FUEL-FIRED BURNER FOR NO2 BASED REGENERATION

Abstract

A fuel-fired burner in a vehicle exhaust system is selectively activated to increase exhaust gas temperature to a desired reference temperature. The fuel-fired burner can be either a partial range burner or a full range burner. A control strategy activates the fuel-fired burner only when needed to provide NO2 based passive regeneration of a diesel particulate filter in a fuel efficient manner. The control strategy includes at least one of a look-up table which outputs the desired reference temperature as a function of engine operating conditions, a comparison of pressure characteristics to predetermined thresholds, and a steady-state model or a transient model that outputs the desired reference temperature as a function of exhaust back-pressure and estimated exhaust oxygen flowrate.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The subject invention relates to a vehicle exhaust system, and more specifically to a system with a fuel-fired burner to enable NO₂ based regeneration of an exhaust system component such as a diesel particulate filter, for example.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Exhaust systems are widely known and used with combustion engines. Some exhaust systems utilize a fuel-fired burner that can be a full range or partial range burner. An active full range burner unit enables regeneration of a diesel particulate filter (DPF) as well as providing exhaust thermal management under various operating conditions. A partial range burner elevates the exhaust temperature of exhaust gas to assist with regeneration of the DPF.

Passive regeneration, i.e. NO₂ based regeneration, is advantageous due to the lack of a large exotherm as well as for not incurring a high fuel penalty. For non-EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) engines, such as off road engines having less than 75 horsepower for example, sufficient NO₂ is available such that only a passive system would be required for regeneration. However, for most vehicle applications the exhaust gas temperature does not consistently stay above 300 degrees Celsius, which is required to support a system that only uses passive regeneration.

In one example, the partial range burner heats the exhaust gases when possible, or when required, to enable passive regeneration of the DPF. One control strategy activates the burner every time exhaust gas temperatures fall below 300 degrees Celsius. This control strategy is disadvantageous from a fuel conservation perspective. Further, NO₂ formation in a DOC to support DPF regeneration can only occur if DOC temperatures exceed approximately 250 degrees Celsius, hydrocarbon (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations levels are limited, and NOx levels are sufficient.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A control strategy for a fuel-fired burner considers the various aforementioned factors to provide NO₂ based regeneration in a fuel efficient manner.

In one example, the vehicle exhaust system includes a partial range fuel-fired burner, a diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC), a diesel particulate filter (DPF) assembly, and a controller. In another example, the system includes a partial range fuel-fired burner and a catalyzed DPF. In another example, the system includes a full range fuel-fired burner with DOC/DPF assembly or a catalyzed DPF.

In one example, a method of operating a fuel-fired burner in a vehicle exhaust system includes monitoring at least one engine operating condition, monitoring exhaust gas temperature, and communicating engine operating condition information and the exhaust gas temperature to a controller. The controller includes a control strategy to identify when the fuel-fired burner should be activated to achieve a desired reference temperature to increase NO₂ levels sufficiently to regenerate the diesel particulate filter. The controller generates the control signal to activate the fuel-fired burner to raise exhaust gas temperature to the desired reference temperature only when the control strategy identifies that the fuel-fired burner should be activated.

The control strategy can take various forms. For example, the control strategy could include one or more of a look-up table which outputs the desired reference temperature as a function of engine operating conditions, and a steady-state model or a transient model that outputs the desired reference temperature as a function of exhaust back-pressure and estimated exhaust oxygen flowrate.

In another example, the control strategy includes continuously monitoring a pressure drop across a diesel particulate filter, continuously monitoring exhaust temperature, comparing the pressure drop to a look-up table of pressure drop versus an engine operating condition, and comparing the exhaust temperature to a threshold temperature. The fuel-fired burner is then selectively activated to increase NO₂ levels sufficiently to regenerate the diesel particulate filter only when predetermined pressure and temperature criteria are met.

These and other features of the present invention can be best understood from the following specification and drawings, the following of which is a brief description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a vehicle exhaust system incorporating the subject invention.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of one example of a control strategy for a fuel-fired burner.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 shows a vehicle exhaust system 10 with a DOC (diesel oxidation catalyst 12)/DPF (diesel particulate filter 14) assembly. Optionally, the system 10 could include a catalyzed DPF with no DOC. A fuel-fired burner 16 is located upstream of the DOC 12 and the DOC 12 is located upstream of the DPF 14. A fuel-fired burner 16 could comprise, for example, a THERMAL REGENERATOR™ or THERMAL ENHANCER™ that is manufactured and sold by FAURECIA EMISSIONS CONTROL TECHNOLOGIES. The THERMAL ENHANCER™ is a partial range fuel-fired burner that elevates the exhaust temperature of exhaust gas to assist with regeneration of the DPF. The THERMAL REGENERATOR™ is a full range fuel-fired burner that enables regeneration of a DPF as well as providing exhaust thermal management under various operating conditions. When the fuel-fired burner 16 is a partial range burner or a full range burner, it includes a housing 18 defining a combustion chamber 20. The housing 18 includes an exhaust gas inlet 22 and an exhaust gas outlet 24. Exhaust gases generated from an engine E flow through any upstream exhaust components to the exhaust gas inlet 22. Exhaust gases flow through the fuel-fired burner to the exhaust gas outlet 24 and then on to any downstream exhaust system components.

The fuel-fired burner 16 includes an air/fuel supply system 26 that is selectively activated to inject/spray a mixture of air and fuel into the combustion chamber 20. The mixture is sprayed into existing exhaust gases within the combustion chamber 20 and an igniter 28 then ignites the fuel to increase heat. In one example, the igniter 28 comprises one or more electrodes, however, other types of igniters could also be used. Further, an airless fuel supply could also be used where only fuel would be injected/sprayed and then ignited.

The fuel-fired burner 16 is selectively activated by a controller 30 to elevate the exhaust temperature of exhaust gas to increase NO₂ based regeneration, i.e. passive regeneration of the DPF 14. The controller 30 includes a control strategy for the fuel-fired burner 16, which considers various factors to provide the NO₂ based regeneration in a fuel efficient manner.

The controller 30 includes various electronic components that cooperate to provide a electronic control unit to control an electromechanical system. For example, the controller 30 may include, amongst other electronic components typically included in such units, a processor and a memory device. The processor can comprise one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers, for example. The memory device can comprise a programmable read-only memory device (PROM) including erasable PROM's (EPROM, EEPROM), for example. The memory device is provided to store instructions in the form of one or more software routines and/or algorithms, which when executed by the processor, allow the controller 30 to control operation of the fuel-fired burner 16 using a specific control strategy.

In one example, a method of operating the fuel-fired burner 16 includes monitoring at least one engine operating condition, monitoring exhaust gas temperature, and communicating engine operating condition information and the exhaust gas temperature to the controller 30. Examples of engine operating conditions that are monitored include engine speed, engine load, mass flow rate, temperature, etc. The controller 30 utilizes the control strategy to identify when the fuel-fired burner 16 should be activated to achieve a desired reference temperature to increase NO₂ levels sufficiently to regenerate the DPF 14. The controller 30 generates a control signal to selectively activate the fuel-fired burner 16 to raise exhaust gas temperature to the desired reference temperature only when the control strategy identifies that conditions require the fuel-fired burner 16 to be activated.

The control strategy can take various forms. For example, the control strategy could include one or more of a look-up table which outputs the desired reference temperature as a function of engine operating conditions, and a steady-state model or a transient model that outputs the desired reference temperature as a function of exhaust back-pressure and estimated exhaust oxygen flowrate. Each of these will be discussed in more detail below.

In another example, the control strategy includes continuously monitoring a pressure drop across the DPF 14 via pressure sensors P1, P2 and continuously monitoring exhaust temperature with a temperature sensor T. The pressure drop is compared to a look-up table of pressure drop versus a specified engine operating condition. The current pressure drop is compared to a predetermined pressure threshold and the exhaust temperature is compared to a predetermined threshold temperature. The fuel-fired burner 16 is then selectively activated to increase NO₂ levels sufficiently to regenerate the DPF only when predetermined pressure and temperature criteria are met.

Specifically, the controller 30 only activates the fuel-fired burner 16 if the following criteria are met: 1) the pressure drop exceeds the predetermined pressure threshold; (2) the exhaust temperature is below 300 degrees Celsius; and (3) the rate of pressure increase exceeds a certain rate threshold. The fuel-fired burner 16 is turned off when the pressure drop falls below the predetermined pressure threshold and/or the exhaust temperature from the engine E increases above 300 degrees Celsius. As the output from the fuel-fired burner 16 is low in hydrocarbon species, the DOC 12 is selective for the NO to NO₂ reaction required for passive regeneration.

NO₂ formation in the DOC 12 to support DPF regeneration can only occur if DOC temperatures exceed approximately 250 degrees Celsius, hydrocarbon (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations levels are limited, and NOx levels are sufficient. The control strategies utilized by the controller 30 function to schedule the desired reference/outlet temperature of the partial range burner, i.e. fuel-fired burner 16, to manage the conversion of NO₂, HC, and CO.

One proposed control strategy utilizes a look-up table that outputs a mapped reference or desired outlet temperature of the fuel-fired burner 16 as a function of one or more engine operating conditions, such as engine speed, load, etc. Based on the determined outlet temperature of the fuel-fired burner 16, the controller 30 activates the fuel-fired burner 16 to inject the fuel/air mixture until the outlet temperature is achieved, and then the fuel-fired burner 16 is shut off. Once the desired outlet temperature is reached, NO₂ levels are sufficient for passive regeneration of the DPF 14.

Another proposed control strategy utilizes a steady-state and model-based control scheme that outputs a reference or desired outlet temperature as a function of exhaust back-pressure measured by one or more pressure sensors and as a function of estimated exhaust oxygen flow rate. This steady-state and model-based controls scheme schedules the operating temperature of the fuel-fired burner 16 such that that it is operated at output temperatures of 250 degrees Celsius or greater as a function of estimated exhaust oxygen by mass flow rate and measured exhaust back-pressure, and limited by a pre-defined exhaust oxygen velocity threshold. This offers the benefit that a reference temperature map look-up table, such as that discussed above, would not be required for each different engine. Also, this strategy has the effect that calibration effort is reduced as a consequence of being applicable for controllers for any partial range burner associated with the engine.

This steady-state and model based strategy includes an algorithm stored within the controller 30 which compiles data based on steady-state engine operating conditions. The controller analyzes the data and then generates the control signal to activate the fuel-fired burner 16 by injecting the fuel only or the air/fuel mixture until the desired outlet temperature is reached. Once the temperature is reached the controller 30 turns off the fuel-fired burner 16.

Another proposed control strategy utilizes a transient and model-based control scheme that outputs a reference or desired outlet temperature as a function of exhaust back-pressure and estimated exhaust oxygen flow rate. This transient and model-based control scheme comprises a steady-state model, as discussed above, and a pre-filter 40 (FIG. 2). The pre-filter 40 provides a basis for attenuating noise and/or disturbances from model input signals S1, S2 as shown in FIG. 2. Implementation of a transient and model-based control scheme would constitute what is termed a model reference control scheme and would offer an off-line controller tuning approach, i.e. a minimized calibration effort, for any partial range burner based on the pre-filter 40 and sensitivity design techniques. The transient configuration works on a real time basis compiling data as the engine conditions change over time.

In each of the control strategies, the controller 30 issues a control signal to selectively activate the fuel-fired burner 16 to raise exhaust gas temperatures to promote NO₂ based regeneration as needed. As shown in FIG. 2, the controller activates a switch 5 and includes a feedback loop to monitor the fuel-fired burner outlet temperature and fuel-fired burner fuel or air/fuel flow rate until the desired reference temperature is achieved.

Although an embodiment of this invention has been disclosed, a worker of ordinary skill in this art would recognize that certain modifications would come within the scope of this invention. For that reason, the following claims should be studied to determine the true scope and content of this invention.

Claims

1. A method of operating a fuel-fired burner in a vehicle exhaust system comprising the steps of:

(a) associating a fuel-fired burner with a diesel particulate filter assembly;

(b) monitoring at least one engine operating condition;

(c) monitoring exhaust gas temperature;

(d) communicating engine operating condition information and the exhaust gas temperature to a controller including a control strategy to identify when the fuel-fired burner should be activated to achieve a desired reference temperature to increase NO2 levels sufficiently to regenerate the diesel particulate filter; and

(e) generating a control signal to activate the fuel-fired burner to raise exhaust gas temperature to the desired reference temperature only when the control strategy identifies that the fuel-fired burner should be activated.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the fuel-fired burner comprises a partial range fuel-fired burner.

3. The method according to claim 2 including monitoring at least two engine operating conditions, and wherein the control strategy comprises a look-up table which outputs the desired reference temperature as a function of the engine operating conditions, and including generating the control signal to inject fuel into the partial range fuel-fired burner until the desired reference temperature is achieved.

4. The method according to claim 2 wherein the control strategy comprises a steady-state model that outputs the desired reference temperature as a function of exhaust back-pressure and estimated exhaust oxygen flowrate.

5. The method according to claim 5 including generating the control signal to operate the partial range fuel-fired burner at temperatures of 250 degrees Celsius or greater as a function of estimated oxygen by mass flowrate and measured back-pressure.

6. The method according to claim 2 wherein the control strategy comprises a transient model that outputs the desired reference temperature as a function of exhaust back-pressure and estimated exhaust oxygen flowrate.

7. The method according to claim 6 including generating the control signal to operate the partial range fuel-fired burner at temperatures of 250 degrees Celsius or greater as a function of estimated oxygen by mass flowrate and measured back-pressure.

8. The method according to claim 6 wherein the transient model comprises a pre-filter and a steady-state model that outputs the desired reference temperature as a function of model inputs including exhaust back-pressure and estimated exhaust oxygen flowrate, and wherein the pre-filter attenuates noise and disturbances from model input signals.

9. The method according to claim 1 including continuously monitoring a pressure drop across the diesel particulate filter, comparing the pressure drop to a look-up table of pressure drop versus the engine operating condition, and only activating the fuel-fired burner if the pressure drop exceeds a predetermined threshold, exhaust gas temperature is below 300 degrees Celsius, and a rate of pressure of pressure increase exceeds a predetermined rate threshold.

10. The method according to claim 9 including deactivating the fuel-fired burner when the pressure drop falls below the predetermined threshold and/or exhaust temperature increases above 300 degrees Celsius.

11. A vehicle exhaust system comprising:

a fuel-fired burner;

a diesel particulate filter assembly; and

a controller electrically coupled to the fuel-fired burner, the controller including a processor and a memory device electrically coupled to the processor, the memory device storing a plurality of instructions that include a control strategy to identify when the fuel-fired burner should be activated to achieve a desired reference temperature to increase NO2 levels sufficiently to regenerate the diesel particulate filter, and wherein when the processor executes the plurality of instructions, the processor is caused to:

receive engine operating condition information and exhaust gas temperature information, and

generate a control signal to activate the fuel-fired burner to raise exhaust gas temperature to the desired reference temperature only when the control strategy identifies conditions are proper for activating the fuel-fired burner.

12. The vehicle exhaust system according to claim 11 wherein the control strategy comprises a look-up table which outputs the desired reference temperature as a function of the engine operating conditions, and wherein fuel is injected into the fuel-fired burner in response to the control signal until the desired reference temperature is achieved.

13. The vehicle exhaust system according to claim 12 wherein the control strategy comprises a steady-state model that outputs the desired reference temperature as a function of exhaust back-pressure and estimated exhaust oxygen flowrate.

14. The vehicle exhaust system according to claim 11 wherein the control strategy comprises a transient model that outputs the desired reference temperature as a function of exhaust back-pressure and estimated exhaust oxygen flowrate.

15. The vehicle exhaust system according to claim 14 wherein the transient model comprises a pre-filter and a steady-state model that outputs the desired reference temperature as a function of model inputs including exhaust back-pressure and estimated exhaust oxygen flowrate, and wherein the pre-filter attenuates noise and disturbances from model input signals.

16. The vehicle exhaust system according to claim 11 wherein the controller continuously monitoring a pressure drop across the diesel particulate filter, compares the pressure drop to a look-up table of pressure drop versus the engine operating condition, and only activates the fuel-fired burner if the pressure drop exceeds a predetermined threshold, exhaust gas temperature is below 300 degrees Celsius, and a rate of pressure increase exceeds a predetermined rate threshold.

17. The vehicle exhaust system according to claim 11 wherein the diesel particulate filter comprises a catalyzed diesel particulate filter.

18. The vehicle exhaust system according to claim 11 wherein the fuel-fired burner comprises one of a partial range fuel-fired burner or a full range fuel-fired burner.

19. A method of operating a fuel-fired burner in a vehicle exhaust system comprising the steps of:

(a) continuously monitoring a pressure drop across a diesel particulate filter;

(b) continuously monitoring exhaust temperature;

(c) comparing the pressure drop to a look-up table of pressure drop versus an engine operating condition and comparing the exhaust temperature to a threshold temperature; and

(d) selectively activating a fuel-fired burner to increase NO2 levels sufficiently to regenerate the diesel particulate filter only when predetermined pressure and temperature criteria are met.

20. The method according to claim 21 wherein the fuel-fired burner comprises a partial range fuel-fired burner and wherein step (d) further includes activating the partial range fuel-fired burner if the pressure drop exceeds a predetermined threshold, exhaust gas temperature is below 300 degrees Celsius, and a rate of pressure increase exceeds a predetermined rate threshold.