| NUMERICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE AIR FLOW IN A SIMPLIFIED
UNDERHOOD ENVIRONMENT |
| Randi Franzke 1,2, Simone Sebben 1, Emil Willeson 2 |
1Department of Mechanics and Maritime Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology
2Sustainability Centre |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ABSTRACT |
|
Thermal management plays a crucial role for the energy efficiency of electrified vehicles. Using numerical flow
simulations, the air paths and temperature distributions in the underhood can be identified and optimised early in the
development process. However, the numerical method needs to be verified in its accuracy for capturing the important flow
features in the underhood. In this study, a numerical approach is developed that is robust with respect to spatial and temporal
resolutions as well as to different turbulence models. The methodology is validated against experimental data from LDA
measurements. The geometric configurations investigated are representative of electrified vehicles, with one or two front
opening designs, two different fans, and with or without a blockage behind. The results showed that for one of the fan
installations, although the major flow field structures were well captured, the locations of the peak velocities did not match the
experiments. For the second fan, the CFD results agreed well with the measurements. |
| Key Words:
Vehicle thermal management, CFD, Cooling fan, Simplified underhood, BEV, HEV |
|
Corresponding Author.
Simone Sebben , Email. 
Preview
Full text via DOI
Download Citation 
Print 
