Volume 2 Issue 1 - Diesel Articles

Stopping the Fine Particulates

No matter what anyone does, a diesel engine will produce fine particulates, so fine we can not see them in the exhaust. Just take a look at any conventional diesel exhaust system – there is always a coating of black carbon on the inside of the pipe: clear evidence of passing particulates. Particulates can be limited somewhat by the way a diesel engine is set up, but to reduce particulate output by 90% requires the installation of something that is able to trap these particles.

Enter the Duramax Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF). It literally is a filter, designed to handle the extreme temperatures of diesel engine exhaust. It is made out of a porous ceramic substrate. The basic design is similar to the air filter on the LMM Duramax, known as a wall-flow filter. Exhaust gases enter one end of the filter and run down long chambers. The wall between the chambers are porous, and the exhaust gases migrate through the side-walls between chambers and then exit the other side of the filter. Soot accumulates at the far end of the chamber which is blocked. As soot accumulates, the filter becomes more and more restrictive. It does not take a great deal of time to begin to restrict the DPF to the point where it could begin to adversely affect engine operation; in fact this threshold can be reached in less than 375 miles!

In this article...

• Stopping the Fine Particulates
• Reducing NOx
• After Treatment System
• Real World Driving
• Looking Forward

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