Patent Application
20080069742
For sake of convenience, the inventive concepts will be described herein with respect to an exhaust gas aftertreatment system. However, it is to be realized that the inventive concepts can be used in other types of gas treatment systems as well.
The subsections are designed to be connected to one another to form the aftertreatment system. In particular, the subsections are designed to allow the positions of the treatment subsection relative to adjacent subsections, for example the inlet and outlet subsections or another treatment subsection, to be adjusted as required. This permits an infinite number of length and/or clocking configurations for the aftertreatment system to be manufactured.
The treatment subsection forms the standard subsection of the aftertreatment system. In one embodiment, the treatment subsection is designed for telescoping connection with one or both of the inlet and outlet subsections, or other adjacent subsections. Telescoping connections permit relative length adjustment between the treatment subsection and adjacent subsections, as well as relative rotational adjustment between the treatment subsection and adjacent subsections. In another embodiment, the standard treatment subsection can be provided with flared joint geometry to permit connection to flared joint geometry on one or more adjacent subsections.
The aftertreatment systems can be used to treat exhaust gases in a number of applications, for example on vehicle and industrial engines such as diesel engines and gas combustion engines. The exhaust gases can be treated in a number of manners, including, but not limited to, emissions treatment to treat the exhaust gases; noise treatment to reduce noise associated with the exhaust gases; combinations of emissions and noise treatment; and other treatments in which an action is performed on the exhaust gases to alter a property of the gas. The treatment subsection can include a single gas treatment device, or multiple gas treatment devices. Example of suitable emissions treatment includes, but is not limited to, a catalyst, such as a diesel oxidation catalyst, or a filter, such as a diesel particulate filter.
To facilitate the description, the exhaust gas will be hereinafter described as being diesel engine exhaust from a diesel engine and the exhaust gas treatment device in the treatment subsection will be described as a diesel oxidation catalyst. However, it is to be realized that the inventive concepts described herein can be used on other aftertreatment systems to treat other exhaust gases from other types of engines and that the exhaust gas treatment device can be other types of materials or devices that are used to treat exhaust gases.
With reference now to
The treatment subsection 12 includes a housing 20 that has a first end portion 22 defining an inlet of the subsection 12, and a second end portion 24 defining an outlet of the subsection 12. The housing 20 is preferably made of a material that is suitable for withstanding the temperatures and pressures of exhaust gas treatment, for example steel.
An exhaust gas flow path, illustrated by arrows, is defined through the housing 20 from the first end portion 22 to the second end portion 24 to allow exhaust gases to flow into, through and out of the housing 20. As shown in
An exhaust gas treatment device 26, for example a substrate, such as a ceramic brick, containing a catalyst such as a diesel oxidation catalyst, is disposed within the housing and fills substantially the entire flow path. The device 26 is inserted into the housing 20, for example manually, and isolator rings 28 are inserted on either side of the substrate 26. Retainer rings 30 are then inserted on the outsides of the rings 28, and the rings 30 are then welded to the housing 20 to secure the substrate 26, rings 28 and rings 30 in the housing 20.
The inlet subsection 14 includes a housing 32 that is preferably made of a material that is suitable for withstanding the temperatures and pressures of exhaust gas treatment, for example the same material as the housing 20. The housing 32 includes an open, telescoping end section 34 that telescopes with the first end portion 22. The end section 34 is illustrated as being telescoped over the first end portion 22. However, the system could be designed so that the end portion 22 telescopes over the end section 34.
The opposite end of the housing 32 is closed by a wall 36, with an inlet opening 38 formed through the wall 36 to enable exhaust gases to enter the system 10. The axis of the inlet opening 38 is illustrated as being coaxial to the axis A-A in
The outlet subsection 16 includes a housing 42 that is preferably made of a material that is suitable for withstanding the temperatures and pressures of exhaust gas treatment, for example the same material as the housings 20 and 32. The housing 42 includes an open, telescoping end section 44 that telescopes with the second end portion 24. The end section 44 is illustrated as being telescoped over the second end portion 24. However, the system could be designed so that the end portion 24 telescopes over the end section 44.
The opposite end of the housing 42 is closed by a wall 46, with an outlet opening 48 formed through the wall 46 to enable exhaust gases to exit the system 10. The axis of the outlet opening 48 is illustrated as being coaxial to the axis A-A in
As discussed above, the end portions 22, 24 of the treatment subsection 12 are telescoped with the end sections 34, 44 of the inlet and outlet subsections 14, 16. Any shape of the end portions 22, 24 and end sections 34, 44 that permit this telescoping relation can be used. For example, with reference to
Returning to
With reference to
In the system 50, the inlet subsection 52 and the outlet subsection 56 are telescoped with the treatment subsection 12, as with the system 10, to permit adjustment of the length of the system, as shown by the arrows in
The system 50 permits an infinite number of lengths as well as clocking configurations of the system 50. The end portions 22, 24 of the subsection 12 and the end sections 34, 44 of the subsections 52, 56 must be configured to permit such relative rotation as well as the telescoping. For example, the end portion 24 (as well as the end portion 22) and the end section 44 (as well as the end section 34) can be generally circular as shown in
Another treatment subsection 76 is connected to the subsection 72. The treatment subsection 76 includes a housing 78 having flanges 80, 82 at each end thereof. The flange 80 is abutted against the flange 74 sandwiching a gasket between them, and connected thereto by a clamp 84, such as a banded clamp. The flange 82 can be used to connect the subsection 76 to a downstream component 79, such as an outlet subsection. A similar flange could be provided at the other end of the treatment subsection 72 for use in connecting the other end of the treatment subsection to the inlet subsection or another subsection.
The treatment subsection 76 is also illustrated as including an exhaust gas treatment device 86 disposed therein for further treating the exhaust gas. The treatment device 86 can be the same type of device as the device 26, or it can be a different type of device. For example, the device 86 can be a filter for filtering particulate matter from the exhaust gas, or a catalyst, such as a reduction catalyst for removing nitrogen oxides from the exhaust gas.
Even though the system 70 of
Also in
As should be evident from the above description, a single treatment subsection design, and a relatively small number of inlet and outlet subsection designs, can be used to form a large number of different aftertreatment systems. As a result, the time and cost of engineering, design and manufacturing an aftertreatment system can be reduced since there is a reduction in the need to custom-make parts, design changes can be easily made, and standardized parts can be used.
The invention may be embodied in other forms without departing from the spirit or novel characteristics thereof. The embodiments disclosed in this application are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not limitative. The scope of the invention is indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description; and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are intended to be embraced therein.
