Performance Evaluation of Automotive HVAC System with the Use of Liquid Cooled Condenser

Air-cooled fin and tube heat exchangers are used as a condenser in the conventional automotive Heating Ventilation & Air-Conditioning (HVAC) systems. In this study, the use of liquid cooled plate heat exchanger as a condenser in the automotive HVAC systems has been investigated. In the proposed configuration, the cabin heat absorbed by the refrigerant in HVAC system is rejected to the coolant through a liquid cooled condenser and then to the ambient air through a low temperature radiator. Hence, the proposed configuration combines heat rejection from HVAC system with a low temperature radiator circuit of power train cooling. Mixture of Ethylene glycol & Water (coolant), which is used in power train cooling system, is used as secondary fluid in the condenser. Primarily, work done involves design of a liquid cooled condenser, determining boundary conditions for the coolant circuit and evaluation of overall performance of the refrigeration cycle in the HVAC system at various operating conditions. The modified configuration has been evaluated through dynamic simulation of the system in Dymola. Use of a liquid cooled plate heat exchanger as a condenser provides packaging benefits for the system. From the results, conclusions are drawn about the viability of the concept for its integration into a passenger vehicle.