Numerical and experimental studies to increase the HVAC fan performance for electrical vehicles – Part 1

Abstract

Electrified vehicles are more and more present in our days due to current worldwide regulations regarding reducing the greenhouse gases emissions. The transition from internal combustion engine vehicles to electrified vehicles has been quite abrupt, in the sense that some components have been changed such as the engine, but others have remained with an outdated design such as those components considered not to affect the new ones. One example in this matter is the HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) fan which performance can be improved given the fact that in the electrified vehicle case, the increase of the efficiency for any given component of the vehicle will translate eventually in the increase of the vehicle range. In this study we considered a real HVAC fan, which was 3D scanned, and a numerical simulated study was performed in order to evaluate the energy performances for a given real scenario. Also, the fan was tested experimentally in an industrial HVAC testing facility. The outcome of the study is the analysis of the standard electrified vehicle impeller, and the results were needed for the second part of the study in order to account the differences between these and the new proposed impellers.