@article{WalterSchwanzerSteineretal., author = {Walter, Stefanie and Schwanzer, Peter and Steiner, Carsten and Hagen, Gunter and Rabl, Hans-Peter and Dietrich, Markus and Moos, Ralf}, title = {Mixing Rules for an Exact Determination of the Dielectric Properties of Engine Soot Using the Microwave Cavity Perturbation Method and Its Application in Gasoline Particulate Filters}, series = {Sensors}, volume = {22}, journal = {Sensors}, number = {9}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, doi = {10.3390/s22093311}, pages = {1 -- 17}, abstract = {In recent years, particulate filters have become mandatory in almost all gasoline-powered vehicles to comply with emission standards regarding particulate number. In contrast to diesel applications, monitoring gasoline particulate filters (GPFs) by differential pressure sensors is challenging due to lower soot masses to be deposited in the GPFs. A different approach to determine the soot loading of GPFs is a radio frequency-based sensor (RF sensor). To facilitate sensor development, in previous work, a simulation model was created to determine the RF signal at arbitrary engine operating points. To ensure accuracy, the exact dielectric properties of the soot need to be known. This work has shown how small samples of soot-loaded filter are sufficient to determine the dielectric properties of soot itself using the microwave cavity perturbation method. For this purpose, mixing rules were determined through simulation and measurement, allowing the air and substrate fraction of the sample to be considered. Due to the different geometry of filter substrates compared to crushed soot samples, a different mixing rule had to be derived to calculate the effective filter properties required for the simulation model. The accuracy of the determined mixing rules and the underlying simulation model could be verified by comparative measurements on an engine test bench.}, language = {en} } @article{WalterSchwanzerHagenetal., author = {Walter, Stefanie and Schwanzer, Peter and Hagen, Gunter and Haft, Gerhard and Rabl, Hans-Peter and Dietrich, Markus and Moos, Ralf}, title = {Modelling the Influence of Different Soot Types on the Radio-Frequency-Based Load Detection of Gasoline Particulate Filters}, series = {Sensors}, volume = {20}, journal = {Sensors}, number = {9}, publisher = {MDPI}, doi = {10.3390/s20092659}, pages = {1 -- 19}, abstract = {Gasoline particulate filters (GPFs) are an appropriate means to meet today's emission standards. As for diesel applications, GPFs can be monitored via differential pressure sensors or using a radio-frequency approach (RF sensor). Due to largely differing soot properties and engine operating modes of gasoline compared to diesel engines (e.g., the possibility of incomplete regenerations), the behavior of both sensor systems must be investigated in detail. For this purpose, extensive measurements on engine test benches are usually required. To simplify the sensor development, a simulation model was developed using COMSOL Multiphysics((R)) that not only allowed for calculating the loading and regeneration process of GPFs under different engine operating conditions but also determined the impact on both sensor systems. To simulate the regeneration behavior of gasoline soot accurately, an oxidation model was developed. To identify the influence of different engine operating points on the sensor behavior, various samples generated at an engine test bench were examined regarding their kinetic parameters using thermogravimetric analysis. Thus, this compared the accuracy of soot mass determination using the RF sensor with the differential pressure method. By simulating a typical driving condition with incomplete regenerations, the effects of the soot kinetics on sensor accuracy was demonstrated exemplarily. Thereby, the RF sensor showed an overall smaller mass determination error, as well as a lower dependence on the soot kinetics.}, language = {en} } @article{WalterSchwanzerHagenetal., author = {Walter, Stefanie and Schwanzer, Peter and Hagen, Gunter and Rabl, Hans-Peter and Dietrich, Markus and Moos, Ralf}, title = {Soot Monitoring of Gasoline Particulate Filters Using a Radio-Frequency-Based Sensor}, series = {Sensors}, volume = {23}, journal = {Sensors}, number = {18}, publisher = {MDPI}, issn = {1424-8220}, doi = {10.3390/s23187861}, pages = {1 -- 19}, abstract = {Owing to increasingly stringent emission limits, particulate filters have become mandatory for gasoline-engine vehicles. Monitoring their soot loading is necessary for error-free operation. The state-of-the-art differential pressure sensors suffer from inaccuracies due to small amounts of stored soot combined with exhaust gas conditions that lead to partial regeneration. As an alternative approach, radio-frequency-based (RF) sensors can accurately measure the soot loading, even under these conditions, by detecting soot through its dielectric properties. However, they face a different challenge as their sensitivity may depend on the engine operation conditions during soot formation. In this article, this influence is evaluated in more detail. Various soot samples were generated on an engine test bench. Their dielectric properties were measured using the microwave cavity perturbation (MCP) method and compared with the corresponding sensitivity of the RF sensor determined on a lab test bench. Both showed similar behavior. The values for the soot samples themselves, however, differed significantly from each other. A way to correct for this cross-sensitivity was found in the influence of exhaust gas humidity on the RF sensor, which can be correlated with the engine load. By evaluating this influence during significant humidity changes, such as fuel cuts, it could be used to correct the influence of the engineon the RF sensor.}, language = {en} }