith was a function of Reynolds number. Secondary air injected between the monoliths was uniformly distributed along the major axis of the converter under all flow conditions. At dilution ratios of 16% or more the jet penetration was adequate to provide a uniform, well-mixed diluent distribution.