A column-shaped porous honeycomb structured body forms a plurality of first flow passages that are opened on one end face and closed on the other end face and a plurality of second flow passages that are closed on the one end face and opened on the other end face. The honeycomb structured body comprises: central partition walls where sectional areas of each first flow passage and each second flow passage are individually constant in an axial direction; and other-end-side inclined partition walls where the sectional area of each first flow passage is shrank and the sectional area of each second flow passage is expanded from the central partition walls to the other end face. An axial-directional length of the other-end-side inclined partition wall is 4 mm or more.

An exhaust gas filter purifies exhaust gas containing particulate matter emitted from an engine. The filter has cell walls and cells surrounded by the cell walls. Through pores formed in the cell walls, adjacent cells are communicated. The cells have open cells opening along an axial direction of the filter, and plugged cells. An upstream end part of the plugged cell is plugged by a plug member. On a cross section perpendicular to the axial direction, a flow-passage sectional area of the plugged cells is larger than a flow-passage sectional area of the open cells. A total length of the filter is not less than a first standard value and is not more than a critical length Lm determined by respective predetermined equations.

A honeycomb structure has partition walls defining a plurality of hexagonal cells the partition walls are constituted by combining standard partition walls having a partition wall thickness in a range smaller than ±10% to an average partition wall thickness of the partition walls, wide partition walls having a partition wall thickness of +10% or more to the average partition wall thickness, and narrow partition walls having a partition wall thickness of −10% or less to the average partition wall thickness, and a non-standard partition wall ratio is in a range of 10% to 30% which is a ratio occupied by a subtotal number of non-standard partition walls obtained by adding the wide partition walls and the narrow partition walls in a total number of the partition walls which is obtained by adding the numbers of the standard partition walls, the wide partition walls and the narrow partition walls.

A honeycomb structure, including: a plurality of pillar shaped honeycomb segments, each of the pillar shaped honeycomb segments including a partition wall and a plugged portion; and a joining layer arranged so as to join side surfaces of the pillar shaped honeycomb segments to each other. The honeycomb structure satisfies the following equations (1) to (3):
y≤1000  (1);
y≤717.92x.sup.−0.095  (2); and
y≥462.4x.sup.−0.153  (3),
in which y is a maximum temperature (° C.) at which the use of the honeycomb structure is accepted, and x is a thermal conduction factor represented by the following equation:
thermal conduction factor=(thermal conductivity of the partition wall×thermal conductivity of the joining layer)/(average thickness of the joining layer×porosity of the partition wall).

A honeycomb body having a porous ceramic honeycomb structure with a first end, a second end, and a plurality of walls having wall surfaces defining a plurality of inner channels. A highly porous layer is disposed on one or more of the wall surfaces of the honeycomb body. The highly porous layer has a porosity greater than 90%, and has an average thickness of greater than or equal to 0.5 μm and less than or equal to 10 μm. A method of making a honeycomb body includes depositing a layer precursor on a ceramic honeycomb body and binding the layer precursor to the ceramic honeycomb body to form the highly porous layer.

Apparatus and methods are disclosed which apply inorganic particles to a plugged honeycomb body comprising porous walls, an inlet end and an outlet end. The apparatus comprises a Venturi tube through which the particles flow into a duct system. Filtration articles comprise: a plugged honeycomb body; inorganic deposits disposed within the plugged honeycomb filter body having a porosity in a range of greater than 95% to less than or equal to 99.9% and an average thickness in a range of greater than or equal to 0.5 .Math.m to less than or equal to 50 .Math.m; and a clean filtration efficiency of greater than or equal to 85% as measured by a smoke filtration efficiency test.

There is disclosed a plugged honeycomb structure. A plugged honeycomb structure includes a tubular honeycomb structure body having partition walls including a porous partition wall base material defining a plurality of cells which become through channels for a fluid and extend from a first end face to a second end face, and a porous trapping layer disposed on the surface of the partition wall base material; and plugging portions disposed in open ends of predetermined cells in the first end face and open ends of residual cells in the second end face, and the partition wall base material is constituted of a porous body including α-Al.sub.2O.sub.3 as a main phase and further including aluminum titanate and glass.

A honeycomb structure includes a pillar-shaped honeycomb structure body including porous partition walls defining and forming a plurality of cells which extend from an inflow end face to an outflow end face, and a porous outer wall surrounding the partition walls, a porous supporting bulge disposed to extend out from a circumference of the outer wall so that at least a part of the outer wall is exposed, and plugging portions arranged in open ends of the cells, and the supporting bulge has support portions and a side wall portion, and the partition walls and the outer wall of the honeycomb structure body and the support portions and the side wall portion of the supporting bulge are all formed monolithically by formation of a ceramic raw material.

In a honeycomb structure, porous partition walls are arranged to surround cells extending from an inflow end face of the honeycomb structure body to an outflow end face thereof, intersection points at which the partition walls arranged in a latticed manner in the inflow end face intersect include a first intersection point that is one intersection point, and second intersection points one of which is the other intersection point in the partition wall including the first intersection point, and which are adjacent to the first intersection point, and the inflow end face has concave/convex portions each including the first intersection point as a bottom portion and the peripheral second intersection points of the first intersection point as top portions, or each including the first intersection point as a top portion and the peripheral second intersection points of the first intersection point as bottom portions.

A plugged honeycomb structure includes: a honeycomb substrate and a plugging portion, and is configured to trap particulate matter included in fluid flowing from an inflow side end face to an outflow side end face. The partition wall includes, as raw materials, particulates of a base material and a binder and having a melting point lower than that of the base material, the base material has a particle diameter in a range of 5 μm to 60 μm, a mass ratio of the binder to a total mass of the raw material of the base material and the binder is in a range of 22 mass % to 45 mass %, and the cells include round cells as a part, the round cells being defined by a circular-arc partition wall having a circular-arc shape that is at least a part of the partition wall to have a circular shape or the like.