Improved Energy Management Using Engine Compartment Encapsulation and Grille Shutter Control 2012-01-1203

A vehicle thermal management system is required to increase the operating efficiency of components, to transfer the heat efficiently and to reduce the energy required for the vehicle. Vehicle thermal management technologies, such as engine compartment encapsulation together with grille shutter control, enable energy efficiency improvements through utilizing waste heat in the engine compartment for heating powertrain components as well as cabin heating and reducing the aerodynamic drag .

In this work, a significant effort is put on recovering waste heat from the engine compartment to provide additional efficiency to the components using a motor compartment insulation technique and grille shutter. The tests are accelerated and the cost is reduced using a co-simulation tool based on high resolution, complex thermal and kinematics models. The results are validated with experimental values measured in a thermal wind tunnel, which provided satisfactory accuracy. A control strategy is implemented to actuate the grille shutter according to the specific conditions and a sensitivity study is introduced using the most important parameters affecting energy management performance. Using different conditions (test cycles and environmental temperature), the simulation results reveal a moderate potential fuel consumption reduction of up to 2.5% on FTP-75 at -7°C. An analysis of the results shows how the improved aerodynamic properties compare to the warming-up affect on the fuel consumption.