MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - OCT2

Another key element of the SLS's availability in
the market is the evolution of compact and effective
heat exchangers such as stacked plate style chillers
and water-cooled condensers (WCC) along with
improved electric compressors that are the heart of
the SLS architectures. Demand for the newer style
refrigerant heat exchangers has been primarily
driven by vehicle electrification and the expanded
requirements of the EVs TMS where the propulsion
system's batteries, motor and power electronics require
thermal management. Moreover, the thermal
demands during EV battery charging, especially as
the charging power increases to reduce charge time,
is an essential task of the TMS. See Figures 1-3.
One of the key challenges of the SLS is that addiFigure
1: Automotive Chiller Assembly
tional components and mass are added to a vehicle
package, counter to the general design direction for
Light Duty Vehicles. One path of overcoming these
challenges it to take advantage of the fuel economy
benefit previously noted with ICEs. Additionally,
with vehicle electrification, the added thermal requirements
justify the part and mass addition and
leveraging the available thermal storage with EVs is
under study.
Secondary Loop Basics
Fundamentally,
the SLS can include either one
Figure 2: Automotive Water-Cooled Condenser
or two secondary thermal fluid (or coolant) loops,
generally referred to as a single or a dual secondary
loop, respectively. Each coolant loop is linked to the
central refrigerant system. Thermal management is
done " indirectly " where the refrigerant system both
cools and warms a secondary coolant, and this secondary
coolant system transports the warm or cold
coolant to thermally regulate another aspect of a vehicle.
The
refrigerant system linkage provides the aveFigure
3: Electric Compressor
Engine (ICE) vehicle's fuel economy by 3% or more
as reported in Ref. 3. Each of these benefits lead to
a more environmentally friendly,
mobile thermal system.
refrigerant based
nue for a coolant loop to be either heated or cooled
via the WCC and chiller heat exchangers, respectively.
As noted earlier, this linking via the secondary
fluid isolates the refrigerant system from the points
in the vehicle that require either heating or cooling
and the cooled or heated fluid is distributed within
the vehicle to the components or systems that require
thermal management using coolant pumps
and flow directing coolant valves.
In the single loop system, the coolant is applied
on either the evaporating or condensing side of the
system. For evaporation or cooling, in its most basic
form, the single secondary loop will insert a chiller
as the refrigerant evaporating site in which coolant
October 2022
2
MACS Service Reports
Ranshu
DENSO
MAHLE
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022

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