Experimental and computational analysis of behavior of three-way catalytic converter under axial and radial flow conditions

The competition to deliver ultra-low emitting vehicles at a reasonable cost is driving the automotive industry to invest significant manpower and test laboratory resources in the design optimization of increasingly complex exhaust after-treatment systems. Optimization can no longer be based on traditional approaches, which are intensive in hardware use and laboratory testing. The CFD is in high demand for the analysis and design in order to reduce developing cost and time consuming in experiments. This paper describes the development of a comprehensive practical model based on experiments for simulating the performance of automotive three-way catalytic converters, which are employed to reduce engine exhaust emissions. An experiment is conducted to measure species concentrations before and after catalytic converter for different loads on engine. The model simulates the emission system behavior by using an exhaust system heat conservation and catalyst chemical kinetic sub-model. CFD simulation is used to study the performance of automotive catalytic converter. The substrate is modeled as a porous media in FLUENT and the standard k-e model is used for turbulence. The flow pattern is changed from axial to radial by changing the substrate model inside the catalytic converter and the flow distribution and the conversion efficiency of CO, HC and NOx are achieved first, and the predictions are in good agreement with the experimental measurements. It is found that the conversion from axial to radial flow makes the catalytic converter more efficient. These studies help to understand better the performance of the catalytic converter in order to optimize the converter design.