A recent study of diesel particulate filter performance has revealed positive news for manufacturers and industry, indicating longer service lifetime expectations than ever before. Critical to vehicle emissions control, the filter removes soot and particulates from diesel exhaust. Under excessive stress, it can crack and fail yet the technology very often outlasts manufacturer warranties. Exploring the low failure rate, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and General Motors researchers found the apparent elastic modulus of the filter ceramics to be almost an order of magnitude lower than industry-accepted values. According to ORNL's Andrew Wereszczak, "The measurements indicate that while the filter is under thermally-induced strain, such as during regeneration, the actual internal stresses are much lower and mechanical reliability is much higher than manufacturer models have predicted in the past."
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