Striving to deliver significant customer benefits in terms of fuel efficiency and powertrain agility while simultaneously reducing tailpipe emissions Mercedes Benz has developed the inline six cylinder OM656 EVO engine - a significant step forward in diesel engine technology.
At the core of this evolution is the integration of an electrically heated catalyst into the 48V system. This allows the exhaust gas aftertreatment system to rapidly achieve and then efficiently maintain optimal operating temperature - largely independent of driving conditions. This is extremely beneficial to controlling emissions both during cold starts and in driving cycles with intermittent phases of low and medium/ high load. Furthermore electrical heating reduces the complexity of ensuring emissions are minimized across the broad range of vehicles outfitted with the inline six cylinder engine. In combination with extensive optimizations to catalyst hardware and engine control software, the OM656 EVO aftertreatment system features greatly improved performance and thus capacity to reduce emissions. This in turn opens up new possibilities for the design of the combustion operating strategy. A special focus of this paper is to provide insights into the improvements to the control systems and mechanisms used to operate the exhaust aftertreatment system and thus unlock the full potential of the engine.
The evolution of both engine hard- and software of the OM656 EVO engine allow Mercedes Benz to deliver an even more dynamic, efficient, and environmentally friendly driving experience.