Vehicle Cooling Control Device for Post-Stop Thermal Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
The electric water pump and its components in a vehicle's engine compartment overheat after the engine stops, risking damage and increased power consumption when trying to prevent coolant boiling, as existing solutions do not account for the rising internal temperature of the engine compartment.
Innovation Solution
A cooling controller that includes an electric water pump, a drive component, an electric fan, and a control unit that estimates the internal temperature of the engine compartment and drives the fan only when necessary to prevent overheating, allowing continuous operation of the water pump while minimizing power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the electric water pump is operated after the engine stops to prevent coolant boiling, then coolant boiling is prevented, but power consumption increases and load to the battery increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit estimates the temporal transition value of internal temperature before the electric water pump actually operates. By predicting future temperature trends based on current engine temperature, ambient temperature, and elapsed time, the system activates the pump only when necessary, avoiding unnecessary power consumption while still preventing coolant boiling.
2Reliability
If the electric water pump is operated after the engine stops to prevent coolant boiling, then coolant boiling is prevented, but load to the battery increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit performs preliminary estimation of temperature transition before activating the electric water pump. This allows the system to determine in advance whether pump operation is necessary, thereby avoiding unnecessary battery load while ensuring coolant boiling prevention when actually needed.
3Reliability
If the electric fan is driven continuously to cool the engine compartment, then component overheating is prevented, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit estimates the temporal transition value of internal temperature in advance, allowing it to determine the optimal timing for fan activation. The fan is driven only when the estimated temperature exceeds the heatproof temperature threshold, preventing component overheating while avoiding unnecessary power consumption during periods when cooling is not required.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of continuous fan operation, the system uses periodic estimation of temperature transition and activates the fan only during periods when the estimated temperature exceeds safe thresholds. This intermittent operation maintains component safety while significantly reducing overall power consumption.
4Use of energy by moving object
If no cooling control is applied after engine stop, then power consumption is minimized, but coolant boiling occurs and components overheat
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit continuously monitors engine temperature, ambient temperature, and elapsed time after engine stop, using this feedback to estimate temporal transition values. Based on this real-time feedback, the system dynamically adjusts whether to activate the electric water pump and fan, ensuring coolant boiling prevention and component protection while minimizing power consumption through intelligent, condition-based operation.
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
Prevents overheating of components and coolant boiling by accurately estimating and managing the internal temperature, reducing wasteful power consumption and ensuring the electric water pump can operate safely after the engine stops.
Implementation Method 1
an electric fan for cooling the drive component
Implementation Method 2
an electric water pump causing flow of coolant for the engine
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A drive component for driving an electric water pump for causing engine coolant to flow is mounted in an engine compartment. When the ignition is off (YES in S100) and the temperature of a exhaust heat recovery device is above a temperature T(1)(YES in S102), an ECU estimates a peak temperature TC(P) in the engine compartment after the stop of the engine (S108). When the peak temperature TC(P) is above a temperature T(4)(YES in S112), the ECU stops the engine and drives the electric water pump and an electric fan for cooling the drive component for driving the electric water pump (S114, S116, S118).