Thermal cabin model development for interior climate simulations: A co-simulation approach using GT-SUITE and TAITHERM

Sammanfattning

With the increased focus on electric vehicles, decreasing the energy consumption ofthe climate system is becoming increasingly important. In order to achieve that, athermal model of the car cabin that can predict the temperature at different zonesin the cabin accurately is highly desired. The model should be able to predict thecabin temperature for different ambient conditions as well as different HVAC conditions.The thesis focuses on developing such a model and analysing the results by comparingthem with experimental data. A co-simulation methodology developed byGamma Technology was used where the fluid domain in the cabin was solved by GTSuiteand the temperature of the cabin wall structures was solved by TAITherm.These models exchange data at prescribed communication intervals so that the thermalfeatures in the cabin can be captured accurately. The model needed to be calibratedagainst experimental data by using a Heat Transfer Coefficient Multiplier(HTCM). To increase the accuracy of the solution and to eliminate the need forcalibration, an extension of this method where CFD data from steady-state simulationscarried out in Star CCM+ were mapped onto the co-simulation model. Theresults from both methods were compared with the experimental data and havebeen discussed in detail in this thesis.