A manufacturing method of a honeycomb structure includes a forming step of forming a honeycomb formed body by use of a kneaded material containing a cordierite forming raw material, a slurry coating step of coating a coating layer forming slurry which contains a cordierite forming raw material on four regions in a rotation area when each of two straight lines passing through the center of gravity of the cross section and extending in a diagonal direction of main quadrangular cells is rotated in a range of x of the center of gravity in a circumferential surface, and a firing step of firing the honeycomb formed body on which the slurry is coated. The value x is in a range of 7 to 45, and the slurry is adjusted so that the coating layer has a porosity higher than that of the honeycomb structure body as much as 5% 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 ceramic honeycomb filter has (a) cross section areas of intake flow paths being larger than those of discharge flow paths; (b) the intake and discharge flow paths having octagonal cross section shapes with four-fold rotation symmetry each obtained by cutting off four corners from a square; (c) the intake and discharge flow paths being alternately arranged in a first direction and a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, such that their opposing sides are parallel; (d) the opening ratio of the intake flow paths being 45-60%; (e) the number of the flow paths per cm.sup.2 being 30-60; (f) the thickness t1 of a cell wall between an intake flow path and a discharge flow path adjacent to that intake flow path being 0.150-0.260 mm; and (g) the thickness t2 of a cell wall between adjacent intake flow paths meeting 1.175<t2/t1<1.6.

A honeycomb structural body includes: a porous cell wall that partitions a cylindrical casing; and a large number of cells extending in the axial direction X thereof and alternately blocked at an upstream end face. The large number of cells include plugged cells having plugs and penetrating cells that do not have the plugs. The plugged cells and the penetrating cells both include complete cells and incomplete cells. At least some of plugged incomplete cells of the incomplete cells have a cross-sectional area smaller than a cross-sectional area of penetrating complete cells, and are configured as blocked cells that are entirely blocked inside in the axial direction.

The present invention provides a honeycomb filter including a honeycomb fired body including porous cell partition walls, exhaust gas introduction cells each having an open end at an exhaust gas inlet side and a plugged end at an exhaust gas outlet side, exhaust gas emission cells each having an open end at the exhaust gas outlet side and a plugged end at the exhaust gas inlet side, and an outer wall on the periphery thereof. The cross-sectional shape of each exhaust gas introduction cell in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction thereof is entirely uniform from the end at the exhaust gas inlet side to the end at the exhaust gas outlet side excluding the plugged portion. The cross-sectional shape of each exhaust gas emission cell in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction thereof is entirely uniform from the end at the exhaust gas inlet side to the end at the exhaust gas outlet side excluding the plugged portion. The exhaust gas emission cells, except for the cells adjacent to the outer wall, are each adjacently surrounded fully by the exhaust gas introduction cells across the porous cell partition walls. The cells adjacent to the outer wall include the exhaust gas introduction cells and the exhaust gas emission cells. A substantial ratio of the number of the exhaust gas introduction cells to the number of the exhaust gas emission cells (exhaust gas introduction cells:exhaust gas emission cells) is 4:1. All the exhaust gas introduction cells, except for the cells adjacent to the outer wall, have the same cross-sectional area in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction thereof, the cross-sectional area of each exhaust gas introduction cell being smaller than that of each exhaust gas emission cell in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction thereof.

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.

A honeycomb filter includes a honeycomb structure body having porous partition walls arranged to surround cells, in a cross section of the honeycomb structure body which is perpendicular to an extending direction of the cells, a value of a porosity of the partition wall in a partitioning region between the inflow cell and the outflow cell is defined as a porosity A, among intersecting portions where partitioning regions of the partition walls between the cells intersect one another, a value of a porosity of the partition wall in an intersecting portion between the two inflow cells is defined as a porosity B, and a value of A/B obtained by dividing the porosity A by the porosity B is from 0.50 to 0.95.

A honeycomb filter includes a plurality of cells and porous cell walls. Exhaust gas is to flow through the plurality of cells. The plurality of cells include exhaust gas introduction cells and exhaust gas emission cells. The honeycomb filter has a round cross sectional shape. Each of the exhaust gas emission cells is adjacently surrounded fully by the exhaust gas introduction cells. In the cross section, the exhaust gas introduction cells and the exhaust gas emission cells each have a polygonal shape. In the cross section, a side forming a cross sectional shape of each of the first exhaust gas introduction cells faces one of the exhaust gas emission cells, a side forming a cross sectional shape of each of the second exhaust gas introduction cells faces one of the exhaust gas emission cells.

Provided is an exhaust gas filter comprising a plurality of cell walls, a plurality of cell holes surrounded by the cell walls, and plug parts each sealing one of both ends of at least a part of the cell holes. The cell walls each have pores that allow adjacent cell holes to communicate with each other. The cell walls contain at least one promoter selected from the group consisting of ceria, zirconia, and a ceria-zirconia solid solution as a constituent thereof.

A ceramic honeycomb filter has (a) cross section areas of intake flow paths being larger than those of discharge flow paths; (b) the intake and discharge flow paths having octagonal cross section shapes with four-fold rotation symmetry each obtained by cutting off four corners from a square; (c) the intake and discharge flow paths being alternately arranged in a first direction and a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, such that their opposing sides are parallel; (d) the opening ratio of the intake flow paths being 45-60%; (e) the number of the flow paths per cm.sup.2 being 30-60; (f) the thickness t1 of a cell wall between an intake flow path and a discharge flow path adjacent to that intake flow path being 0.150-0.260 mm; and (g) the thickness t2 of a cell wall between adjacent intake flow paths meeting 1.175<t2/t1<1.6.