Design of Vehicle Air Conditioning Systems Using Heat Load Analysis

The objective of this paper is to describe a Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) model and its applications for A/C system development at early design stages. This CAE tool calculates the heat load of the vehicle passenger compartment with considerations of solar radiation, conductive/convective heat transfer through the body shell, and any passengers present in the vehicle. A data bank of 6 glass types, 9 surface finishes and 15 material properties are available to increase simulation flexibility.

This heat load model can be used as a stand alone tool to calculate the steady-state thermal load of the passenger compartment under users' pre-defined conditions. When interfaced with an A/C refrigerant subsystem model, this integrated CAE tool is capable of evaluating the impacts on A/C system performance when body structures and/or operating conditions are changed. This paper presents details of the heat load model and the analyses conducted to help develop more efficient climate control systems at FORD.