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In the air conditioning system, flow-induced noise is very disturbing, including the noise generated in the expansion device and the heat exchangers. In the past few decades, most researches related to flow-induced noise focused on the relationship between the flow regimes near the expansion device and the amplitude of flow-induced noise when the measurements are not synched. In this paper, an experimental approach is used to explore the simultaneous relationships between flow-induced noise characteristics and flow regimes at the inlet of TXV of evaporators used in automobiles. A pumped R134a loop with microphones and transparent visualization sections is used to simulate the vapor compression system. Also, the paper evaluates the severity of flow-induced noise from not only the amplitude of noise but also the frequency of noise with a parameter called psychoacoustic annoyance (PA).

Carbon dioxide (CO2 or R744) is a promising next-generation refrigerant for mobile air-conditioning applications (MAC), which has the advantages of good heating performance in cold climates and environmental-friendly properties. This paper presents a simulation model of an integrated internal heat exchanger (IHX) and accumulator (Acc) using the finite volume method. The results are validated by a group of experimental data collected with different transcritical R744 mobile air-conditioner and heat pump (MHP) systems, and the error was within ±10%. The impacts of refrigerant mass flow rate and operating temperatures on the heat transfer rate of the IHX, improvement on refrigeration capacity and the liquid level in the Acc were studied. Results show that the net benefits of IHX are significant in AC mode, while it helps preventing flooding of the compressor in MHP mode.

This paper describes a ‘toolbox’ for modeling liquid cooling system networks within vehicle thermal management systems. Components which can be represented include pumps, coolant lines, control valves, heat sources and heat sinks, liquid-to-air and liquid-to-refrigerant heat exchangers, and expansion tanks. Network definition is accomplished through a graphical user interface, allowing system architecture to be easily modified. The elements of the toolbox are physically based, so that the models can be applied before hardware is procured. The component library was coded directly into MATLAB / SIMULINK and is intended for control system development, hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation, and as a system emulator for on-board diagnostics and controls purposes. For HIL simulation and on-board diagnostics and controls, it is imperative that the model run in real-time.

This paper presents the study of refrigerant charge imbalance between A/C (cooling) mode and HP (heating) mode of a mobile reversible system. Sensitivities of cooling and heating capacity and energy efficiency with respect to refrigerant charge were investigated. Optimum refrigerant charge level for A/C mode was found to be larger than that for HP mode, primarily due to larger condenser size in A/C mode. Refrigerant charge retention in components at both modes were measured in the lab by quick close valve method. Modeling of charge retention in heat exchangers was compared to experimental measurements. Effect of charge imbalance on oil circulation was also discussed.

With market share of electric vehicles continue to grow, there is an increasing demand of mobile heat pump for cabin climate control, as it has much higher energy efficiency when compared to electric heating and helps to cut drive range reduction. One big challenge of heat pump systems is that their heating capacities drop significantly when operating at very low ambient temperature, especially for those with low pressure refrigerants. This paper presents a way to improve low ambient temperature heating performance by using intermediate vapor bypass with the outdoor heat exchanger, which works as an evaporator in heat pump mode. The experimental results show a 35% increase of heating capacity at −20 °C ambient with the improved system as compared to the baseline, and heating performance factor also slightly increased when the system is working at higher ambient temperature to reach the same heating capacity as the baseline.

Virtual reality is an emerging technology with the potential for many engineering applications including machinery simulation. In this paper the writers describe the hardware and software components of a virtual reality system that simulates machinery. They detail the flow of information that occurs in this system and discuss the functioning of an existing system at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) located at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Finally, they describe potential uses of virtual reality in product design, manufacturing, training and marketing.

Cylinder head combustion chamber and piston temperatures and heat fluxes were measured in a 2.2 L 4 cylinder spark ignition engine. Measurements for the combustion chamber were made at wide open throttle conditions, 1400 rpm to 5000 rpm at 600 rpm increments, additional measurements were made on the combustion chamber at part throttle conditions at 3200 RPM. Piston temperature and heat flux measurements were made at WOT conditions from 1400 to 3200 RPM in 600 RPM increments. Average combustion chamber surface temperatures ranged from 130 deg. C to 248 deg. C, while peak combustion chamber surface temperatures ranged from 142 deg. C to 258 deg. C for WOT conditions. Peak heat flus at the surface for WOT conditions in the combustion chamber ranged from 1.2 MW/m2to 5.0 MW/m2. Central region heat fluxes were 2.3 to 2.8 times greater than those in the end gas regions of the combustion chamber.

In order to test and design vehicle systems it is often necessary to develop prototypes. A vehicle's steering system requires a qualitative analysis since it is difficult to quantify and measure subjective quantities such as the “feel” of a steering system. The virtual prototype system (VPS) provides an effective and flexible way of developing and testing the prototypes for qualitative testing. By creating a computer model of a vehicle's steering system using a dynamic simulation package and linking it to a virtual reality vehicle, a designer can drive the virtual prototype vehicle as if he or she were operating an actual vehicle.

Air flow through the passages of a Chrysler LH platform ventilated brake rotor is measured. Modifications to the production rotor's vent inlet geometry are prototyped and measured in addition to the production rotor. Vent passage air flow is compared to existing correlations. The inlet modifications show significantly improved vent air flow, over the production rotor. The result improvement in heat transfer and rotor cooling is reported. These benefits in performance should be attainable at very low increases in production cost.

A multicomponent fuel film vaporization model using continuous thermodynamics is developed for multidimensional spray and wall film modeling. The vaporization rate is evaluated using the turbulent boundary-layer assumption and a quasi-steady approximation. Third-order polynomials are used to model the fuel composition profiles and the temperature within the liquid phase in order to predict accurate surface properties that are important for evaluating the mass and moment vaporization rates and heat flux. By this approach, the governing equations for the film are reduced to a set of ordinary differential equations and thus offer a significant reduction in computational cost while maintaining adequate accuracy compared to solving the governing equations for the film directly.

A traditional method of controlling evaporator superheat in a vapor compression air conditioning system is the thermostatic expansion valve (TXV). Such systems are often used in automotive applications. The TXV depends on superheat to adjust the valve opening. Unfortunately, any amount of superheat causes that evaporator to operate at reduced capacity due to dramatically lower heat transfer coefficients in the superheated region. In addition, oil circulation back to the compressor is impeded. The cold lubricant almost devoid of dissolved refrigerant is quite viscous and clings to the evaporator walls. A system that could control an air conditioner to operate with no superheat would either decrease the size of its existing evaporator while maintaining the same capacity, or potentially increase its capacity with its original evaporator. Also, oil circulation back to the compressor would be improved.

Phase separation circuiting have been proved in the past to effectively improve the performance of mobile air conditioning (MAC) condensers. In the vertical second header of the condenser, liquid separates from vapor mainly due to gravity, leaving vapor-rich flow with higher heat transfer coefficient to go into the upper passes. The condenser effectiveness is improved in this way. However, separation is usually not perfect, expressed through the separation efficiency (ηl and ηv). This paper presents the numerical study of phase separation phenomena in the second header. The Euler-Euler method of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is used. Simulations are conducted for two-phase refrigerant R-134a for MAC application. Inlet mass flow rate is simulated at values of 16 g∙s-1, 20 g∙s-1, and 30 g∙s-1 for 21 inlet microchannel tubes, which is the same 1st-pass tube number as of a real separation condenser. Corresponding mass fluxes are 166 kg∙m-2∙s-1, 207 kg∙m-2∙s-1, and 311 kg∙m-2∙s-1.