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Exergy Analysis and Environmental Impact Assessment of Using Various Refrigerants for Hybrid Electric Vehicle Thermal Management Systems

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Causes, Impacts and Solutions to Global Warming

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Abstract

Thermal management systems (TMSs) are one of the key components of hybrid electric vehicles in terms of their impact on vehicle efficiency and performance, as well as the vehicle’s environmental footprint. In this chapter, an environmental assessment of hybrid electric vehicle thermal management systems is developed with respect to various refrigerants such as R134a, R600 (butane), R600a (isobutane), R1234yf (tetrafluoropropene) and dimethyl ether (DME). The energetic and exergetic COPs along with exergy destruction rates are analyzed for the TMS using each refrigerant. Also, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (in g CO2-eq/kWh) during operation and the sustainability index are determined under various system parameters, operating conditions, as well as carbon dioxide scenarios. Based on the results, all selected TMSs are determined to have higher energetic and exergetic COPs along with lower environmental impact than the baseline TMS (which uses R134a) except for the TMS using R1234yf. The highest efficiency and lowest environmental impact are achieved by TMS using DME with higher energetic and exergetic COPs (by 7.9 and 8.2 %, respectively) and lower GHG emissions (by 8.3 %) and higher sustainability index (by 3.3 %) than the baseline TMS.

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Abbreviations

D :

Diameter (m)

\( \dot{E} \)x:

Exergy rate (kW)

f :

Friction factor

h :

Specific enthalpy (kJ/kg)

\( \bar{h} \) :

Heat transfer coefficient (W/m2 K)

k :

Thermal conductivity (W/m °C)

\( \dot{m} \) :

Mass flow rate (kg/s or L/min)

P :

Pressure (kg/m s2)

Pr :

Prandtl number

\( \dot{Q} \) :

Heat transfer rate (kW)

Re :

Reynolds number

s :

Specific entropy (kJ/kg K)

T :

Temperature (K or °C)

\( {T_0} \) :

Ambient temperature (K or °C)

U :

Overall heat transfer coefficient (W/m2 K)

\( \dot{W} \) :

Work rate or power (kW)

Δ:

Change in variable

\( \psi \) :

Exergy efficiency

act :

Actual

bat :

Battery

cool:

Coolant

c, cond :

Condenser

ch :

Chiller

comp :

Compressor

crit :

Critical

D :

Destruction

en :

Energy

ex :

Exergy

e, evap :

Evaporator

g :

Gas

ref :

Refrigerant

s :

Isentropic

txv :

Thermal expansion valve

wg :

Water/glycol mix

AACS:

Automotive air conditioning system

A/C:

Air conditioning

AC:

Alternative current

DC:

Direct current

CFC:

Chlorofluorocarbon

CV:

Conventional vehicle

COP:

Coefficients of performance

DME:

Dimethyl ether

EES:

Engineering equation solver

EV:

Electric vehicle

GHG:

Greenhouse gas

GWP:

Global warming potential

HEV:

Hybrid electric vehicle

ICE:

Internal combustion engine

LCA:

Life cycle assessment

NBP:

Normal boiling point

ODP:

Ozone depleting potential

PCM:

Phase change material

PHEV:

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle

TMS:

Thermal management system

TXV:

Thermal expansion valve

VOC:

Volatile organic compound

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Acknowledgements

Financial support from Automotive Partnerships Canada (APC) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) is gratefully acknowledged.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, 2000 Simcoe Street North, Oshawa, ON, Canada, L1H 7K4

    Halil S. Hamut & Ibrahim Dincer

  2. Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 240 Prince Phillip Drive, St. John’s, NL, Canada, A1B 3X5

    Greg F. Naterer

Authors
  1. Halil S. Hamut
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  2. Ibrahim Dincer
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  3. Greg F. Naterer
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Halil S. Hamut .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada

    Ibrahim Dincer

  2. Makina Muhendisligi Bolumu, Dokuz Eylul University, Buca, Izmir, Turkey

    Can Ozgur Colpan

  3. Faculty of Civil Engineering, Istanbul Technical University, Maslak, Istanbul, Turkey

    Fethi Kadioglu

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Hamut, H.S., Dincer, I., Naterer, G.F. (2013). Exergy Analysis and Environmental Impact Assessment of Using Various Refrigerants for Hybrid Electric Vehicle Thermal Management Systems. In: Dincer, I., Colpan, C., Kadioglu, F. (eds) Causes, Impacts and Solutions to Global Warming. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7588-0_46

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7588-0_46

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