Block for filtering particles contained in exhaust gases of an internal combustion engine

A method for fabricating a filter block comprising a plurality of flow channels for exhaust gases, each of said flow channels being bounded by a side wall, a side wall of a flow channel defining a boundary on all sides in a transverse cross-section for surrounding an internal volume of the flow channel, and a plug and an opening terminating outwardly, wherein the plurality of flow channels of each structure comprises internal channels and at least one reinforced channel, a first portion of the side wall of the at least one reinforced channel comprising a reinforcement compared all other portions of said side wall, said first portion having an external face defining an exterior of the structure, and a ratio of a thickness of said first portion to a thickness of said other portions, in the transverse cross-section, being always between 1.1 and 3, and wherein inlet channels of the plurality of flow channels each have a shape in the transverse cross-section, outlet channels of the plurality of flow channels each have a shape in the transverse cross-section, and the shape of the inlet channels is different than that of the outlet channels, said method comprising the following successive steps:

• extrusion of a ceramic material through a die to form a porous honeycomb structure,
• alternate plugging on an upstream face and on a downstream face, and
• drying and sintering of said plugged porous structure to obtain said filter block.

A method for fabricating a filter body by assembling a plurality of filter blocks, wherein a plurality of said filter blocks each comprise a plurality of flow channels for exhaust gases, each of said flow channels being bounded by a side wall, a side wall of a flow channel defining a boundary on all sides in a transverse cross-section for surrounding an internal volume of the flow channel, and a plug and an opening terminating outwardly, wherein the plurality of flow channels of each block comprises internal channels and reinforced channels, a first portion of the side wall of the reinforced channels each comprising a reinforcement compared all other portions of said side wall, said first portion having an external face defining an exterior of the structure, and a ratio of a thickness of said first portion to a thickness of said other portions, in the transverse cross-section, being always between 1.1 and 3, the reinforced channels arranged so that each said first portion of said reinforced channels form a continuous reinforcing partition, a thickness of said reinforcing partition being substantially constant, wherein inlet channels of the plurality of flow channels each have a shape in the transverse cross-section, outlet channels of the plurality of flow channels each have a shape in the transverse cross-section, and the shape of the inlet channels is different than that of the outlet channels, and wherein each of said plurality of filter blocks is fabricated by the following successive steps:

• extrusion of a ceramic material through a die to form a porous honeycomb structure;
• and
• drying and sintering of said porous structure to obtain said filter blocks.