Exhaust gas cleaning apparatus having particulate collector for use in automotive vehicle

A process of detecting damage of a collector for collecting particulates included in exhaust gas of an internal combustion engine, the process comprising:

• checking whether the engine is stably operating;
• calculating a present exhaust gas volume if the engine is stably operating;
• determining whether the present exhaust gas volume is smaller than a target volume that is necessary for detecting damage of the collector, said target volume corresponding to a pressure differential across the collector;
• calculating, if the present exhaust gas volume is smaller than the target volume, a temperature rise in the exhaust gas that is necessary to increase the present exhaust gas volume to the target volume and thereby correspondingly also increase the pressure differential;
• when exhaust gas temperature that is expected to be otherwise realized is lower than a predetermined temperature limit, supplying fuel to the engine under a condition not to increase an output of the engine, so that the temperature rise that is necessary to increase the exhaust gas volume to the target volume is realized;
• detecting a pressure difference between an inlet and an outlet of the collector after the exhaust gas volume reaches the target volume;
• and
• determining that the collector is damaged if the pressure difference is smaller than a predetermined value.

An exhaust gas cleaning apparatus for an internal combustion engine, said apparatus comprising:

• a collector for collecting particulates contained in exhaust gas of the internal combustion engine;
• a pressure sensor for detecting a pressure difference between an inlet and an outlet of the collector;
• and
• means for detecting damages in the collector that result in a decrease in pressure difference detected by the pressure sensor,
• wherein the detecting means includes (a) means for determining whether an exhaust gas volume passing through the collector is lower than a target volume which is necessary to correctly detect the damages in the collector, and (b) means for increasing the exhaust gas volume to the target volume if the exhaust gas volume is lower than the target volume.