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Date of publication xxxx 00, 0000, date of current version xxxx 00, 0000.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/ACCESS.2019.Doi Number

Effects of a Bladder Accumulator on

Pressure Pulsation of Urea Dosing
System
YOUCHENG SHI, SHUDONG YANG, XIWEI PAN, AND YINSHUI LIU
School of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
Corresponding author: Shudong Yang (yangsd@mail.hust.edu.cn).
This work was supported in part by the National Key Research and Development Program of China under Grant 2016YFC0300600.

ABSTRACT Non-air-assisted urea dosing systems (NAUDSs) with diaphragm pump are usually used
in selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems to supply the urea water solution. The system pressure
pulsation caused by diaphragm pump can significantly reduce the injecting precision of
NAUDSs and further decrease the conversion efficiency of the SCR systems. Therefore, this study aimed to
reduce the system pressure pulsation by installing a bladder accumulator in a NAUDS. The bladder
accumulator could effectively absorb the system pressure pulsation. A numerical model was proposed to
study the effects of the bladder accumulator on the pressure pulsation of the NAUDS. The software
Amesim 15.0® and ADINA 9.3® were used to develop a new submodel for the bladder accumulator and
the diaphragm pump in the NAUDS. Simulation results show that the pressure pulsation of the NAUDS
mainly depended on the bladder accumulator parameter. Reducing bladder thickness, bladder elasticity
modulus, and bladder accumulator stiffness significantly decreased the system pressure pulsation. When the
stiffness of the bladder accumulator was lower than 5×1011 Pa/m3, the pulsation ratio of system pressure
reduced to below 5%. A test system was built to validate the numerical model. The test data of the system
pressure showed almost the same change trend as the simulation results. Thus, the proposed numerical
model can effectively predict the dynamic behavior of the NAUDS, and the results may serve as a reference
for the design of similar NAUDSs.

INDEX TERMS Selective catalytic reduction (SCR); Non-air-assisted urea dosing system (NAUDS);
Diaphragm pump; Pressure pulsation; Bladder accumulator;

I. INTRODUCTION conversion and reduce UWS consumption. Improving the

In recent years, many countries have been setting stringent
emission regulations for diesel engines to protect the
environment. However, meeting such emission regulations
with the combustion technique is difficult. Therefore, diesel
exhaust after-treatment technologies have been developed by
engine manufactures [1]–[3]. The urea selective catalytic
reduction (Urea-SCR) system, in particular, is one of the
most promising technologies that can reduce nitrogen oxide
(NOx) emissions efficiently [4]–[8]. Urea-SCR technology
uses urea water solution (UWS) as the reductant to convert
NOx in the exhaust into N2 and H2O via a catalyst [9],[10].
The performance of the catalyst and urea dosing system
(UDS) dominantly influences NOx reduction. Improving
catalyst performance can improve the efficiency of NOx
precision of UWS dosing can improve the reaction efficiency
and reduce NH3 slip [11],[12]. NH3 is also harmful to the
environment.
Many studies have been conducted to improve catalyst
performance. Fu et al. [13] reviewed the effects of different
carriers with different active centers, and compared the
research progress of reaction mechanisms and kinetics of
supported catalysts used in the selective catalytic reduction of
NOx at low temperatures. They also proposed the exploration
of the reaction of surface chemical processes, which may be
a direction to develop low temperature-supported catalysts
for NOx removal. Paolucci et al. [14] combined steady-state
and transient kinetic measurements, X-ray absorption
spectroscopy, and first principles calculations to demonstrate

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Y. Shi et.al: Effects of a bladder accumulator on pressure pulsation of urea dosing system (** 2019)
that under reaction conditions, mobilized Cu ions can travel
through zeolite windows and form transient ion pairs that
participate in an oxygen (O2)-mediated CuI→CuII redox step
integral to SCR. Many authors have also investigated the
performance of the UDSs. Willems et al. [15] presented an
adaptive control strategy that uses an ammonia feedback
sensor and an online ammonia storage model. This method
was compared with a sensor-based control strategy with
cross-sensitivity compensation. It was proved to be superior
in terms of transient adaptation and the consideration of NH3
slip constraint. Choi et al. [8] numerically investigated the
effects of mixing units on mixing characteristics in a marine
SCR system using ANSYS Fluent. Guidelines for the
compact design of SCR system were also proposed. Prabhu
et al. [16] experimentally investigated the deposit formation
of UWS and its rate on the basis of a new concept in which
stainless steel foil is used and temperature and flow rate are
considered as variables. Their work revealed that deposit
areas at low temperatures are comparable to numerical values.
A phenomenological model was also proposed to identify the
deposit conversion factor for lower temperatures (150°C–
250 °C), which helps in tuning of the UWS dosage strategy
to prevent NH3 slip. This model is useful in predicting
deposit formation for individual SCR systems with fixed
mounting conditions at particular temperatures. Oh et al. [17]
used laser diagnostics and a high-speed camera to analyze the
spray characteristics of a urea injector and to determine the
distribution of the urea solution droplets in a transparent
manifold. The experimental results showed that a grid-
channel plate-type mixer is optimal for maintaining a high
droplet uniformity index, which increases by 32% relative to
that in the case without a mixer; and NOx conversion
efficiency, which is 85% to 90%. Spiteri et al. [18] compared
the spray behavior of two commercially available UWS
injectors under various cross-flows by experimental methods.
Pressure-driven urea distributions were found to be governed
by the extensive volume fraction in the largest droplets. By
contrast, the distribution of small droplets created by air-
assisted atomization depends mostly on the turbulence and
vorticity induced by the injector airflow. For identical overall
NH3 or NOx ratios in the feed, the pressure-driven injector
results in low NOx conversion and high NH3-slip relative to
an air-assisted injector.
Although numerous studies have reported the effects of
injecting pressure on UWS spray characteristics and the
improvement of NOx conversion efficiency. Only a few
studies have focused on the pressure pulsation of UDSs,
which can directly influence the precision of UWS dosing
and the spray characteristics of the UWS. The pump widely
used in non-air-assisted UDSs (NAUDSs) is a high-speed
diaphragm pump, which can cause serious pressure pulsation
in pipelines [12],[19]. Many researchers have reported the
pressure pulsation of diaphragm pumps [20]–[22]. For
NAUDSs, dosing precision is mainly depended on system
pressure pulsation. Small pressure pulsation is needed to
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improve dosing precision. Therefore, reducing the system
pressure pulsation caused by diaphragm pump is an
important task. Among the methods for reducing the pressure
pulsation, the installation of an accumulator is the most
common solution [23]–[25]. Luo et al. [26]adopted a semi-
active accumulator capable of absorbing pressure pulsation in
a high-pressure water-jet (HPWS) propulsion system under
different working conditions. The results showed that the
pressure pulsation absorbed by the semi-active accumulator
is better than that absorbed by a passive accumulator when
the pump speeds and the steady-state pressure of the HPWS
changes. Luo et al. [27]presented a calculation method for
optimizing multiple accumulators. Simulation and
experiment analyses revealed that integrating multiple
accumulators into a seawater piston pump and optimizing the
precharged parameters can reduce the pressure pulsation
under different levels of working back pressure. Kumar et al.
[28] studied the control of pressure surges in a hydraulic
system and the energy savings from surges by using a
bladder-type hydraulic accumulator. A simulation of the
hydraulic system was conducted on MATLAB/Simulink.
The results showed that the ability to absorb surges and
stabilize the system is high in a small capacity accumulator.
A time lag occurs as the size of the accumulator increases.
The existing literatures are mainly focused on hydraulic
accumulators that are precharged with inert gas, especially
nitrogen (N2) gas. In NAUDSs, the system pressure is
approximately 0.9 MPa. It is much lower than that in a
normal hydraulic system. Therefore, a bladder accumulator
that is used to reduce the pressure pulsation of the NAUDS
need not be precharged with inert gas but is filled with air
automatically. The initial pressure in the bladder chamber is
atmospheric pressure, and the accumulator mainly depends
on the deformation of the bladder to absorb pressure
pulsation. This type of bladder accumulator is cheaper and
safer than those precharged with N2 gas. However, the
studies on this type of accumulator are limited. The primary
goal of the current work is to study the effects of the bladder
accumulator parameters on the system pressure pulsation and
provide a reference for other researches. A numerical model
was developed in Amesim 15.0® and ADINA 9.3® to study
the effects of bladder accumulator parameters on the pressure
pulsation of a NAUDS. A test system was built to validate
the proposed numerical model. The test results matched well
with the numerical values.
II. METHODS
A. WORKING PRINCIPLE OF NAUDS
The diagram of the NAUDS is shown in Fig. 1. It can be
divided into two subsystems: the fluid circuit and the control
unit. The fluid circuit mainly contains the urea tank (1),
reversing valve (2), diaphragm pump (3), filter (5), bladder
accumulator (6), switch valve (9), injector (10), and fixed
type backflow orifice (8). A pressure sensor (7) is also
installed on the pipeline to sample the pressure signals.
 This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI
10.1109/ACCESS.2019.2944199, IEEE Access
Y. Shi et.al: Effects of a bladder accumulator on pressure pulsation of urea dosing system (** 2019)

The control unit mainly contains the monitor (13), USBCAN
(14), dosing control unit (DCU) (15), pressure sensor (7),
temperature sensor (16), and NOx sensor (17).
The following are the operating sequences of the NAUDS
(Fig. 1):
1) In the starting process, the motor (4) is set in operation.
The UWS is suctioned from the urea tank (1) by the
diaphragm pump and then backflows from the backflow
orifice (8). When the system pressure reaches and
maintains the set value, the starting process is completed.
2) When DCU receives the NOx level and exhaust
temperature signals, the required injecting quantity of
UWS is calculated. The DCU (15) sends the pulse width
modulation (PWM) duty cycle signal to the motor (4) and
switch valve (9), and the NAUDS injects the UWS into
the exhaust pipe on the basis of the requirement.
Meanwhile, the DCU (15) dynamically modulates the
duty cycle of the motor speed to maintain the pressure at
the required level. When the injection process is finished,
the motor (4) is stopped.
3) In the purging process, the reversing valve (2) is
energized, and the motor (4) is set in operation. The
UWS remaining in the pipe is suctioned by the
diaphragm pump (3) and discharged into the urea tank (1).
The operation of the NAUDS is then stopped.

Exhaust

9 4
M
11
10

6 5
3
P
2
7
8
12 1
13
7
14
16

N 15
17

FIGURE 1. Diagram of the NAUDS: 1-urea tank, 2-reversing valve, 3-diaphragm pump, 4-motor, 5-filter, 6-bladder accumulator, 7-pressure sensor, 8-
backflow orifice, 9-switch valve, 10-injector, 11-exhaust pipe, 12-SCR catalyst, 13-monitor, 14-USBCAN, 15-DCU, 16-temperature sensor, 17-NOx
sensor.


B. SYSTEM MODELING wc  e[(1  cos  )  (1  cos 2 )] (1)
In this section, the numerical model of the NAUDS is 4
presented. As the reversing valve has little influence on the 
system pressure pulsation, the reversing valve is simplified uc  e (sin   sin 2 ) (2)
2
as the length of the pipe. The model mainly contains the a  e 2 (cos    cos 2 ) (3)
diaphragm pump, bladder accumulator, backflow orifice,
πn
filter, and urea injector, etc.  (4)
30
1) DIAPHRAGM PUMP
The configuration of the diaphragm pump assembly used in where wc is the displacement of the rigid inclusion,  is the
this specific NAUDS is presented in Fig. 2. crank angle, e is the crank eccentricity, l is the length of the
The pump shaft and motor rotor are fixed together, and connecting rod, =e/l；b is the radius of the rigid inclusion,
the motor stator is fixed on the upper pump body. Therefore, R is the outer radius of the diaphragm, S is the distance
the pump speed is equal to the motor speed. between the top and bottom dead center, S=2e.
The simplified diagram of the diaphragm pump is shown When the diaphragm pump is set in operation, the
in Fig. 3, where point T is the top dead center and point B is diaphragm deflects largely. Calculating the transient
flowrate of the diaphragm pump requires the deflection
the bottom dead center. The motion of the diaphragm rigid
curve of the diaphragm at any time. The large deflection
inclusion in the direction of OB can be expressed as follows:
theory of plates is necessary for calculating the deflection
of the diaphragm.

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Y. Shi et.al: Effects of a bladder accumulator on pressure pulsation of urea dosing system (** 2019)

any case is challenging. In this study, a numerical model of

10 11 12 13 the diaphragm pump was proposed to calculate the transient
flowrate of the diaphragm pump.
The experimental displacement of the diaphragm pump
1 under no-load condition is defined as Vs. The experimental
displacement of the diaphragm pump under pressure Δp is
2 defined as Vb. The stiffness of the diaphragm can be defined
as follows:
p p
Kd = =
Vs  Vb V
(5)
3 The effective diameter of the diaphragm can be defined
as follows:
4
5
4Vs
de =
9 πwm
6 (6)
8 where wm is the maximum displacement of the rigid
inclusion.
7 A simplified diagram of the diaphragm pump chamber
for numerical calculation is presented in Fig. 4. Vn is the
effective volume of the pump chamber at no-load condition,
Flow where Vn=π/4de2wc. The volume due to the diaphragm strain
during the discharge process is denoted as Vr and is given as
FIGURE 2. Configuration of diaphragm pump assembly: 1-eccentric follows:
wheel 2-pump shaft 3-rigid inclusion of diaphragm 4-rubber part of p
diaphragm 5-upper valve seat 6-lower valve seat 7-lower pump body 8- Vr =
valve ball 9-valve guide 10- motor rotor 11-motor stator 12-connecting Kd
rod 13-upper pump body. (7)
The effective volume of the pump chamber under
pressure can be expressed as follows:
Vd =Vn -Vr (8)

 O t
Assume that the Vd is the effective volume of the pump
e
chamber at time t and that Vdt+1 is the effective volume of
the pump chamber at time t+1. The simulation flowrate of
the diaphragm pump under pressure can then be expressed
l
as follows:
V V t  Vd t 1
Qn  d  d
Rigid inclusion of t t (9)
R diaphragm
b T The pressure in the pump chamber corresponds to the
pump chamber volume and can be given as follows:
S

V V t
wc

B
p =K s d
Vs
(10)
where K is the bulk modulus of UWS.
Rubber part Pump chamber
of diaphragm de
Vr 2b Ve
Suction valve Discharge valve
Vn
wc

FIGURE 3. Simplified diagram of the diaphragm pump.

Previous studies [29],[30] proposed the formula w(r) for

FIGURE 4. Simplified diagram of the diaphragm pump chamber.
the deflection curve of diaphragms based on the large
deflection theory of plates. The inverse function r(w) Port valves also exert a significant influence on the
is necessary in calculating the volume of fluid in the pump performance of the diaphragm pump. References [30] and
chamber. However, calculating the reverse function r(w) in [31] showed the dynamic behavior of different port valves
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Y. Shi et.al: Effects of a bladder accumulator on pressure pulsation of urea dosing system (** 2019)

and their influences on the diaphragm pump. A ball valve is contact pair 1 is that between the valve seat and the O ring,
used in the diaphragm pump in this study. When the contact pair 2 is that between the valve seat and the valve
working chamber of the pump expands, the suction valve is ball, and contact pair 3 is that between the valve ball and
open, and the fluid in the inlet pipe is sucked into the the O ring. When pressure p is applied to valve ball, the
working chamber. During the suction process, the discharge valve ball is pushed to move toward the valve seat.
valve should not open. When the working chamber is
compressed, the discharge valve is open, and the fluid is Valve seat Valve ball O ring Valve guide
discharged into the outlet pipe. During the discharge
process, the suction valve should not open. A model for the
ball valve was proposed. The simplified diagram of the ball
valve is shown in Fig. 5. Spring force Fs is applied to the
valve ball, p is the pressure in the pump chamber, and ds is
the diameter of the valve inlet. The contact between the
valve ball and the valve seat is essentially a line contact. dc
is the diameter of the contact circle. The contact condition
between the valve ball and the O ring varies and is
correlated with pressure p. Contact pair 1 Contact pair 2 Flow Contact pair 3
The dynamic equation of the valve ball is expressed as (a)
follows:
1  Q2
(mi  msi )(fi )  pi πrvi 2  l i  ksi ( fi  fi ) (11)
3 Ai
where i=0 represents the suction valve and i=1 represents
the discharge valve, m is the mass of the valve ball, ms is
the mass of the reset spring, Δf is the displacement of the
valve ball, Δp is the pressure differentials between
upstream and downstream of the valve and pi  l ki 2 2 ,
k is max flow velocity at the orifice pass area, rv is the
radius of the pressure-bearing surface, ρl is the density of 2rv2
UWS, Q is the flowrate, A is the cross-sectional area of the 2rv1
valve chamber, ks is the spring stiffness, f is the preload (b)
value of the reset spring.
FIGURE 6. FEM model of the ball valve.
2rv
Valve Fs Fs+Fc p
guide p

Flow
Valve ball O ring Valve seat Flow
ds
ds Valve seat
Valve ball
2rv
FIGURE 5. Simplified diagram of the ball valve.

A numerical model is developed in ADINA 9.3® on the
basis of the finite element method (FEM) to accurately
calculate the contact condition between the ball valve and
the O ring. The FEM model is shown in Fig. 6(a). The
contact conditions are defined in this model as follows:
FIGURE 7. Diagram of the ball valve with a conical seat.
The dynamic characteristics of the ball valve in the
NAUDS can be calculated by simplifying it as a ball valve
with a conical valve seat. The diagram of the ball valve

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Y. Shi et.al: Effects of a bladder accumulator on pressure pulsation of urea dosing system (** 2019)

with a conical valve seat is presented in Fig. 7. As shown in p

Fig. 6(b), the O ring is deformed under pressure. The action Va = (12)
Kr
areas of fluid pressure at the upstream and downstream are
where Kr is the stiffness of the bladder.
rv1 and rv2, respectively. Therefore, force Fc due to the
An FEM model is developed in ADINA 9.3® to
action area differential must be considered. The applied
accurately calculate bladder stiffness. The cross section of
frequency of force Fc is related to pump speed. As the
the FEM model is shown in Fig. 9. db is the external
pressure in the pump chamber is less than the atmospheric
diameter of the bladder, da is the inner diameter of the
pressure in the suction process, the value of Fc in the
bladder, and hb is the height of the bladder. Bladder
suction process is equal to 0.
thickness is defined as the half value of the differential of db
and da.
2) BLADDER ACCUMULATOR
The accumulator is a key component to reduce the pressure
pulsation of hydraulic systems. The diagram of the bladder
accumulator used in the NAUDS is presented in Fig. 8. The
accumulator consists of the bladder, shell, and end cap. The
accumulator also comprises one inlet and two outlets. A
filter is also installed inside the accumulator to Fluid
filter impurities. structure Fluid
interface structure
interface
Backflow Inject
Air

hb
Bladder

Shell

Bladder
UWS
p
Air

da Wall
db
Filter
(a) (b)

FIGURE 9. FEM model of the bladder.

UWS

Fluid structure interaction (FSI) analysis is needed to

Inlet
End cap
FIGURE 8. Diagram of the bladder accumulator.
The normal hydraulic bladder accumulator is filled with
inert gas with a certain pressure. In this accumulator, the
bladder is filled with air, and the initial pressure is
atmospheric pressure. The volume of bladder inner cavity is
3.3 mL.
The bladder is made out of rubber and deforms under
fluid pressure. The relationship between the volume
deviation of the bladder ΔVa and the pressure differential
Δp can be determined as follows:
calculate the interaction between the air and the bladder.
The computational domains of the air and bladder are
defined on the basis of their material data, boundary
conditions, and so on. The fluid structure interfaces are
defined on the interfaces of the two models. Although the
two models are defined respectively, they are solved
simultaneously by one FSI solver. Iterative computing
methods are used to solve the two-way coupling system
[32]. Through the FEM calculation, the bladder
deformation under different parameters can be determined.
Stiffness Kr can also be calculated based on the basis of
bladder deformation under pressure. Based on the working
principle of this bladder accumulator, the diaphragm
submodel in “diaphragm pump” section is used to simulate
the dynamic characteristics of the bladder. The stiffness Kr
calculated from Eq. 12 should be substituted into the
submodel of the bladder accumulator based on the Amesim
15.0®.

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Y. Shi et.al: Effects of a bladder accumulator on pressure pulsation of urea dosing system (** 2019)

ER Elasticity modulus of bladder 8.5 MPa

3) SYSTEM PARAMETERS
The diagram of the injector used in this NAUDS is shown vR Poisson's ratio of rubber 0.47
in Fig. 10. The injector comprises three orifices. The V0 Dead volume of the pump chamber 62 mm3
diameter of the orifice is denoted as do. The needle is fixed Vs displacement of the diaphragm pump at 190 mm3
with the switch valve core to switch the flow condition. It no-load condition
can be lifted by the electromagnet force produced by the d0s Diameter of the suction valve inlet 4 mm
coil. The electromagnet coil is energized by the PWM duty d1s Diameter of the discharge valve inlet 3 mm
cycle. The opening and closing of the urea injector is dvb Diameter of the valve ball 6 mm
assumed to occur instantaneously.
h0 Maximum lift of the suction valve 2 mm
Based on Amesim 15.0®, the numerical model for the
NAUDS is built (Fig. 11). The main parameters of the hL Maximum lift of the discharge valve 2 mm
numerical model are listed in Table I. m Mass of the valve ball 1×10-4 kg
ms Mass of the valve spring 4×10-4 kg
dn
ks Stiffness of the valve spring 56 N/m

UWS f preload value of the reset spring 3.5 mm

DI Inside diameter of the O ring 5 mm
DC Cross sectional diameter of the O ring 1.2 mm
ρl Density of water 1000 kg/m3

Needle Kl Bulk modulus of water 2.2 GPa

v Kinematic viscosity of water 1×10-3 Pa·s
dbo Diameter of the backflow orifice 0.32 mm
Cqb Flow efficient of the backflow orifice 0.81
Wall De Effective diameter of the filter 3 mm
VR Volume of fluid in the bladder 52,500 mm3
accumulator chamber
VT Volume of the tank 11.4 L
Dp Inner diameter of the pipe 5 mm
Fc Compensated force 10 N
do
Orifice dn External diameter of the needle 3.8 mm
lm Maximum lift of the needle 0.5 mm
Mn Mass of the needle 2×10-3 kg
FIGURE 10. Diagram of the injector. ksI Stiffness of the injector spring 1500 N/m
fI preload value of the reset spring 3 mm
TABLE I dI Diameter of the injector orifice 0.18 mm
PARAMETERS OF THE NAUDS
Co Efficient of the injector orifice 0.61
nI Number of the injector orifice 3
Symbol Parameter Value
Δt Print interval 5×10-5 s
pt Rated pressure 0.9 MPa
n Rated speed 3000 r/min T Total calculation time 30 s
e Crank eccentricity 0.55 mm
l Connecting rod length 23 mm
R Outer radius of the diaphragm 10.5 mm III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
B Radius of the rigid inclusion 5.5 mm A. VALIDATION OF THE NUMERICAL MODEL
Kd Stiffness of the diaphragm 1.5×1013 Pa/m3 A test system was designed and built to validate the
md Mass of the diaphragm -3
7.2×10 kg numerical model. The working principle of the test system
de Effective diameter of the diaphragm 16.5 mm
is the same as that of the NAUDS. The system apparatus is
presented in Fig. 12.
Kr Stiffness of the bladder 5×1011 Pa/m3
A high-frequency pressure sensor (9.1) is installed on the
der Effective diameter of the bladder 31 mm diaphragm pump body to monitor the pressure in the pump
da Inner diameter of the bladder 8 mm chamber. Another high-frequency pressure sensor (9.2) is
db External diameter of the bladder 22 mm installed on the pipe to monitor system pressure. The urea
hb Height of the bladder 75 mm

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Y. Shi et.al: Effects of a bladder accumulator on pressure pulsation of urea dosing system (** 2019)

injector (3) consists of the injector and the switch valve. in the pump chamber and the system pressure can be
When the test system is working in a closed-loop with the dynamically sampled by the high-frequency pressure
DCU, the motor speed is dynamically modulated on the sensors.
basis of the pressure data from the pressure sensor (4) to
TABLE II
maintain the system pressure. In this test, water is used to DETAILED TYPES AND SPECIFICATIONS OF THE TEST APPARATUS
conduct tests instead of UWS. The detailed types and
specifications of the test apparatus in the test system are Apparatus Types Specifications Value
listed in Table II. The Flowrates of the diaphragm pump are Pressure Tyco U86B Response time 1 ms
measured by the weight increasing method. Data from the sensor Accuracy ±0.5%
high-frequency pressure sensor are collected by a data High HELM Sampling rates 20 kHz
acquisition card and displayed on the monitor. frequency HM90A-H2-3- Range -0.1~2.0 MPa
pressure V2-F2-W2 Accuracy 0.1%
Diaphragm pump Injector Urea injector sensor

Data ADVANTECH Sampling rates 48 KHz

acquisition USB-4704-AE Resolution 14 Bits
card

Pressure Xuelang Range 0~1.6 MPa

gauge YN-40-B Accuracy 0.25%

Electronic OHAUS Range 0~4100 g

Filter
scale EP4101C Readability 0.1 g
Repeatability 0.05 g
Bladder
accumulator
Motor Yuanzhong Holding torque 0.15 N·m
42BL Accuracy ±1%
Operating speed 0~4000 rpm
Tank Backflow
Switch Bladder WAL Elasticity 8.5 MPa
orifice
valve modulus of rubber

FIGURE 11. Numerical model of the NAUDS. Filter WAL Filtration 10 m

precision
6 7
5
1) PRESSURE IN THE PUMP CHAMBER
4 The pressure in the pump chamber from the simulation and
8
experiment is presented in Fig. 13.
9.1
15
1.8
11 Experiment
1.6 Simulation
14
3 9.2 1.4

2 1.2
12
10
Pressure(MPa)

1.0
1
13 0.8
11
0.6
FIGURE 12. Diagram and apparatus photos of the test system: 1-
electronic scale, 2-measuring glass, 3-urea injector, 4-pressure sensor, 0.4
5-motor driver, 6-diaphragm pump assembly, 7-bladder accumulator, 8-
pressure gauge, 9-high frequency pressure sensor, 10-flow control 0.2
valve, 11-tank, 12-data acquisition card, 13- monitor, 14-USBCAN, 15-
DCU. 0.0
0.000 0.005 0.010 0.015 0.020
When the injecting duty cycle (IDC) of the urea injector Time(s)
is equal to 0, the system pressure is mainly influenced by
the diaphragm pump and bladder accumulator. The DCU FIGURE 13. Pressures in the diaphragm pump chamber during a
sends the PWM duty cycle to the motor drive and sets the working cycle.
pump speed to 3000 rpm. The system pressure is also
adjusted to 0.9 MPa by the flow control valve. The pressure

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 This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI
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Y. Shi et.al: Effects of a bladder accumulator on pressure pulsation of urea dosing system (** 2019)

The pressure in the pump chamber during a working 25

cycle shows the same change trends as the simulation and
experiment results. The stiffness of the pump diaphragm is
20
assumed to be a constant value in the numerical model, but
it is also influenced by the clamping of the diaphragm edge
in practical applications. In this numerical model, the 15

Flowrate (L/h)
influence of the diaphragm clamping on the pressure of the
diaphragm pump is not considered. Therefore, the
simulation pressure in the pump chamber increases almost 10
linearly.
5
2) SYSTEM PRESSURE Experiment
The system pressure from the simulation and experiment Simulation
is presented in Fig. 14. The system pressure during a 0
working cycle shows almost the same change trends as the 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
simulation and experiment results. The maximum deviation Pump speed(rpm)
between the two results is 4.7%. Although the flowrate of
FIGURE 15. Flowrate of diaphragm pump.
the diaphragm pump is seriously pulsed, the system
pressure changes smoothly. The bladder accumulator can
significantly reduce the pressure pulsation of the test B. EFFECTS OF PUMP SPEED CONTROL STRATEGY
system. Therefore, this type of bladder accumulator is ON THE SYSTEM PRESSURE PULSATION
effective in absorbing the system pressure pulsation in the When the IDC of the urea injector is greater than 0, it
NAUDS. significantly influences the system pressure pulsation.
Therefore, the pump speed control strategy is also
important to maintain the system pressure. When the test
1.2 system is working in a closed-loop with the DCU, the pump
speed can be dynamically modulated by the DCU. When
1.0 the test system is working in an open-loop without the DCU,
the pump speed cannot be dynamically modulated. The
0.8 signal of the PWM duty cycle for controlling the pump
speed and switch valve is sampled by the data acquisition
Pressure(MPa)

0.6 card from the DCU when the test system is operating. The
data are used in the simulation to control the pump speed
and switch valve.
0.4
Fig. 16 shows the system pressure from the simulation
results when the NAUDS is working in a closed-loop and
0.2 an open-loop. The open-loop system pressure pulsation
Experiment
Simulation increases to the maximum value when the IDC of the urea
0.0 injector is 50%. In the following simulation, the IDC of the
0.000 0.005 0.010 0.015 0.020
Time(s) urea injector is defined as 50%. Pulsation ratio is defined as
follows in the comparison of system pressure pulsation.
p  pmin
FIGURE 14. System pressures during a working cycle.   max 100%
pa
(13)
where δ is the pulsation ratio of the system pressure, pmax is
3) FLOW RATE OF THE DIAPHRAGM PUMP the maximum system pressure during a working cycle, pmin
The flowrates of the diaphragm pump are also tested. The is the minimum system pressure during a working cycle, pa
flowrate from the simulation and experiment is presented in is the average system pressure during a working cycle.
Fig. 15. The maximum deviation between the simulation In the open-loop condition, the pump speed is constant.
and experiment results is 5.3%. Thus, the flowrates are At the first stage, the urea injector closes, and the system
linear to the pump speed. pressure rises. At the second stage, the urea injector opens,
The above results show that the numerical model and the system pressure declines. In this condition, the
proposed in this paper is effective in predicting the dynamic pulsation ratio of system pressure is 22.2%. In the closed-
behavior of the NAUDS. loop condition, the pump speed is dynamically modulated.

VOLUME XX, 2019 9

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 This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI
10.1109/ACCESS.2019.2944199, IEEE Access
Y. Shi et.al: Effects of a bladder accumulator on pressure pulsation of urea dosing system (** 2019)

In this condition, the pulsation ratio of system pressure is modulus. Reducing the elasticity modulus can decrease the
5.1%. Hence, dynamically modulating the pump speed is system pressure pulsation. When the elasticity modulus is
necessary to reduce the system pressure pulsation. When less than 8.5 MPa, the pulsation ratio reduces to below 5%.
the influences of the pump speed control strategy are
eliminated, reducing the system pressure pulsation mainly 10
depends on the bladder accumulator. The pulsation ratio of
system pressure of the NAUDS mainly depends on the
8
bladder accumulator parameter.

pulsation ratio(%)
1.2 6

1.0
4

0.8
Pressure(MPa)

2
0.6

0
0.4 2 4 6 8 10
Bladder thickness(mm)

0.2
Closed-loop FIGURE 17. Relationship between the bladder thickness and pulsation
ratio.
Open-loop
0.0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 15.0
Time(s)

12.5
FIGURE 16. System pressures in the closed-loop and open-loop
simulation.
10.0
pulsation ratio(%)

C. EFFECTS OF THE BLADDER ACCUMULATOR

PARAMETERS ON THE SYSTEM PRESSURE 7.5
PULSATION
A closed-loop simulation is conducted under different 5.0
conditions to study the influence of the bladder accumulator
parameters on the system pressure pulsation. 2.5

1) BLADDER THICKNESS 0.0

Reducing bladder thickness can facilitate deformation. The 5 10 15 20 25
simulation is conducted under different inner diameters of Elasticity modulus(MPa)
the bladder. The bladder modulus is the same as that is
listed in Table I. The simulation result is shown in Fig. 17. FIGURE 18. Relationship between the bladder elasticity modulus and
pulsation ratio.
When the bladder thickness increases from 3 mm to 9
mm, the pulsation ratios of the system pressure increase 3) STIFFNESS OF THE BLADDER ACCUMULATOR
from 1.3% to 9.9%. The change trend of the pulsation ratios The relationship between the stiffness of the bladder
is similar to a cubic function. Reducing the bladder accumulator and the system pressure pulsation is presented
thickness can efficiently decrease the pulsation ratios. in Fig. 19. As the value of the bladder stiffness is
When the bladder thickness is less than 7 mm, the pulsation considerably large, its logarithm is adopted to explain the
ratio reduces to below 5%. relationship more explicitly. When the logarithm of bladder
stiffness changes from 10.7 to 13, the change trend of the
2) ELASTICITY MODULUS OF THE BLADDER pulsation ratios of system pressure is similar to a conic
The relationship between the elasticity modulus of the function. The pulsation ratios of the system pressure
bladder and the pressure pulsation is presented in Fig. 18. increase from 0.5% to 28.6%. As the logarithm of bladder
The structure parameters of the bladder are the same as stiffness changes from 13 to 15, the pulsation ratio increase
those listed in Table I. When the elasticity modulus of the from 28.6% to 38%. The theoretical pulsation ratio of the
bladder is changed from 5 MPa to 25 MPa, the pulsation NAUDS is 100% when the bladder stiffness is infinite.
ratio of the system pressure is linear to the elasticity
10 VOLUME XX, 2019

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 This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI
When the bladder stiffness is infinite, the NAUDS appears
to lack a bladder accumulator.
Reducing the stiffness of the accumulator can
significantly minimize the system pressure pulsation. When
the stiffness of the bladder accumulator is lower than
5×1011 Pa/m3, the pulsation ratio reduces to below 5%.
When the stiffness is lower than 1×1011 Pa/m3, the pulsation
ratio reduces to below 1%.
40
30
pulsation ratio(%)
20
10
0 [7]
10 11 12 13
log10Kr
FIGURE 19. Relationship between the
accumulator and pulsation ratio.
V. CONCLUSION
A NAUDS with a bladder accumulator was presented in
this work. A comprehensive numerical model for the
NAUDS was proposed to study the pressure characteristics
of the system and the effects of the bladder accumulator on
the system pressure pulsation. To achieve the primary goal,
a new submodel for the bladder accumulator and the
diaphragm pump in the NAUDS was proposed using the
software Amesim 15.0® and ADINA 9.3®. On the basis of
the numerical model, the effects of the bladder accumulator
on the pressure characteristics of the NAUDS were
analyzed. The findings are summarized as follows.
The pressure in the working chamber of the diaphragm
pump and that in the NAUDS’ injecting pipe were
simulated. Pump flowrates were also calculated and were
found to be linear to pump speed. A test system was built to
validate the numerical model. The simulation results
showed a good agreement with the test data.
The pulsation ratio of system pressure was mainly
dependent on the bladder accumulator parameters if the
influences of the pump speeds were eliminated. Reducing
the bladder thickness, bladder elasticity modulus, and
bladder accumulator stiffness can significantly decrease the
system pressure pulsation. The thickness and elasticity
modulus of the bladder used in the NAUDS were changed
individually to study their influences on the system pressure
pulsation. The pulsation ratios of system pressure dropped
to below 5% when the bladder thickness was less than 7
VOLUME XX, 2019
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10.1109/ACCESS.2019.2944199, IEEE Access
Y. Shi et.al: Effects of a bladder accumulator on pressure pulsation of urea dosing system (** 2019)
mm, and the elasticity modulus was less than 8.5 MPa.
When the stiffness of the bladder accumulator was lower
than 5×1011 Pa/m3, the pulsation ratios of system pressure
decreased to below 5%. These results show that the
proposed numerical model could efficiently predict the
dynamic characteristics of the NAUDS, and these may
serve as a reference for the design of similar NAUDSs.
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YOUCHENG SHI received the B.S. and M.S of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong
degrees in mechanical engineering from Lanzhou University of Science and Technology. In 2004,
University of Technology, Lanzhou, China, in he joined the School of the Mechanical Science and Engineering,
2012 and 2015, respectively. He is currently Huazhong University of Science and Technology, where he has been a
pursuing the Ph.D. degree in the School of Professor, since 2009. He is currently the Director of the Department of
Mechanical Science and Engineering, Huazhong Fluid Power Control Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and
University of Science and Technology. His Technology. His current research interests include water hydraulics
current research interests include diesel engine components and system, water mist technology, marine mechatronic
SCR technology and hydraulic components. systems, and hydraulic systems.

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