Vehicle Under Hood Cooling System Quick Cooldown Mode
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional engine cooling systems fail to provide cooling to under hood components when the vehicle engine is off, leading to heat soaking, which reduces engine and component performance, especially in high-performance situations like track racing.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle engine cooling system that includes a controller to activate a quick cooldown mode, where the radiator fan and cooling circuit circulate coolant to the engine and intercooler even when the engine is off, ensuring continued cooling of under hood components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If the engine cooling system is shut off when the engine is off, then energy consumption is reduced, but under hood components heat soak and performance decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system transitions from a static on/off state to a dynamic system with multiple operational modes (normal cooling, quick cooldown, and off state). The controller dynamically switches between these modes based on real-time conditions such as engine temperature, ambient temperature, and vehicle operation state, allowing the system to adapt energy consumption and cooling intensity to actual needs.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes operational parameters by introducing a quick cooldown mode that activates specific cooling components (radiator fan, water pump) at different intensities than normal operation. This parameter change enables targeted temperature reduction in under hood components without requiring full system operation, thus reducing overall energy consumption while addressing heat soak issues.
2Temperature
If the cooling system operates continuously to prevent heat soaking, then under hood temperature is controlled, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of operating the full cooling system continuously, the quick cooldown mode applies partial action by activating only the necessary components (radiator fan and water pump) at specific intensities. This partial operation provides sufficient cooling to prevent heat soaking in critical components while consuming less energy than full continuous operation would require.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling system operates periodically rather than continuously, with the quick cooldown mode activated based on detected conditions (engine off state, temperature thresholds). This periodic operation maintains temperature control while reducing overall energy consumption compared to continuous operation.
3Temperature
If a quick cooldown mode is activated when the engine is off, then under hood components are cooled, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The existing cooling system components (radiator fan, water pump, thermostat) are made multi-functional by enabling them to operate in different modes (normal cooling and quick cooldown). This universality allows the system to provide both continuous cooling during operation and targeted quick cooling when the engine is off, without adding entirely new hardware, thus limiting the increase in system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The controller uses feedback from temperature sensors and engine state detection to automatically activate or deactivate the quick cooldown mode. This feedback mechanism simplifies the user interface and control logic by making the system self-regulating, reducing the complexity that would otherwise be required for manual control systems.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution effectively reduces under hood temperatures, enhancing engine performance and preventing heat soaking, thereby improving vehicle performance during high-performance events by maintaining component cooling even when the engine is shut off.
Implementation Method 1
a radiator fan and a cooling circuit are operated to circulate and supply the coolant
Implementation Method 2
a cooling circuit thermally coupled to at least one of the engine and the intercooler and circulating a coolant
Implementation Method 3
coolant to cool vehicle under hood components while the engine is in the off state
Data Source
AI summary
An engine cooling system includes an engine, an intercooler, a radiator fan, a cooling circuit thermally coupled to at least one of the engine and the intercooler and circulating a coolant, and a controller in signal communication with the cooling circuit. The controller is configured to: upon receipt of a request, when the engine is in an off state, activate a quick cooldown mode where the radiator fan and the cooling circuit are operated to circulate and supply the coolant to at least one of the engine and the intercooler to cool vehicle under hood components while the engine is in the off state.