POWERTRAIN WARM-UP IMPROVEMENT USING THERMAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

Adjusting operating temperature of the engine in the steady state and during warm-up improves fuel consumption and reduces engine emission through higher operating temperatures. Also it can improve thermal comfort by faster cabin heater performance. Thermal fluid analysis by 1-D simulation is an effective tool for studying the control of the entire cooling system and optimization of engine performance by using active control thermal management systems which allow high tolerance for coolant temperature across speed-load map of the engine. In this work a 1-D simulation model GT-SUITE was used to evaluate the effect of warm-up improvement on powertrain performance by using electric coolant pumps and fans electronic control valve and an electronic control system with PID feedback. Firstly the cooling system model was validated with experimental data and then replaced with an advanced thermal management system. The effect of fan speed and pump speed on engine coolant temperature with different thermal management strategy during warm up was studied. Depending on the operating conditions the results showed an improvement in brake specific fuel consumption 3-9 and stability improvement in outlet coolant temperature due to controller tuning during steady state operation.