Laboratory of Applied Thermodynamics

LAT carries a 25-year long tradition in the field of characterization & control of automotive exhaust emissions. Valuable experience has been gained through close collaborations with the automotive and fuel industry as well as suppliers of exhaust after-treatment systems. Today, LAT carries out high-level applied and basic research, facilitated by both experimental and modeling techniques used in a complimentary way. The experimental equipment is regularly updated, in order to support high quality measurements regarding real time gaseous and particulate emissions from engines and vehicles. These measurements are routinely carried out on the basis of legislated protocols (driving cycles), whereas R&D services are supported by flexibly customized testing protocols. State-of-the-art equipment is also available for the characterization of the physical and chemical properties of particulate emissions.

 

Mathematical modeling is supported mainly by in-house software with the possibility to simulate complete exhaust after-treatment systems. These mathematical models are well documented in the related scientific literature and frequently employed to support R&D of various industrial partners. The modeling work is supported by commercial software for 3-D Fluid Dynamics Calculations (Star-CDTM).Ongoing research is carried out towards extensive validations with experimental results and further modeling improvements.

 

Currently, the focus research areas include:

 

  • Diesel particulate filters
  • Diesel fuel additives
  • 3-way catalytic converters
  • Particulate measurement techniques
  • Effect of fuel properties on emissions

 

Clients of LAT research activity on this field include:

 

  • European Commission
  • Ceramic substrate suppliers
  • Fuel & fuel additive suppliers
  • Laboratory of Applied Thermodynamics
  • Laboratory of Applied Thermodynamics