Modeling and Simulation of a Catalyzed HC trap
Manish Sharma, Ford Motor Company.
Catalyzed Hydrocarbon Traps are being developed for improving the performance of the automotive after-treatment systems during the cold start of a vehicle engine. The majority of unburned hydrocarbon (HCs) emissions from vehicles occur during cold start operation of the vehicle before the catalyst system has heated to the point where it has reached high operating efficiency. This talk will present the results of a modeling study on the performance of catalyzed HC traps. The model development has been done using Steady State and Transient lab and vehicle experiments. A brief introduction of the mathematical model will be followed by simulation results showing the effects of parameters like the monolithic catalyst cell density, thermal mass and zeolite content. The mathematical model helps understand the effect of zeolite capacity, diffusion and thermal mass on the performance of the catalyzed traps. Finally we will compare the model results to actual FTP vehicle tests on Gasoline Fuel. We will also discuss future work needed to make the model applicable to Ethanol mixed Flex Fuels.
See more of this Group/Topical: Catalysis and Reaction Engineering Division