Published: 2000
Total Pages: 51
Get eBook
Thermal management is a crosscutting technology that has an important effect on fuel economy and emissions, as well as on reliability and safety, of heavy-duty trucks. Trends toward higher-horsepower engines, along with new technologies for reducing emissions, are substantially increasing heat-rejection requirements. For example, exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), which is probably the most popular near-term strategy for reducing NO(subscript x) emissions, is expected to add 20 to 50% to coolant heat-rejection requirements. There is also a need to package more cooling in a smaller space without increasing costs. These new demands have created a need for new and innovative technologies and concepts that will require research and development, which, due to its long-term and high-risk nature, would benefit from government funding. This document outlines a research program that was recommended by representatives of truck manufacturers, engine manufacturers, equipment suppliers, universities, and national laboratories. Their input was obtained through personal interviews and a plenary workshop that was sponsored by the DOE Office of Heavy Vehicle Technologies and held at Argonne National Laboratory on October 19--20, 1999. Major research areas that received a strong endorsement by industry and that are appropriate for government funding were identified and included in the following six tasks: (1) Program management/coordination and benefits/cost analyses; (2) Advanced-concept development; (3) Advanced heat exchangers and heat-transfer fluids; (4) Simulation-code development; (5) Sensors and control components development; and (6) Concept/demonstration truck sponsorship.