Exhaust Gas Sensor Soot Cleaning via Controlled Thermal Desoot
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Solution Overview
Problem
Internal combustion engine exhaust gas aftertreatment systems face challenges in automatically cleaning combustion soot from sensors, leading to potential sensor malfunction and inaccurate readings.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that determine the need for a 'sensor desoot event' by modifying the air-fuel ratio and increasing exhaust gas temperature to a desoot temperature, maintaining it for a predefined period, and then reducing it, while ensuring no concurrent or imminent regeneration of exhaust aftertreatment components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If exhaust gas temperature is increased to clean soot from sensors, then sensor cleaning effectiveness is improved, but risk of interfering with other aftertreatment component regeneration processes increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control system continuously monitors the state of aftertreatment components and sensor soot accumulation levels to determine the optimal timing for desoot events. This feedback mechanism ensures that sensor cleaning is performed only when it will not conflict with other regeneration processes, resolving the contradiction between cleaning effectiveness and system compatibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The system proactively accumulates data on sensor soot levels and aftertreatment component states over time, then schedules desoot events in advance during periods when the exhaust system is not undergoing other regeneration processes. This preliminary planning prevents conflicts between simultaneous high-temperature operations.
2Reliability
If exhaust gas temperature is increased and maintained for extended period to remove soot, then soot removal completeness is improved, but energy consumption and thermal stress on components increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control system dynamically adjusts the desoot temperature profile based on the measured degree of sensor soot contamination. Sensors with lighter soot accumulation receive shorter, lower-temperature exposure, while heavily contaminated sensors receive more intensive treatment. This parameter optimization ensures complete soot removal while minimizing unnecessary energy consumption and thermal stress.
3Measurement precision
If sensor desoot event is conducted frequently to maintain sensor accuracy, then sensor measurement precision is improved, but system complexity and control burden increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control system automatically monitors sensor performance metrics and soot accumulation indicators, then autonomously schedules and executes desoot events without requiring manual intervention or complex external control logic. This self-service capability maintains sensor accuracy while keeping the control system relatively simple.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Effectively cleans combustion soot from sensors, maintaining their accuracy and functionality by ensuring the exhaust gas temperature is optimized for soot removal without interfering with other system regeneration processes.
Implementation Method 1
increasing exhaust gas temperature such that a temperature of the sensor correspondingly increases to or above a desoot temperature
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method are provided for cleaning combustion soot from an exhaust gas aftertreatment sensor. The system and method determine whether to conduct a sensor desoot event, and if it is determined that a sensor desoot event is to be conducted, the exhaust gas temperature is increased such that the temperature of the sensor correspondingly increases to or above a desoot temperature, the exhaust gas temperature is then controlled to maintain the temperature of the sensor at or above the desoot temperature for a predefined time period, and the exhaust gas temperature is then decreased after the temperature of the sensor has been at or above the desoot temperature for the predefined time period.