Potential for CO_2 reduction through innovative liquid management systems

摘要

CO_2 has been the predominant theme of recent years. Driven by threatening punitive taxes starting in 2012, various approaches for reducing fuel consumption have been called for. The following is a presentation of innovative MAHLE products from the field of demand-driven liquid management that can make a significant contribution to reducing CO_2. Demand-driven provision means providing each component in the oil or coolant circuit with the required amount of fluid, at the purity and temperature at which it is actually needed. Power losses are prevented by dethrottling the system, or are recovered and put to use. Looking at the elements in the oil and coolant circuits, various components can be identified which can contribute to CO_2 reduction: 1. Oil filter modules with optimized valves, which significantly reduce the pressure drop in the module, and therefore in the entire oil circuit. The power required to drive the pump can thus be reduced. A concerted effort towards thermal management of the oil circuit can also be made. 2. Oil-water heat exchanger with optimized turbulators, which both increase the specific output of the heat exchanger and reduce the pressure drop in the oil circuit. 3. Transmission fluid warmer, designed to quickly bring the transmission up to operating temperature and to stabilize it at that level. 4. Controlled oil pumps that provide engine oil as needed at optimum efficiency. 5. Controlled coolant pumps that can warm up the engine and maintain it within an optimum temperature range. Even though the potential of each individual measure cannot exceed a certain limit, the sum total is a notable potential that can be obtained from a single vendor.