Filters for engine exhaust particulates

1. A method for determining the regeneration performance of an engine exhaust gas particulate filter under multiple sets of filter regeneration conditions which comprises the steps of:

(a) loading the filter with a measured quantity of combustible particulate material;

(b) conveying through the filter a gas stream characterized by two or more exhaust gas inlet variables selected from the group consisting of inlet oxygen content O 2 , inlet temperature T i , inlet flow rate V i , and inlet hydrocarbon content HC i , at least two of the exhaust variables being known;

(c) initiating combustion of the particulate material while maintaining the at least two exhaust inlet variables constant;

(d) determining at least one of a peak combustion temperature and a residual particulate material content for the filter resulting from the combustion; and

(e) repeating steps (a)-(d) at different values for at least one of the two exhaust inlet variables.

2. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein the combustible particulate material is a synthetic carbon powder and the gas stream is a synthesized nitrogen-air mixture.

3. A method for modeling the regeneration performance of a filter design of known honeycomb geometry and composition type which comprises the steps of:

(a) loading a sample filter of the known honeycomb geometry and composition type with a measured quantity S of combustible particulate material;

(b) conveying through the filter an exhaust gas stream characterized by two or more exhaust inlet variables selected from the group consisting of inlet oxygen content O 2 , inlet temperature T i , inlet flow rate V i , and inlet hydrocarbon content HC i , at least two of the exhaust variables being known;

(c) initiating combustion of the combustible particulate material while maintaining the at least two exhaust inlet variables constant;

(d) determining the value of a filter response variable R selected from the group of: a filter peak combustion temperature and filter regeneration efficiency for the filter resulting from the combustion;

(e) repeating steps (a)-(d) to generate a data set correlating values of the selected filter response variable R with different values of S and each of the at least two inlet variables, and

(f) extending and/or extrapolating the data in the data set to generate a response surface correlating the at least one response variable R with different values of S and the at least two exhaust inlet variables, such that additional values of the response variable R can be calculated from the response surface.

4. A method in accordance with claim 3 wherein the filter response variable R is selected from the group consisting of filter peak combustion temperature and filter regeneration efficiency, and wherein the exhaust gas stream variables are selected from the group consisting of exhaust gas inlet oxygen content O 2 , inlet temperature T i , inlet flow rate V i , and inlet hydrocarbon content HC i .

5. A numerical model of the form R=f(V 1 , V 2 , . . . , Vn) correlating a filter regeneration response value R for an engine exhaust particulate filter of known material type and geometry with a function f of a set of terms (V 1 , V 2 , . . . Vn), wherein R is a filter response value selected from the group of: peak filter regeneration temperature and filter regeneration efficiency, the set of terms (V 1 , V 2 , . . . Vn) includes terms dependent on the values of at least two regeneration condition variables selected from the group consisting of inlet oxygen content O 2 , inlet temperature T i , inlet flow rate V i , inlet hydrocarbon content HC i , and initial combustible particulate loading S, and the function f is an empirical function correlating values of R with values of the regeneration condition variables.

6. A numerical model in accordance with claim 5 , wherein the function f is a polynomial function of 6-10 terms including first order, second order or interactive terms dependent on the value of the regeneration condition variables.

7. A method for aiding a customer in the design of a diesel exhaust emissions control system, comprising:

(a) selecting a diesel particulate filter of predetermined geometry and composition type based on customer requirements;

(b) generating a numerical model of filter regeneration response characteristics for the selected filter, the numerical model correlating a regeneration response R with a set of terms (V 1 , V 2 , . . . Vn) that includes terms dependent on at least two different filter regeneration conditions;

(c) storing the numerical model in digital form on a digital information storage medium; and

(d) providing the numerical model in combination with the selected diesel particulate filter to the customer.

8. A method in accordance with claim 7 wherein the numerical model is of the form R=f(V 1 , V 2 , . . . , Vn), wherein R is a filter response value selected from the group of: peak filter regeneration temperature and filter regeneration efficiency, the set of terms (V 1 , V 2 , . . . Vn) includes terms dependent on the values of at least two regeneration condition variables selected from the group consisting of inlet oxygen content O 2 , inlet temperature T i , inlet flow rate V i , inlet hydrocarbon content HC i , and initial combustible particulate loading S, and the function f is an empirical function correlating values of R with values of the regeneration condition variables.

9. A method in accordance with claim 8 wherein the numerical model includes indicators of limits on the values of the regeneration condition variables, said limits when observed being effective to limit the correlating filter response value R to a value compatible with a material composition and geometric design for the selected diesel particulate filter.