EVALUATION OF A CYCLONE-BASED PARTICULATE FILTRATION SYSTEM FOR HIGH-SPEED DIESEL-ENGINES

A cyclone-based filtration system has been developed and its potential for reduction of exhaust particulates in high-speed direct injection diesel engines is evaluated; the filtration efficiency of the four cyc lones has been enhanced by means of particulate agglomeration induced by cooling in a hear exchanger. With this system installed in the exha ust pipe of a 2.5 litre direct injection engine, tests covering a wide range of speed, load and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) fraction res ulted in reductions of up to 77 per cent in emitted particulate mass f lowrate. The dependence of the system's performance on engine operatin g conditions, EGR configuration and cyclone geometry is presented and discussed.