A numerical model for diesel engine SCR systems under different inlet NH3 distribution profiles

Abstract

Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) technology is currently used to effectively reduce NOx emissions for diesel engines. The present study aims at building a three-dimensional numerical model to evaluate the NOx conversion efficiency and the NH3 slip in an SCR system, reducing the time and resources necessary for design and development process. A numerical model of an SCR system has been built to integrate species transport, heat transfer and flow characteristics along with kinetics of the chemical reactions. In order to systematically simulate situations where the concentration of NH3 at the inlet is not uniform, different NH3 inlet profiles have been built by using a Multivariate Gaussian Distribution and considering the maximum concentration in different locations. The effect of different geometries and NH3 distribution profiles on the NOx conversion efficiency and NH3 slip has been studied. The behaviour of the system at different inlet temperatures has been explored and the reaction rates in the monolith have been analysed. The study has been extended by studying the effect of different NH3/NO ratios to provide a more complete comparison between different designs. The numerical model has been found useful to take into account many aftertreatment system parameters during the design of an SCR system, maximize the NOx conversion efficiency by modifying the NH3/NO ratio while minimizing the NH3 slip, providing a comprehensive tool for the optimization of geometrical characteristics of an SCR system.