Prediction of NOX Concentration in Nonthermal Plasma-Treated Diesel Exhaust Using Dimensional Analysis

Application of the nonthermal plasma (NTP) technology for NO
_X
removal from diesel engine exhaust has already been experimentally proved to be an efficient method at laboratory level. The NO
_X
removal efficiency depends on various electrical and physical parameters, and very few studies have been carried out to predict it with the variation in those parameters. In this paper, an approach has been made using dimensional analysis to predict the NO
_X
concentration with the NTP treatment, based on its dependence on various operating parameters. A relation has been obtained between NO
_X
concentration and 11 numbers of parameters affecting NO
_X
removal so as to form dimensionless groups. A mathematical model has been established using the experimental data and nonlinear regression technique. Experiments are conducted to validate this model with variations in the parameters voltage, flow rate, temperature, discharge gap width, and initial NO
_X
concentration. The predicted NO
_X
concentration values have been found to be well matched with the experimental results. The rms errors for the test data are found to be 4.64%, and in ppm, it is 9.58.