Experimental Study of an Air Conditioning-Heat Pump System for Electric Vehicles

Lili Feng, Predrag Hrnjak

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This paper presents the experimentally obtained performance characteristics of an air conditioning-heat pump system that uses heat exchangers from a commercially available Nissan Leaf EV. It was found that refrigerant charge needed for cooling operation was larger than that for heating function with the test setup. The effects of: a). indoor air flow rate, b). outdoor air flow rate, and c). compressor speed on heating capacity and energy efficiency were explored and presented. Appropriate opening size of expansion valve that controlled subcooling for better energy efficiency was discussed and results were presented. Expansion valve opening size also strongly affected charge migration. Warm-up tests at different ambient conditions showed the necessity of a secondary heater to be reserved for very low ambient temperature.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)68-74
Number of pages7
JournalSAE International Journal of Passenger Cars - Mechanical Systems
Volume9
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 5 2016

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Modeling and Simulation
  • Automotive Engineering
  • Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality
  • Mechanical Engineering

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