Assessment of advanced thermal management systems for micro-hybrid trucks and heavy duty diesel vehicles

Advanced thermal management systems (ATMS) have the potential to increase the life of the vehiclepsilas engine and cooling system components as well as decrease fuel consumption and carbon emissions. This paper presents for the first time, an overview of several ATMS topologies and provides a critical assessment as to their power saving potential. Four systems have been modeled using a 1-D simulation tool to study the steady state energy flows in a vehicle operating with a constant duty cycle. The simulation results are used to determine the cooling system power consumption and the effect on fuel economy of the vehicle. It has been observed that a full electric cooling system is not viable for a vehicle with a low voltage electrical system.