Performance of a thermal management system for thermophoresis based soot sensors — Design, performance and verification

This paper presents the thermal performance of a proposed thermal management device (patented in 2009) intended for a thermophoretic based soot sensor. The performance was studied for temperatures ranging from 50°C to 400°C and for exhaust speeds up to 10m/s. It also presents the design and basic concepts. The performance study and design development was performed with finite element analysis (FEA). The FEA results were then verified with experiments in a heated wind tunnel. The relative performance of the device was found to increase for higher temperatures and lower wind speeds. The main conclusion drawn from this study was that it is feasible to cool a sensor surface enough for a thermophoretic based soot sensor in a diesel exhaust system.