Impact of engine oil volatility and viscosity on blow-by aerosol formation

Particulate emissions from diesel engines are a matter of public concern and continued industrial development. For an internal combustion engine, particles may originate either from the after treatment box or from the crankcase ventilation system. This paper quantifies and discusses particle sources within the crankcase ventilation system of a medium-duty 4-cylinder and a heavy-duty 6-cylinder engine and their dependence on the engine oil parameters viscosity (expressed as Noack number) and HTHS volatility. Crankcase aerosol spectra were measured by an optical particle counter in the size range of 0.3–5 µm. For a few cases data of filter samples downstream the separator unit are discussed for the total blow-by aerosol. Engines were found to behave very similarly with regard to changes in either oil parameter, with volatility generally being the far stronger factor of influence. Total particle mass concentration increased by a factor of up to 5 for a rise in Noack volatility of about 13–25%. The mass concentration downstream of the separator also increases with oil volatility. A variation of HTHS viscosity from 3.5 to 2.6 mPas generated a marginal change in aerosol output by a factor of about 1.2. However, and unexpectedly, the most viscose oil generated the relatively highest particle mass concentrations for both engines.