Optimization of automotive cooling systems characteristics using finite element analysis

”Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iasi, Romania

^* Corresponding author: chiriacgeorgegabriel@yahoo.com

Abstract

Due to a continuous evolving automotive industry, car manufacturers continuously develop new technologies to stay competitive on the market. Most of the modern cars are equipped with electronic devices used for functional or multimedia purposes. Electric cars have additional components used for charging and battery management. All the electronic components used in cars dissipate heat during functioning and all of them need cooling in order to keep a proper functioning temperature. Cold plates are a very efficient cooling solution used in most of the cars. The advantage of the cold plates is that it can dissipate a high amount of heat, have a small volume and can be placed in closed or tight areas. In order to enhance the thermal transfer between the cold plate and the cooling fluid, turbulence enhancement geometries are used inside the cold plate. The purpose of this paper is to use finite element analysis to compare different positions of one protrusion in the cooling channel to enhance the cooling process. The goal is to see if the protrusion position influences the cooling and which placement is more efficient. The second evaluation criteria of the efficiency is to keep a low-pressure drop inside the system.