Self-cleaning Modular Muffler for Maintenance Mitigation with Unrefined Gas (SM4UG)

Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) and the University of Michigan Automotive Lab (U-M) will develop a waste heat recovery unit (WHRU) for use with diesel exhaust gas. With variable load demanded by the Navy at intermittent duty cycles, a heat exchanger placed in the path of the prime mover’s exhaust is not only subject to rapid changes in temperature, but also prone to fouling. Frequent and labor intensive maintenance is required to prevent excess backpressure from degrading the performance and life of the generator. SM4UG will implement instrumentation to monitor temperature, pressure, and flow rate of the flue gas and coolant for automatically triggering regeneration. The high temperature burnoff cycle is otherwise impossible without PSI’s high performance heat exchangers, additively manufactured from corrosion resistant superalloys.