CATALYTIC CONVERTER FOR EXHAUST GASES HAVING A HIGH SURFACE AREA CATALYTIC CORE ELEMENT

摘要

The subject invention is a novel catalytic converter (400, 500) having a catalytic core element (202, 302, 402, 502, 602, 702, and 802) which is capable of withstanding the thermal stresses and vibrations encountered in typical catalytic converter applications. The catalytic core element is relatively easy and inexpensive to manufacture, has a relatively long operating life, has a relatively low pressure drop, and can be manufactured having various cross section configurations. The catalytic converter (400, 500) includes a catalytic core element (202, 302, 402, 502, 602, 702, and 802) comprising a rigid, foam-like, metallic material having interconnecting walls (204) defining an open pattern of interconnected pores (206) which join together to form irregular passages extending through the catalytic core element. In order to reduce flow resistance or pressure drop across the catalytic core element (302), the catalytic core element may be formed of at least two individual segments (304) arranged one after the other and contacting one another with their density decreasing sequentially in the direction of the gas flow (F). In order to decrease the activation time of the foam-like metallic material forming the catalytic core element (402), electrical conductors (412) may be connected to the catalytic core element to form an electric circuit whereby a source of electrical potential may be connected across the electrical conductors so that during operation the catalytic core element serves as a resistance between the electrical conductors to rapidly heat the catalytic core element to a selected temperature. The catalytic core element (202, 302, 402, 502, 602, 702, and 802) may be formed into various sizes and configurations and may be placed within the exhaust manifold (700), exhaust pipe (712), or the muffler assembly (804) of an internal combustion engine.