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This article presents Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations fo one period of a louvered fin, for a crossflow compact finned heat exchanger, where the incoming airflow was inclined relative to its core. Four inclinations were investigated: 90°, which was when the air flowed perpendicular to the heat exchanger, 60°, 30° and 10° angles relative to the vertical plane. The study included three heat exchanger designs, where two of them had symmetrical louvered fins and a thickness of 19mm and 52mm. The third had a thickness of 19mm and had the louvers angled in one direction. All heat exchangers have been simulated when the airflow entered both from above and below relative to the horizontal plane. Simulations have also been carried out when the airflow entered from the side, illustrating the heat exchanger to be angled relative to the vertical axis. Two air speeds have been investigated for each configuration, where the results were compared to experimental data.

Quantification of heat exchanger performance in its operative environment is in many engineering applications an essential task, and the air flow rate through the heat exchanger core is an important optimizing parameter. This paper explores an alternative method for quantifying the air flow rate through compact heat exchangers positioned in the underhood of a passenger car. Unlike conventional methods, typically relying on measurements of direct flow characteristics at discrete probe locations, the proposed method is based on the use of load-cells for direct measurement of the total force acting on the heat exchanger. The air flow rate is then calculated from the force measurement. A direct comparison with a conventional pressure based method is presented as both methods are applied on a passenger car’s radiator tested in a full scale wind tunnel using six different grill configurations. The measured air flow rates are presented and discussed over a wide range of test velocities.

The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of tire operating conditions, such as the tire inflation pressure, speed, and load on the change of the first mode of vibration. A wide base FEA tire (445/50R22.5) is virtually tested on a 2.5m diameter circular drum with a 10mm cleat using PAM-Crash code. The varying parameters are altered separately and are as follows: inflation pressure, varying from 50 psi to 165 psi, rotational speed, changing from 20 km/h to 100 km/h, and the applied load will fluctuate from 1,500 lbs. to 9000 lbs. Through a comparison of previous literature, the PAM-Crash FFT algorithmic results have been validated.

This paper presents an approach to fault detection and isolation that is based on off-board 1D simulation tools such as GT-power or AVL Boost. The proposed method enables engineers to develop diagnostic functions early on in a development project. The proposed algorithm is evaluated based on measurements from the air path system of the new Volvo FH truck. The results are encouraging. The paper discusses pros and cons of the method and concludes that it has clear potential to be used for on-board diagnostics.

Exterior turbulent flow is an important source of automobile cabin interior noise. The turbulent flow impacts the windows of the cabins to excite the structural vibration that emits the interior noise. Meanwhile, the exterior noise generated from the turbulent flow can also cause the window vibration and generate the interior noise. Side-view mirrors mounted upstream of the windows are one of the predominant body parts inducing the turbulent flow. In this paper, we investigate the interior noise caused by a generic side-view mirror. The interior noise propagates in a cuboid cavity with a rectangular glass window. The exterior flow and the exterior noise are computed using advanced CFD methods: compressible large eddy simulation, compressible detached eddy simulation (DES), incompressible DES, and incompressible DES coupled with an acoustic wave model. The last method is used to simulate the hydrodynamic and acoustic pressure separately.

In this paper, the turbulent flow induced by a production side-view mirror assembled on a full-scale production truck is simulated using a compressible k-ω SST detached eddy simulation (DES) approach -- the improved delayed DES (IDDES). The truck configuration consists of a compartment and a trailer. Due to the large size and geometric complexity of the configuration, some simplifications are applied to the simulation. A purpose of this work is to investigate whether the simplifications are suitable to obtain the reasonable properties of the flow near the side-view mirror. Another objective is to study the aerodynamic performances of the mirror. The configuration is simplified regarding two treatments. The first treatment is to retain the key exterior components of the truck body while removing the small gaps and structures. Furthermore, the trailer is shaped in an apex-truncated square pyramid.

The current work investigates a method in 1D modeling of cooling systems including discretized cooling package with non-uniform boundary conditions. In a stacked cooling package the heat transfer through each heat exchanger depends on the mass flows and temperature fields. These are a result of complex three-dimensional phenomena, which take place in the under-hood and are highly non-uniform. A typical approach in 1D simulations is to assume these to be uniform, which reduces the authenticity of the simulation and calls for additional calibrations, normally done with input from test measurements. The presented work employs 3D CFD simulations of complete vehicle in STAR-CCM+ to perform a comprehensive study of mass-flow and thermal distribution over the inlet of the cooling package of a Volvo FM commercial vehicle in several steady-state operating points.

Annual fuel use for long-haul truck rest period idling is estimated at 667 million gallons in the United States. The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory's CoolCab project aims to reduce heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) loads and resulting fuel use from rest period idling by working closely with industry to design efficient long-haul truck climate control systems while maintaining occupant comfort. Enhancing the thermal performance of cab/sleepers will enable smaller, lighter, and more cost-effective idle reduction solutions. In order for candidate idle reduction technologies to be implemented at the original equipment manufacturer and fleet level, their effectiveness must be quantified. To address this need, a number of promising candidate technologies were evaluated through experimentation and modeling to determine their effectiveness in reducing rest period HVAC loads.

Cab climate conditioning is one of the primary reasons for operating the main engine in a long-haul truck during driver rest periods. In the United States, sleeper cab trucks use approximately 667 million gallons of fuel annually for rest period idling. The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL) CoolCab Project works closely with industry to design efficient thermal management systems for long-haul trucks that minimize engine idling and fuel use while maintaining occupant comfort. Heat transfer to the vehicle interior from opaque exterior surfaces is one of the major heat pathways that contribute to air conditioning loads during long-haul truck daytime rest period idling. To quantify the impact of paint color and the opportunity for advanced paints, NREL collaborated with Volvo Group North America, PPG Industries, and Dometic Environmental Corporation.

This paper focuses on predicting the rolling resistance and hydroplaning of a wide base truck tire (Size: 445/50R22.5) on dry and wet surfaces. The rolling resistance and hydroplaning are predicted at various inflation pressures, loads, velocities, and water depths. The wide base truck tire was previously modeled and validated using Finite Element Analysis (FEA) technique in virtual performance software (Pam-Crash). The water is modeled using Smoothed-Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method and Murnaghan equation of state. A water layer is first built on top of an FEA rigid surface to represent a wet surface. The truck tire is then inflated to the desired pressure. A vertical load is then applied to the center of the tire. For rolling resistance tests variable constant longitudinal speeds are applied to the center of the tire. The forces in the vertical and longitudinal directions are computed, and the rolling resistance is calculated.