Emission control diagnostic system and method

• US 7,526,950 B2
• Filed: 04/19/2007
• Issued: 05/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Serban, Emil G., Van Nieuwstadt, Michiel J.
• Primary Examiner(s): MCCALL, ERIC SCOTT
• Application Number:
  US11/788,418
• Publication Number:
  US 20080178656A1
• Time in Patent Office: 747 Days
• Field of Search: 73/233.1, 731/146.9, 731/147.1, 731/147.4, 731/147.5
• US Class Current: 73/114.75
• CPC Class Codes: F01N 11/00 Monitoring or diagnostic devices for exhaust-gas treatment apparatus , e.g. for catalytic activity safety, indicating or supervising devices for internal combustion engines F02B77/08; testing of machines G01M13/00
• CPC Class Codes: F01N 2550/02 Catalytic activity of catalytic converters
• CPC Class Codes: F01N 2550/05 Systems for adding substances into exhaust
• CPC Class Codes: F01N 2560/021 for measuring or detecting ammonia NH3
• CPC Class Codes: F01N 2560/026 for measuring or detecting NOx
• CPC Class Codes: F01N 2560/06 the means being a temperature sensor
• CPC Class Codes: F01N 2900/1402 Exhaust gas composition
• CPC Class Codes: F01N 2900/1404 Exhaust gas temperature
• CPC Class Codes: F01N 3/2066 Selective catalytic reduction [SCR]
• CPC Class Codes: F01N 3/208 Control of selective catalytic reduction [SCR], e.g. dosing of reducing agent
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 15/102 by monitoring exhaust gases
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/12 Improving ICE efficiencies
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/40 Engine management systems

Abstract

A method of diagnosing an emission control system of an internal combustion engine, comprising during degraded performance of the emission control system, dynamically identifying a relationship between a plurality of operating conditions of the emission control system; and correlating the relationship to a plurality of potential sources of degraded performance of the emission control system to identify at least one degraded source among the plurality of potential sources.

Claims

1. A method of diagnosing an emission control system of an internal combustion engine including a selective catalyst reduction catalyst and a reductant injection system configured to inject reductant to the emission control system, the method comprising:

during degraded performance of the emission control system, dynamically identifying a relationship between a plurality of operating conditions of the emission control system;

correlating the relationship to a plurality of potential sources of degraded performance of the emission control system to identify at least one degraded source among said plurality of potential sources, said plurality of sources including the reductant injection system, the selective catalytic reduction catalyst, and a reductant quality; and

indicating which of said plurality of sources was identified as degraded.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising injecting reductant to the emission control system, wherein said identifying the relationship further comprises identifying a first relationship between a temperature condition detected downstream of injected reductant and a nitrogen oxide concentration condition, and where the identification of at least one degraded source includes indicating whether the injection system is the degraded source based on said first relationship.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said identifying the relationship further comprises identifying a second relationship between an ammonia concentration condition detected downstream of the selective catalytic reduction catalyst and a nitrogen oxide concentration condition, and wherein the identification of at least one degraded source includes indicating whether the selective catalytic reduction catalyst is the degraded source based on said second relationship.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said identifying the relationship further comprises identifying a third relationship between a temperature condition detected downstream of reductant injection, an ammonia concentration condition detected downstream of the selective catalytic reduction catalyst, and a nitrogen oxide concentration condition, and wherein the identification of at least one degraded source includes indicating whether the reductant is the degraded source based on said third relationship.

5. A method of operating an internal combustion engine having an emission control system including a reductant injection system configured to inject reductant to the emission control system, the emission control system further including a selective catalyst reduction catalyst, the method comprising:

determining degraded performance of the emission control system;

sequentially diagnosing a plurality of potential sources of degraded performance where a different combination of detected operating conditions is determined for each of said plurality of potential sources, the sequential diagnoses including sequentially diagnosing the injection system, the selective catalytic reduction catalyst, and a reductant quality; and

distinguishing at least one degraded source from said plurality of potential sources based on said combination of detected operating conditions corresponding to said distinguished source.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising enabling urea quality sensing before said determining degraded performance where said urea quality sensing is enabled when the engine is operating within predetermined bounds.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising, during steady-state engine operation conditions, adjusting an reductant injection prior to sequentially diagnosing the plurality of potential sources.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein said sequentially diagnosing the plurality of potential sources comprises diagnosing the injection system based on a combination of a temperature condition and a nitrogen oxide concentration.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said degraded source comprises the injection system when the temperature condition is not a reduced temperature and the nitrogen oxide concentration condition is a nitrogen oxide concentration greater than or equal to a threshold nitrogen oxide concentration.

10. The method of claim 5, wherein said sequentially diagnosing the plurality of potential sources comprises diagnosing the selective catalytic reduction catalyst whereby a combination of an ammonia concentration condition and a nitrogen oxide condition is determined.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein said degraded source comprises the selective catalytic reduction catalyst when the ammonia concentration condition is an ammonia concentration greater than or equal to a threshold ammonia concentration and the nitrogen oxide condition is a nitrogen oxide concentration greater than or equal to a threshold nitrogen concentration.

12. The method of claim 5, wherein said sequentially diagnosing the plurality of potential sources comprises diagnosing the reductant quality whereby a combination of a temperature condition, an ammonia concentration condition, and a nitrogen oxide condition is determined.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein said degraded source comprises the reductant quality, and wherein the temperature condition is a reduced temperature, the ammonia concentration condition is an ammonia concentration less than a threshold ammonia concentration, and the nitrogen oxide concentration is a nitrogen oxide concentration less than a threshold nitrogen oxide concentration.

14. An apparatus, comprising:

an internal combustion engine;

an emission control device including a catalyst for controlling emissions from the engine;

an injection system comprising an injector configured to selectively supply a reductant to the emission control device;

a nitrogen oxide sensor disposed downstream an emission control device;

an ammonia sensor disposed downstream the emission control device;

a temperature sensor fluidically disposed between the injector and the emission control device;

a controller comprising memory and a processor, the memory comprising instructions executable by the processor to;

determine a degraded performance of the emission control system;

dynamically identify a relationship based on feedback from the nitrogen oxide sensor and at least one of the ammonia sensor and the temperature sensor; and

correlate the relationship to a plurality of potential sources of degraded performance to identify at least one degraded sources among said plurality of potential sources.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the memory further comprising instructions executable by the processor to send a signal corresponding to the degraded source.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the memory further comprising instructions executable by the processor to prompt an indicator light to illuminate based on said signal.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the memory further comprising instructions executable by the processor to adjust at least one of an exhaust gas recirculation loop and an ignition timing based on said signal.