Ele CTRi Fi Ca Tion
Ele CTRi Fi Ca Tion
Ele CTRi Fi Ca Tion
eFFeCTS oF eleCTRiFiCaTion mild hybrids, full hybrids and electric The advantage of electric vehicles that
vehicles with or without a range extender. is often emphasized is that they do not
The debates on CO2 emissions and fuel In view of the power density and the charg- produce any emissions. This is however
consumption portray electric vehicles as a ing times of modern batteries it still seems only true locally and does not consider
political solution [1, 2]. However, the range sensible to add a combustion engine to an the emissions produced to generate the
of these vehicles is severely limited by electric vehicle unless it was driven exclu- electricity. The internal combustion
available power capacities, especially in sively in urban areas or for short distances. engine at operating temperature that is
real driving conditions [3]. Electrified drive- Apart from passenger cars, this particu- equipped with a high-performance
trains up to electric vehicles with range larly applies to vans and light-duty and exhaust gas aftertreatment system by
extenders, provide an alternative. When heavy-duty commercial vehicles, which contrast can emit lower pollutant levels
used in conjunction with an electric motor, have a considerably higher power require- than present in the surroundings. The
combustion engines have very different ment per kilometre travelled. For instance, remaining challenge is to reduce or
requirements for catalytic converter sys- a heavy-duty commercial vehicle uses eliminate the cold-start emissions, espe-
tems [4] particularly in view of the ‘zero approximately 1 kWh/km when travelling cially in hybrid vehicles that have fre-
emissions’ image of electric vehicles. At at constant speed on a motorway, which quent engine starts. New catalyst con-
present, ‘electrification of the drivetrain’ is seven times as much as a passenger car cepts and operating strategies are
generally refers to drive systems such as in the NEDC. needed for this.
18
AUtHORs
THE FUTURE OF
EXHAUST AFTER- dipl.-ing. wolFgang mauS
is Chairman Board of
Management at the Emitec
TREATMENT DESIGN
GmbH in lohmar
(Germany).
FOR ELECTRIFIED
DRIVETRAINS dipl.-ing. RolF BRÜCK
is Managing Director
Research, Development &
Application at the Emitec
GmbH in lohmar
Combustion engines used as range extenders in electric (Germany).
01I2012 Volume 73 19
Development Catalysts
❷ Assembly of electrically
heated catalyst
20
depends on the air mass flow and the elec-
tric heating output (1 kW electrical energy
can heat a massflow of 36 kg/h by 100 K).
The heating rate of the catalyst down-
stream of the heated disc is determined by
the air mass flow, ❸. The lower the air
mass flow the higher the catalyst tempera-
ture that can be achieved with the same
heating output. However, a lower air mass
flow also means that it takes longer to heat
the entire length of the catalyst.
③ shows the heating behaviour of the
main catalyst as a function of the exhaust
gas mass flow at a heating output of
2 kW. At a mass flow rate above 5-10 kg/h
a large partial volume (> 50 %) of the ❸ Heating behaviour of the main catalyst as a function of the exhaust gas mass flow at a heating
main catalyst (140 mm axial length) can output of 2 kW (at the axial centre of the support catalyst; Ø 98.4 x (8 + 140) mm / 600 cpsi)
be heated to and above the light-off tem-
perature by pre-heating the heated cata-
lyst before the engine starts. As a result, it
should be possible to convert most of the
emissions after the engine starts while an
optimum air mass is expected.
This was verified by subsequent emis-
sions calculations using the same catalyst
system. The results of these calculations
are shown in ❹, which contains the cal-
culated cumulative HC emissions for each
specified pre-heating time (between 10
and 60 seconds), plus another 90 s in the
EU cycles, with additional variation in the
air mass flow.
Unsurprisingly, longer pre-heating (in
❹ Calculated cumulative HC emissions for different pre-heating times (between 10 and 60 s),
the periods observed) reduces emissions plus a further 90 s after engine start in the EU cycle, with additional variation in the air mass
while there also seems to be an optimum flow between 2 and 20 kg/h
air mass flow in the region of 10 to 15 kg/h
that is associated with minimum emissions
at times exceeding 10 s. The HC emissions aries (mantle, front and end faces) should direction. In addition, a special insulation
achieved in the calculation for the overall be reduced to a minimum to limit heat material was used for the radial insulation
test are in the order of 1.6 mg of HC per loss. Additional insulation in the outer of the catalyst mantle and the cones.
km based on the assumption that the cat- mantle area can reduce heat loss even fur- ❼ shows the influence of the insulation
alyst would not cool down below light off ther. ❻ shows all of the measures that as measuring results in the form of vol-
in the subsequent stages of the test. were implemented in the development of ume fractions of the catalyst matrix, which,
the range extender design. starting from a core temperature of 400 °C,
Consequently, most of the chosen are still above a notional light-off temper-
Cooling Behaviour
measures constrict conductive heat dissi- ature of 230 °C and hence still catalytically
During Engine Off Times –
pation both in a radial and in an axial active. Clearly, referencing to a substrate
Minimisation of Heat Loss
direction. They include discontinuous without any insulation, the introduction
Several factors relating to cooling behaviour areas in the radial section of the catalyst of radial insulation (thickness = 5 mm)
have to be taken into account and address matrix close to the mantle and close to already delays the cooldown of the sub-
ed by appropriate design measures [8]. the axial front and end faces that interrupt strate significantly. The combination of
Assuming that the engine is always oper- heat conduction. Another approach involves radial and axial decoupling with the
ated at load and otherwise uncoupled, this measures that thermally decouple the described insulation measures made it
essentially concerns radial and axial heat mantle from the matrix in a radial direc- possible to almost double the time for
conduction in the substrate and convection tion through the use of a coating with cooling down the substrate.
and radiation to the environment, ❺. poor thermal conductivity and/or air gaps. The example of the scenario highlighted
Heat conduction inside the substrate The mantle itself was thermally decou- above, ①, shows that the engine off times
and especially heat transfer to the bound- pled from the exhaust system in an axial during the urban cycle would allow the
01I2012 Volume 73 21
Development Catalysts
catalyst to cool down with a correspond- electrically heated catalyst with a heating curve of a measuring point located at a
ing effect on emissions. This could be pre- output of 1.8 kW was installed close to depth of 15 mm in the main catalyst for
vented or lessened by the measures the engine of the test vehicle. The catalyst an NEDC cold start with different pre-
described above. measured Ø 98.4 x (8 + 140) mm / heating times and different mass flows
600 cpsi. The tests described in this sec- during the pre-heating phase. ❾ shows
tion were carried out with the aid of a the corresponding temperatures at an
Optimised Operating Strategy –
secondary air pump in order to examine axial depth of 70 mm in the main catalyst.
Vehicle Tests
the effect of different mass flows. As shown in ⑧, a mass flow of 15 kg/h
The aim of the tests performed on the Initial tests were based on an NEDC and a pre-heating time of 30 seconds are
vehicle was to demonstrate low-emission cold start. The temperatures in the electri- not quite enough to raise the temperature
engine starts for various limiting condi- cally heated catalyst were recorded by a at an axial depth of 15 mm to the catalyst
tions. At the same time, the tests were number of thermocouples fitted behind light-off range by the time the engine
also meant to validate the simulated the heated disc and inside the downstream starts but a few seconds later. However,
results discussed above. To this end, an main catalyst. ❽ shows the temperature this is still at least 13 seconds earlier than
22
without heating. By doubling the mass
flow to 30 kg/h it becomes possible to
produce a temperature of approximately
300 °C at the measuring point when the
engine starts and so ensure light off. Any
further increase in the mass flow shows
no significant effect at this measuring point.
A much bigger impact is produced by
extending the heating time from 30 to 45 s
with an average mass flow (30 kg/h).
This raises the temperature at the measur-
ing point by another 150 °C, which is
substantially above the light-off range.
Looking at the temperatures at the cen-
tre of the support catalyst, ⑨, it becomes
clear that without active heating measures
the heat is transferred to this point only
after the first acceleration peak. Depend- ❼ Parts of the catalyst structure that are above the light-off temperature of
ing on the scenario pre-heating can bring 230 °C, various types of radial and axial insulation
half of the catalyst volume up to the light-
off temperature before or during the first
acceleration.
❿ shows the effect of these measures
on emissions. Compared to normal cold
starts, a pre-heating time of 30 s and a
mass flow of 15 kg/h during the pre-heat-
ing phase can reduce HC emissions dur-
ing cold starts by approximately 80 %
from 0.8 g to 0.15 g. CO emissions can be
reduced to a similar extent.
Summary
01I2012 Volume 73 23
Development Catalysts
24
12th
Stuttgart International Symposium
VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY
Aerodynamics, new vehicle
concepts, driving dynamics
and driver assistance systems
VEHICLE POWERTRAIN
Hybrid technology, alternative
fuels, spark-ignition and diesel
engines, engine management
and modelling
VEHICLE ELECTRONICS
Electric vehicles, software and
13 and 14 March 2012
design, modelling and simulation Stuttgart | Germany