South Korea-based Blue Planet Co. Ltd, a supplier of retrofit diesel particulate filter (DPF) systems and diagnostic modules, has designed Ramtron International Corp.’s FM3130 and FM3104 Processor Companions into its DMS-series retrofit DPF data loggers.
The FM3130 incorporates 64kb of FRAM memory with an enhanced real-time clock (RTC) and highly integrated support and peripheral functions for processor-based systems. FRAM has replaced EEPROM in DMS-series DPF systems, where the combination of FRAM and an RTC is ideal for intensive data collection and storage of vehicle exhaust temperatures, system back pressure, and time logs. Ramtron’s 4kb FM3104 Processor Companion is also designed into the DMS-series, where the FRAM + RTC are used as a buffer memory that writes to a secure digital (SD) card, which stores exhaust temperature profiles and other parametric data.
Diesel particulate filters remove particulate matter in diesel engine exhaust. Via a catalytic chemical reaction, the filter burns off trapped materials, essentially cleaning or “regenerating” itself. The DPF requires intensive data logging to generate an exhaust temperature and pressure profile. The profile is based on sets of exhaust temperature and pressure variables versus time logs and is used to diagnose which kind of filter and catalyst the target equipment needs—a passive regenerating filter or an active regenerating filter. The data logging, performed by Ramtron’s F-RAM Processor Companions, must be extensive enough to provide a valid representation of the variety of situations in which the equipment is used.
Particles emitted by diesel engines have raised both health and environmental concerns worldwide. In response, countries such as the United States, the European Union, South Korea, and Japan have established emission limits for diesel engines. To date, more than 200,000 diesel vehicles worldwide have been retrofitted with a DPF and about half a million such vehicles are expected to be retrofitted by 2010.
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