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As electric powertrain for electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid vehicles (HVs) are becoming more efficient and smaller, rolling bearings for these vehicles should be capable of operating at higher speeds than those for internal combustion engines (ICEs). One key factor in predict fatigue endurance of such bearings is the oil film thickness on the bearing raceway grooves. Direct measurement of the oil film in operating machines is virtually unfeasible, while calculation of the oil film requires the input of precise temperature variation around the film. In this study, the oil film thickness on the bearing raceway grooves was calculated while in high-speed rotation by: (1) measuring the temperature profile of the bearing raceway outer ring; (2) calculating the temperature of the raceway groove using the basic formula for heat transfer; and (3) conducting an Elasto-Hydrodynamic Lubrication (EHL) analysis based on the temperature calculated in (2).

In order to develop various parts and components of vehicles, understanding the effects of their structures and thermal performance on the fuel consumption and cruising distance is important. However, because of the limited information available to parts suppliers, it is not always easy to predict and study vehicle fuel efficiency and cruising range performance under arbitrary driving conditions. In this study, the authors have developed an RFD (Regression Fuel-consumption Diagram) method to predict the cruising performance of internal-combustion engine vehicles (ICEV) based only on the published information given to suppliers by using standard reference vehicles, which had been regressed and identified for control characteristics and fuel consumption diagrams. As an example of the application of the RFD method to realistic situation, the effects of the driving mode and air-conditioning on the fuel consumption of ICEV are studied.

In order to develop various parts and components for hybrid electric vehicles, understanding the effect of their structure and thermal performance on their fuel consumption and cruising distance is essential. However, this essential information is generally not available to suppliers of vehicle parts and components. In this report, following a previous study of electric vehicles, a simple method is proposed as the first step to estimate the algorithm of the energy transmission and then the cruising performance for hybrid electric vehicles. The proposed method estimates the cruising performance using only the published information given to suppliers, who, in general, are not supplied with more detailed information. Further, an actual case study demonstrating application of the proposed method is also discussed.

In order to develop various parts and components of electric vehicles, understanding the effects of their structures and thermal performance on the energy consumption and cruising distance is important. However, such essential and detailed information is generally not always available to suppliers of vehicle parts and components. This paper presents the development of a simple model of the energy consumption by an electric vehicle in order to roughly calculate the cruising performance based only on the published information to give to suppliers, who otherwise cannot obtain the necessary information. The method can calculate the cruising distance within an error of 4% compared to the published information. The effects of the glass and body heat transfer characteristics on the cruising performance in winter were considered as an example application of the proposed model.

In the winter, windshield glass fogging must be prevented through the intake of outdoor air into a vehicle. However, the corresponding energy loss via the ventilation system cannot be ignored. In the present study, the defogging pattern on the windshield is evaluated and the water vapor transportation in the flow field in the vehicle is analyzed in order to investigate the ventilation load by means of a numerical simulation. Some examined cases involve new outlet positions. Additionally, a new, energy-saving air supply method for defogging, with so-called “double-layer ventilator”, is proposed. In this method, one air jet layer is obtained via a conventional defogging opening in the vicinity of the windshield, supplying an outdoor air intake. The other jet consists of recirculated air that covers the outdoor air, preventing it from mixing with the surrounding air.

During air heating in winter, the air-conditioning system of an electric vehicle draws much energy from the battery, which significantly shortens the vehicle's cruising distance as compared to an air cooling in summer. In this study, which considers the air-heating mode, a zone control (ZC) air-conditioning system is developed with the goal of achieving energy savings. The ZC system, which focuses particularly on the area around the driver, is able to reduce the supplied airflow rate. While this rate is one of the most important parameters in the analysis in this study, it represents a trade-off with the thermal comfort of passengers. Thus, the standard new effective temperature (SET*) is also evaluated, using numerical manikins, to compare the developed system with a conventional system. In addition, the age of air is investigated in order to quantitatively evaluate the air distribution efficiency of the ZC system.

In the present study, numerical simulation coupling convection and radiation in vehicle was done to analyze the formation of the temperature field under the non-uniform thermal condition. The scaled cabin model of simplified compact car was used and the thermal condition was determined. The fore floor, the top side of the inst. panel, the front window and the ceiling were heat source. The lateral side walls were cooled by the outdoor air and the other surfaces were adiabatic. It is same with the experimental condition presented in Part 5. In order to analyze the individual influence of each heat source, Contribution Ratio of Indoor climate (CRI) index was used. CRI is defined as the ratio of the temperature rise at a point from one individual heat source to the temperature rise under the perfect mixing conditions for the same heat source.

Accuracy of numerical simulation has to be evaluated through the actual phenomenon such as experiment or measurement and then it can be employed to design the air-conditioning system of car cabin at the development phase. Scaled model of vehicle cabin was created by the Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan (JSAE) and the experiment was performed to obtain the detailed information of heat transfer characteristics inside the cabin under the non-isothermal condition. The sheet heaters were put to the inner surface of the acrylic cabin and they supplied certain amount of heat. The temperatures of inner and outer surface and air were measured to evaluate the thermal environment of the cabin. The results lead to enhancement of the data of the standard model of the cabin.