Compartment comfort management system

Abstract

A thermal management system for a vehicle includes a plurality of fluid flow circuits including a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) circuit having a refrigerant flow circulating therein, and including an evaporator, a chiller heat exchanger, a first expansion valve upstream of the evaporator, a second expansion valve upstream of the chiller heat exchanger, and a heat exchanger fluidically upstream of the expansion valves. A propulsion cooling circuit has a coolant flow circulating therein for conditioning one or more propulsion components of the vehicle. The coolant flow is directed through the heat exchanger, thereby passing the refrigerant flow through a subcooling. A controller is operably connected to one or more control points of the thermal management system and is configured to adjust the one or more control points to achieve a target subcooling amount of the refrigerant flow at the heat exchanger.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to a thermal management system for motor vehicles, and particularly to a vehicle cabin heating, ventilation and air conditioning system and its operation. Background Technology

[0002] While conventional systems and methods for thermal management in vehicles with internal combustion engines are well-established and can be partially applied to innovative propulsion systems such as battery electric vehicles (BEVs), hybrid electric vehicles, or fuel cell vehicles, the amount of excess thermal energy available is much lower than in internal combustion engine systems. Therefore, there is a need for improved thermal management systems and methods that effectively collect, store, and distribute thermal energy to the vehicle system. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In one embodiment, a thermal management system for a vehicle includes multiple fluid flow loops, including a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) loop through which a refrigerant flow passes. The HVAC loop includes an evaporator, a cooler heat exchanger arranged in parallel with the evaporator, a first expansion valve upstream of the evaporator, a second expansion valve upstream of the cooler heat exchanger, and a heat exchanger fluidly located upstream of the first and second expansion valves. A propulsion cooling loop through which a coolant flow passes. The coolant flow is used to regulate one or more propulsion components of the vehicle. The coolant flow is directed through the heat exchanger to exchange heat energy with the refrigerant flow, thereby subcooling the refrigerant flow. A controller is operatively connected to one or more control points of the thermal management system. The controller is configured to regulate the one or more control points to achieve a target subcooling of the refrigerant flow at the heat exchanger.

[0004] Alternatively or in this or other implementations, the one or more control points include a coolant heater for the propulsion cooling circuit, a propulsion regulating circuit pump, or a compressor for the HVAC circuit.

[0005] Alternatively or in this or other embodiments, the one or more propulsion system components include a rechargeable energy storage system.

[0006] Alternatively or concurrently, in this or other embodiments, a drive unit cooling circuit allows a flow of drive coolant to provide cooling for one or more drive units of the vehicle. The drive unit cooling circuit is operatively connected to the propulsion cooling circuit at a drive unit cooling circuit heat exchanger.

[0007] Alternatively or in this embodiment or other embodiments, the drive unit cooling circuit pump pushes the drive coolant along the drive unit cooling circuit.

[0008] Alternatively or in this or other implementations, the one or more control points include the drive unit cooling circuit pump.

[0009] Alternatively or in this embodiment or other embodiments, the low-temperature radiator is positioned along the cooling circuit of the drive unit.

[0010] Alternatively or in this embodiment or other embodiments, one or more control points include the flow rate of the driving coolant through the low-temperature radiator.

[0011] In another embodiment, a method of operating a thermal management system includes providing a plurality of fluid flow loops, including a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) loop through which a refrigerant flow passes, and a push-cooling loop through which a coolant flow passes. The push-cooling loop is fluidly connected to the HVAC loop at a heat exchanger. A subcooling amount is selected to be supplied to one or more expansion valves located downstream of the heat exchanger. A target coolant temperature and a target coolant flow rate entering the heat exchanger to achieve the selected subcooling amount are determined. One or more control points of the thermal management system are adjusted to achieve the target coolant temperature and the target coolant flow rate.

[0012] Alternatively or concurrently, in this or other embodiments, the target coolant temperature is selected using the saturation temperature of the refrigerant flow and the HVAC loop load.

[0013] Alternatively or in other embodiments, the target coolant flow rate is selected using the saturation temperature of the refrigerant flow, the HVAC circuit load, and the temperature of the coolant flow.

[0014] Alternatively or in other embodiments, in this embodiment or other embodiments, one or more of the target coolant temperature or target coolant flow rate are adjusted based on the heat dissipation in the coolant flow at the cooler upstream of the heat exchanger in the thermal management system.

[0015] Alternatively or in this or other implementations, the one or more control points include a coolant heater of the propulsion regulation loop, a propulsion regulation loop pump, or a compressor of the HVAC loop.

[0016] Alternatively or in this embodiment or other embodiments, the coolant flow is used to regulate one or more propulsion components of the vehicle.

[0017] Alternatively or concurrently, in this or other embodiments, the thermal management system includes a drive unit cooling circuit through which a drive coolant flow circulates to provide cooling for one or more drive units of the vehicle. The drive unit cooling circuit is operatively connected to the propulsion cooling circuit at a drive unit cooling circuit heat exchanger.

[0018] Alternatively or in other embodiments, in this embodiment or other embodiments, a drive coolant flow is propelled along the drive unit cooling circuit via a drive unit cooling circuit pump.

[0019] Alternatively or in this or other implementations, the one or more control points include the drive unit cooling circuit pump.

[0020] Alternatively or in this embodiment or other embodiments, the low-temperature radiator is positioned along the cooling circuit of the drive unit.

[0021] Alternatively or in this embodiment or other embodiments, one or more control points include the flow rate of the driving coolant through the low-temperature radiator.

[0022] In another embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable medium contains instructions for causing a controller to perform a method of operating a thermal management system. The method includes providing a plurality of fluid flow loops, including a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) loop through which a refrigerant flow is permitted, and a propulsion cooling loop through which a coolant flow is permitted, the propulsion cooling loop being fluidly connected to the HVAC loop at a heat exchanger. The method involves selecting a subcooling amount to be provided to one or more expansion valves located downstream of the heat exchanger, selecting a target coolant temperature and a target coolant flow rate entering the heat exchanger to achieve the selected subcooling amount, and adjusting one or more control points of the thermal management system to achieve the target coolant temperature and target coolant flow rate.

[0023] The above-described features and advantages, as well as other features and advantages, of this disclosure will become apparent when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description. Attached Figure Description

[0024] Other features, advantages, and details appear only by way of example in the following detailed description, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0025] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of an implementation method for a vehicle's thermal management system; and

[0026] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of an exemplary method for operating a thermal management system for a vehicle. Detailed Implementation

[0027] The following description is exemplary in nature only and is not intended to limit this disclosure, its application, or use. It should be understood that throughout the drawings, corresponding reference numerals denote the same or corresponding parts and features.

[0028] According to an exemplary implementation Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a thermal management system 10 for a vehicle is shown. The thermal management system 10 includes multiple interconnected fluid flow loops to manage the thermal energy demands of various vehicle systems and components. The first fluid flow loop is a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) loop 12. The HVAC loop 12 circulates a refrigerant flow along a refrigerant path 14 and utilizes the refrigerant flow to regulate, for example, the vehicle's passenger compartment 16 by providing heat or cooling airflow to the passenger compartment 16. The second fluid flow loop is a propulsion regulation loop 18. The propulsion regulation loop 18 circulates a coolant flow along a propulsion regulation path 20 and utilizes the coolant flow to maintain propulsion components (e.g., a rechargeable energy storage system (RESS) 22, a fuel cell, etc.) at a desired operating temperature. The RESS 22 may be one or more of a rechargeable traction battery, a double-layer capacitor, or a flywheel energy storage device. Those skilled in the art will readily understand that the discussion of the use of RESS 22 in this application is merely exemplary, and other propulsion system components may be used in the propulsion regulation loop 18. The third fluid flow loop is a drive unit cooling loop 24, which circulates a drive unit coolant flow along a drive cooling path 26. The drive unit coolant flow is used to cool one or more drive units 28 of the vehicle. In some embodiments, the drive units 28 are operatively connected to the RESS 22 and can be driven using energy from the RESS 22. Each fluid flow loop is described in more detail below.

[0029] HVAC circuit 12 includes a compressor 30 that compresses and pushes refrigerant along refrigerant path 14. HVAC circuit 12 includes a front-end condenser 32 and a heating condenser 34 arranged in parallel, wherein refrigerant flow selectively passes through the front-end condenser 32 and / or the heating condenser 34 via the operation of corresponding front-end condenser valves 36 and heating condenser valves 38. Refrigerant flow from the heating condenser 34 and the front-end condenser 32 is directed to an evaporator 40 and one or more coolers 42, which are arranged fluidly parallel to the evaporator 40. A first expansion valve 44 and a second expansion valve 46 are located fluidly upstream of the evaporator 40 and the coolers 42, respectively. Refrigerant flow returns from the evaporator 40 and the coolers 42 to the compressor 30.

[0030] The drive unit cooling circuit 24, driven by the drive cooling unit circuit pump 48, allows the drive coolant to flow along the drive cooling path 26. Drive coolant flows from the drive unit cooling circuit pump 48 through the drive unit 28 to provide cooling. In some embodiments, as shown, the vehicle includes two drive units 28, while in other embodiments, a different number of drive units 28 may be arranged along the drive unit cooling circuit 24, and / or more than one drive unit cooling circuit 24 may be used to cool the drive units 28. Figure 1 As shown, drive unit 28 is arranged in a fluid parallel configuration within drive unit cooling circuit 24, while in other embodiments, drive unit 28 may be arranged in series. An on-board charging module (OBCM) 50 is located between drive unit cooling circuit pump 48 and drive unit 28, allowing drive coolant flow to absorb heat from OBCM 50 and drive unit 28. Drive coolant flow returns to drive unit cooling circuit pump 48, optionally passing through cryogenic radiator 52 and drive unit cooling circuit heat exchanger 54. In some embodiments, excess drive coolant is directed to buffer tank 56 until needed by drive unit cooling circuit 24. Check valve 58 may be positioned between cryogenic radiator 52 and buffer tank 56 to control the flow of drive coolant into buffer tank 56.

[0031] The propulsion regulating loop 18 is thermally connected to both the HVAC loop 12 and the drive unit cooling loop 24. A coolant flow is driven along the propulsion regulating path 20 via a propulsion regulating loop pump 60. The coolant flow proceeds to a coolant heater 62, which heats the coolant flow when energized. From the coolant heater 62, the coolant flow proceeds to a cooler 42, where it exchanges heat with the refrigerant flow in the HVAC loop 12, thereby heating and cooling the refrigerant. From the cooler 42, the coolant flow proceeds to a heat exchanger 64, such as a coaxial tube heat exchanger, which is positioned downstream of the cooler 42 along the propulsion regulating loop 18 and upstream of the first expansion valve 44 and the second expansion valve 46 in the HVAC loop 12. At the heat exchanger 64, the cooled coolant flow exiting the cooler 42 exchanges heat with the refrigerant flow to subcool the refrigerant flow before it reaches the first expansion valve 44 and the second expansion valve 46. The coolant flow then proceeds to RESS 22 for thermal conditioning, and then passes through the drive unit cooling loop heat exchanger 54 to exchange heat with the drive coolant flow before returning to the propulsion conditioning loop pump 60. In some embodiments, the coolant flow may be used to cool other components, such as the vehicle's charging port 68. The controller 66 is operatively connected to one or more control points of the thermal management system 10 to control its operation.

[0032] Now for reference Figure 2A method is employed to operate the thermal management system 10 to provide a desired subcooling in the refrigerant flow entering the first expansion valve 44 and the second expansion valve 46. This is achieved by monitoring and modifying parameters (such as flow rate and temperature) of the coolant flow entering the heat exchanger 64. A target refrigerant subcooling temperature is determined at block 100, and thereby a target coolant temperature and target coolant flow rate are selected at block 102. The target coolant temperature can be selected using, for example, the saturation temperature of the refrigerant flow and the load on the HVAC loop 12. Similarly, the target coolant flow rate can be selected using the saturation temperature of the refrigerant flow, the load on the HVAC loop 12, and the temperature of the coolant flow. At block 104, an adjusted target coolant temperature and an adjusted coolant flow rate are determined, taking into account the heat dissipation and / or other heat loads occurring in the coolant flow at the cooler 42. To achieve the adjusted target coolant temperature and adjusted coolant flow rate, one or more control points of the thermal management system 10 are adjusted at block 106. Control points include, for example, the speed of the propulsion regulating loop pump 60 to adjust the coolant flow rate, and the flow rate of the drive coolant through the cryogenic radiator 52 and / or into the buffer tank 56, which alters the flow rate of the drive coolant through the drive unit cooling loop heat exchanger 54. Additionally, the operation of the coolant heater 62 can be altered to regulate the coolant temperature.

[0033] Additionally, as discussed, one or more processes 100-106 can be implemented using hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof. Exemplary implementations can also be implemented as instructions stored on a non-transitory, non-transitory machine-readable medium. These can be read and executed by one or more processors. Machine-readable media include any mechanism for storing or transmitting information in a machine-readable (e.g., computing device) form. Machine-readable media can be, for example, but not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, apparatuses, or devices, or any suitable combination thereof. More specific examples (not an exhaustive list) of computer-readable storage media include: electrical connections having one or more wires, portable computer disks, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical fibers, portable optical disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination thereof.

[0034] The operating parameters of HVAC loop 12 provide heat exchanger 64 and pre-treat the coolant flow entering heat exchanger 64, allowing the coolant flow to provide a selected amount of subcooling to the refrigerant flow at heat exchanger 64 before the refrigerant flow flows to the first expansion valve 44 and the second expansion valve 46.

[0035] While the above disclosure has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, those skilled in the art will understand that various changes can be made and elements can be substituted with equivalents without departing from its scope. Furthermore, many modifications can be made to adapt particular situations or materials to the teachings of this disclosure without departing from the basic scope of this disclosure. Therefore, this disclosure is not intended to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed, but will include all embodiments falling within its scope.

Claims

1. A thermal management system for a vehicle, comprising: Multiple fluid flow loops, including: HVAC circuit, wherein refrigerant flows through, the HVAC circuit comprising: Evaporator; The cooler heat exchanger is arranged in parallel with the evaporator; A first expansion valve is located upstream of the evaporator; A second expansion valve is disposed upstream of the heat exchanger of the cooler; and A heat exchanger is disposed upstream of the first expansion valve and the second expansion valve; and A propulsion cooling circuit through which a coolant flow circulates, the coolant flow regulating one or more propulsion components of the vehicle, the coolant flow being guided through the heat exchanger to exchange heat with the refrigerant flow, thereby subcooling the refrigerant flow; and A controller, operably connected to one or more control points of the thermal management system, is configured to adjust the one or more control points to achieve a target subcooling of the refrigerant flow at the heat exchanger.

2. The thermal management system according to claim 1, wherein the one or more control points include a coolant heater of the propulsion cooling circuit, a propulsion regulating circuit pump, or a compressor of the HVAC circuit.

3. The thermal management system according to claim 1, wherein, The one or more propulsion system components include a rechargeable energy storage system.

4. The thermal management system of claim 1 further includes a drive unit cooling circuit, wherein a drive coolant flow is circulated therethrough to provide cooling for one or more drive units of the vehicle, the drive unit cooling circuit being operatively connected to the propulsion cooling circuit at a drive unit cooling circuit heat exchanger.

5. The thermal management system according to claim 4 further includes a low-temperature radiator disposed along the cooling circuit of the drive unit.

6. The thermal management system of claim 5, wherein the one or more control points include driving the flow rate of coolant through the cryogenic radiator.

7. A method for operating a thermal management system, comprising: Provided multiple fluid flow loops, the multiple fluid flow loops including: HVAC circuit, wherein refrigerant flows; and A propulsion cooling circuit is provided in which a coolant flow is circulated, and the propulsion cooling circuit is fluidly connected to the HVAC circuit at a heat exchanger. Select the amount of subcooling of the refrigerant flow to be supplied to one or more expansion valves, which are located downstream of the fluid in the heat exchanger; Determine the target coolant temperature and target coolant flow rate entering the heat exchanger to achieve the selected subcooling amount; Adjust one or more control points of the thermal management system to achieve the target coolant temperature and the target coolant flow rate.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein, The target refrigerant temperature is selected using the saturation temperature of the refrigerant flow and the load of the HVAC circuit.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein, The target coolant flow rate is selected by using the saturation temperature of the refrigerant flow, the load of the HVAC circuit, and the temperature of the coolant flow.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising adjusting one or more of the target coolant temperature and the target coolant flow rate based on the heat dissipation in the coolant flow at the coolant stream upstream of the heat exchanger of the thermal management system.

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