The development of nano-sized PM filtration for a diesel engine oil using coagulation by an alternating electric field

Abstract

In general, a diesel engine does not have ignition system and it can ignite by self-ignition. It has pros that engine manufactures can consist engine components less than normal gasoline engines. However, diesel engines emit more particle matter (PM) rather than normal gasoline engine, so that diesel engines should have diesel particulate filter (DPF) to accumulate them even if it is in not only a exhaust gas but also an engine oil region. In this study, the authors clarified the possibility of PM accumulation method by using an alternating electric field applying between a metal needle and a plate to coagulate them as large particles more than 0.8 μm. The important parameters were an electric field intensity, frequency and applying time. The FESEM observation results indicated that approximately 100 nm-sized particles coagulated to be a large particle. Then, EDS analysis revealed that the particle did not include conventional engine additives such as zinc, molybdenum and calcium. Those results clearly indicated that the alternative electric field method can accumulate nano-sized PM.

Keywords

• particle matter
• diesel engine oil
• coagulation
• electric field
• filtration