Numerical Investigations on Heat Transfer and Flow Characteristics of Climate Control Systems in Electric Vehicles

Earth's surface temperatures would increase from 2.9⁰ C to 3.4⁰ C by the year 2100 due to global warming, which leads to conceivable calamitous effects on human livelihoods, livestock, ecosystems, and biodiversity. Overall globally several protocols were made to reduce carbon dioxide emission and greenhouse gases. The transportation sector is one of the prominent sources of carbon dioxide emissions. On account of the significant emissions caused by conventional buses, migrating to electric buses which have zero tailpipe emissions for public transport fleets is essential. Energy utilization for HVAC applications should be optimized in electric vehicles due to the limited specific energy of energy storage systems. Heat transfer and flow characteristics in the condenser and the evaporator zone of the climate control system for electric buses were numerically studied. Fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics of condenser and evaporator were studied in which the flow uniformity plays a vital role in determining the thermal performance of condenser and evaporator. Flow uniformity in the condenser and evaporator inlet face studied, dead zones in the system were identified and modifications were proposed to achieve a maximum volumetric flow rate through fans and blowers.