Exergetic and energetic evaluations of hybrid electric vehicle thermal management systems

In this paper, performance analysis of a hybrid electric vehicle thermal management system (TMS) is investigated under different input parameters. The effects of several parameters on the system performance are investigated, including evaporating and condensing temperatures, subcooling and superheating, compressor speed, and heat exchanger pressure drop as well as the battery heat dissipation rates. An exergy analysis is conducted in order to increase the performance of the TMS and reduce associated fuel consumption and environmental impact. Based on the analysis, it is found that the increase in mass flow rate of the system increases the pressure drop in the evaporator and condenser up to 60 kPa and thus reduces the exergetic COP of the system by up to 12%. Moreover, it is also found that, the exergetic COP of the system can also be increased by up to 8% by applying superheating and subcooling in the heat exchangers.