A Numerical Study on the Optimization of Urea Solution Injection to Maximize Conversion Efficiency of NH3

From now on, in order to meet more stringer diesel emission standard, diesel vehicle should be equipped with emission after-treatment devices as NOx reduction catalyst and particulate filters. Urea-SCR is being developed as the most efficient method of reducing NOx emissions in the after-treatment devices of diesel engines, and recent studies have begun to mount the urea-SCR device for diesel passenger cars and light duty vehicles. That is because their operational characteristics are quite different from heavy duty vehicles, urea solution injection should be changed with other conditions. Therefore, the number and diameter of the nozzle, injection directions, mounting positions in front of the catalytic converter are important design factors. In this study, major design parameters concerning urea solution injection in front of SCR are optimized by using a CFD analysis and Taguchi method. The computational prediction of internal flow and spray characteristics in front of SCR was carried out by using STAR-CCM+7.06 code that used to evaluate $NH_3$ uniformity index($NH_3$ UI). The design parameters are optimized by using the $L_{16}$ orthogonal array and small-the-better characteristics of the Taguchi method. As a result, the optimal values are confirmed to be valid in 95% confidence and 5% significance level through analysis of variance(ANOVA). The compared maximize $NH_3$ UI and activation time($NH_3$ UI 0.82) are numerically confirmed that the optimal model provides better conversion efficiency of $NH_3$. In addition, we propose a method to minimize wall-wetting around the urea injector in order to prevent injector blocks caused by solid urea loading. Consequently, the thickness reduction of fluid film in front of mixer is numerically confirmed through the mounting mixer and correcting injection direction by using the trial and error method.

NH3 전환효율 극대화를 위한 Urea 인젝터의 분사 최적화에 관한 수치적 연구