Abstract
In present automotive industry, there are several ways to improve the ratio "services to the
customer vs. fuel consumption". One of them is to improve the global thermal management of
the vehicule, from powertrain to car cabin.
In order to efficiently optimize this global thermal management, simulation tools, which are
more and more used by car makers instead of prototyping, are necessary. In this article, some
of these thermal simulation tools will be presented, on the example of the optimisation of the
ratio "passengers´ thermal comfort vs. fuel consumption".
To link passengers´ thermal comfort to fuel consumption, several subsystems have to be
modelled: passengers´ thermal comfort, car cabin thermal behaviour, air-conditioning loop,
engine cooling loop, engine, underhood, etc. As an example, air-conditioning loop, car cabin
and thermal comfort models and their coupling are shown.
To analyze vehicle air conditioning loop, a model base on AMESim® libraries Two Phase
Flow and Air Conditioning is used. To simulate the thermal behaviour of the car cabin, a
model based on INKA® code has been developed. Finally to estimate the passengers´ thermal
comfort level, an in-house developed model is used.
Coupling these different models, allows having a good estimation of the transient recycling
air temperature and humidity and therefore linking air-conditioning loop and car cabin
behaviours. By adding a coupling with thermal comfort, it is possible to link comfort level to
consumption level.
Keywords: air conditioning, simulation, cabin, thermal comfort, coupling