Abstract
Keywords - Diesel, Aftertreatment, Catalyzed Particulate Filter, Regeneration, For-life
Abstract - The continuous development of modern, direct-injection diesel engines, focused mainly on combustion improvements, has allowed passenger cars and light duty vehicles to achieve extremely low exhaust emission levels. Nevertheless, in order to meet the future legislation in Europe and considering the increased customers sensitivity to urban air quality, the need of effective aftertreatment technologies capable to further decrease the vehicles environmental impact appears to be more and more relevant. In order to drastically reduce the particulate emissions in all the engine operating conditions, a for-life catalyzed diesel particulate filter has been developed for serial passenger cars. The exhaust gas temperature required for the filter regeneration (>600°C) was found to be achievable in all driving situations of practical interest through a smart management of up to five multiple injections, avoiding the need of fuel additives and without introducing an unacceptable increase of fuel consumption or a noticeable change in vehicle driveability. The features and performance of the specific control system and engine / aftertreatment hardware developed are presented in this paper.