REDUCING AC POWER CONSUMPTION BY COMPRESSOR DOWNSIZING ON A SPORTS UTILITY VEHICLE

摘要

Reducing AC power consumption in an automobile is one of the key challenges for climate control engineers. The AC compressor consumes power from the engine which directly affects fuel economy and vehicle drivability. The main objective of this study is to reduce front end auxiliary drive (FEAD) load on engine by compressor downsizing, without compromising on cooling performance of the AC system. The study has been carried out on a sports utility vehicle (SUV) which has twin evaporator AC system. The three compressors under study have been critically evaluated at three levels a) Component level b) System level and c) Vehicle level. The study has been conducted in two phases 1) downsizing from 170 cc/rev reciprocating piston compressor to 130 cc/rev compressor and 2) further downsizing from 130 cc/rev reciprocating piston compressor to 90 cc/rev rotary scroll compressor. The results of this study demonstrate that AC power consumption and refrigerant quantity are reduced by 25% and 5% respectively.