Comparative Analysis of Flow and Heat Transfer for Vehicular Independent Cooling Modules

To explore the internal flow distributions and heat transfer mechanism in different types of independent cooling modules for automotive, numerical, and experimental studies were conducted. According to the study, the independent cooling modules with parallel structure, on which the heat exchangers were located separately and close to the inlets, the performance improvement was significant. In addition, the opposite model in parallel structure was considered to be more efficient for it can obtain the same heat rejection at a lower fan speed, effectively reducing the fan power. Besides, the parallel structure in independent cooling modules offered the possibility to control the mass flow on each heat exchanger precisely with active grille shutter. This technology deserves more attention in terms of energy saving and emission reduction.