Abstract

The honeycomb type monolith reactor dominates the field of catalytic automotive exhaust gas after treatment systems and is increasingly being used in other applications. Advanced computational modelling of such systems can provide valuable insight into their operating characteristics and be used as a design tool. This reactor provides an excellent example of a multi-scale modelling challenge with many complexities. This paper provides a perspective on the development and use of computational modelling tools in this context over the last 30 years, with an emphasis on the work published by the researchers at the University of Alberta. This paper covers all aspects of model development, including single channel and full-scale reactor models and inter and intra mass and heat transfer effects, with the latter including radiation.