A vehicle includes an engine having an intake manifold and an exhaust manifold. An exhaust system is connected to the exhaust manifold and has an aftertreatment device. The aftertreatment device has a body defining inlet and outlet cones, a heating element, and a catalyst disposed in the body between the cones. An air-circulation system has conduit extending from downstream of the catalyst to the intake manifold and an air-circulation device configured to circulate air from the outlet cone, through the conduit to the intake manifold, through the engine, to the inlet cone, and through the aftertreatment device.

Methods and systems are provided for a turbocharger. In one example, a method may include bypassing exhaust gases flowing to the turbocharger in response to a catalyst temperature being less than a threshold temperature. The bypassing includes opening a bypass valve and adjusting a position of one or more turbine nozzle vanes.

A method to control an exhaust gas after-treatment system for an exhaust system of an internal combustion engine having at least one catalytic converter and a burner, which is suited to introduce exhaust gases into an exhaust duct so as to speed up the heating of said at least one catalytic converter; the method entails inserting an indicator in a dashboard of a vehicle provided with the internal combustion engine so that it provides a driver of the vehicle with indications concerning the burner; and keeping the indicator turned on during a starting step, during which the temperature of said at least one catalytic converter is lower than an activation temperature.

A control system for a hybrid vehicle that reduces a change in an engine torque when warming a catalyst. The hybrid vehicle comprises a catalyst that purifies exhaust gas, a first motor, a differential mechanism having a plurality of rotary elements, and an engagement device that selectively connects the first motor to an engine. A controller is configured to determine whether it is necessary to warm the catalyst, and disengage the engagement device while retarding an ignition timing of the engine when it is necessary to warm the purifying device.

A method for operating a supercharged internal combustion engine. Before a cold start of the engine, an electric drive device of an electrically assisted exhaust-gas turbocharger of the engine is activated such that fresh air is compressed by a compressor of the turbocharger and, in the process, is heated and is conveyed via an open overrun air recirculation valve arranged downstream of the compressor, through a short circuit back to a suction side of the compressor of the turbocharger. A proportion of the air that is heated by way of the short-circuit operation of the compressor is, downstream of the compressor and upstream of a closed throttle flap of the engine, conducted via a secondary air system into an exhaust manifold and from there via a wastegate of the turbocharger into the catalytic converters of an exhaust-gas aftertreatment device of the engine.

Methods and system are provided to heat a catalyst of an after-treatment system for a vehicle. The after-treatment system comprises a heating module having a plurality of heating elements. Each of the plurality of heating elements is independently operable to provide thermal energy to the catalyst of the after-treatment system. One or more of the heating elements of the heating module are selectively operated to provide heat to the catalyst based on an operational parameter of the after-treatment system.

An exhaust-gas purification system of an internal combustion engine includes an electrically heated catalytic device and a three-way catalytic device. The electrically heated catalytic device includes a first honeycomb base having a large number of honeycomb passages and a first catalyst component that is supported on, by a predetermined thin-film treatment, surfaces that define the honeycomb passages and that contains one or more types of noble metals. The three-way catalytic device includes a second honeycomb base having a large number of honeycomb passages and a second catalyst component that is supported on surfaces defining the honeycomb passages and that contains one or more types of noble metals. The total noble metal content per unit volume of the second honeycomb base is higher than the total noble metal content per unit volume of the first honeycomb base.

A method includes: initiating a low engine-out NOx (LEON) mode by controlling a component of a vehicle having an aftertreatment system to decrease an instantaneous engine-out NOx (EONOx) amount; comparing a temperature of the aftertreatment system during the LEON mode to a warm-operation threshold temperature; responsive to determining that the temperature of the aftertreatment system exceeds the warm-operation threshold temperature, disengaging the LEON mode; responsive to determining that the temperature of the aftertreatment system is below the warm-up operation threshold temperature, comparing information indicative of an operating status of the vehicle to a LEON exit threshold; and disengaging the LEON mode responsive to determining that the information indicative of the operating status of the vehicle during the LEON mode exceeds the LEON exit threshold.

An automotive exhaust system includes an exhaust pipe and a catalytic converter. The catalytic converter includes a catalyst in fluid communication with the exhaust pipe, and an electric heater between the exhaust pipe and the catalyst. The electric heater includes a cellular structure that defines a plurality of smaller and larger cells. The smaller cells occupy a contiguous half of the cellular structure.

Systems and methods for conditioning an aftertreatment system. For example, a computer-implemented method for conditioning an aftertreatment system of a hybrid system including an electric motor and a combustion engine includes: determining whether the aftertreatment system is in a first temperature zone below a first temperature threshold; determining whether a power demand corresponding to the operation of the hybrid system is in a first power demand zone below a power threshold; and if the aftertreatment system is determined to be in the first temperature zone and the power demand of the hybrid system is determined to be in the first power demand zone, setting the hybrid system to compressor mode to heat the aftertreatment system.