In high-performance hybrid luxury vehicles thermal management is crucial for powertrain cooling. While engines use a water-glycol system, batteries rely on plate-cooling or immersed cooling, often enhanced by refrigerant systems. This presentation explores increasing heat rejection in an automotive refrigeration system, particularly for battery chillers, by adjusting cooling strategies based on demand.
A conventional control strategy regulates EXVs and compressor speed to maintain 5–20 K superheat at the evaporator or chiller outlet. However, during high chiller cooling demand, superheat can exceed 20 K, which is unacceptable for compressor operation. The proposed strategy opens the evaporator-EXV, even when evaporator cooling isn’t needed, ensuring the refrigerant mixture at compressor suction maintains 5–20 K superheat. This approach enhances chiller heat rejection while maintaining compressor limits, optimizing refrigeration performance in demanding thermal conditions.
In this presentation, you will learn more about:
- Challenges in thermal management of high-performance hybrid vehicles
- Conventional vs. advanced EXV and compressor control strategies
- How modifying refrigerant flow improves chiller heat rejection
- The impact of optimized cooling strategies on overall vehicle performance
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