Combined Virtual and Experimental Approach to Develop Highly Efficient Metallic Catalyst for New World Wide Emission Legislation

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">The market penetration of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) in Europe is not following the foreseen scenario. This is related to several factors, such as uncertainty of the second-hand value of BEV, real driving range under cold conditions and availability of charging stations. Even if the European Community is still planning a full ban of Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) by 2035, in the rest of the world a more technology neutral approach is being pursued. Car manufacturers are developing different powertrain architectures, from mild- to full-hybrid and Range Extenders (REEX). In this context of different emission regulations, and wide range of powertrain architectures, the focus of the development will be the increase of catalyst efficiency without any big impact on exhaust aftertreatment cost.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">In previous work [<span class="xref">1</span>] the authors have used a 1D simulation approach to support the optimization of metallic TWC substrate for the High Power Cold Start use case. Additionally, a 3D CFD was used to investigate the effect of flow rate peaks where maldistribution appears to have a major impact on the overall abatement efficiency. Additionally, a complete validation of the 3D tool was made using roller bench data, measured by Aurobay on a representative production car. This step served also as an opportunity to deeply validate the tool. The limitation of the heat losses, along with a tailored choice of the thermal mass and properties of the substrate, allowed to guarantee the desired abatement.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">In this work a comprehensive 3D CFD approach is used to assess the possibility to simulate the efficiency of a metallic substrate during typical emissions cycles. Moreover, a dedicated test, using lambda-step, will be used to assess the response of metallic substrates to lambda perturbation.</div></div>