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SAE TECHNICAL
PAPER SERIES 2004-01-0784

An Innovative Method of Heating

Windshield Washer Fluid for Improved
Windshield Cleaning Efficiency
Karl-Heinz Kuebler, Daryl Harris and Eugene Porter
Valeo Wiper Systems

Reprinted From: CAD/CAM/CAE Technology and Design Tools

(SP-1858)

2004 SAE World Congress

Detroit, Michigan
March 8-11, 2004

400 Commonwealth Drive, Warrendale, PA 15096-0001 U.S.A. Tel: (724) 776-4841 Fax: (724) 776-5760 Web: www.sae.org
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An Innovative Method of Heating Windshield Washer Fluid
for Improved Windshield Cleaning Efficiency
Karl-Heinz Kuebler, Daryl Harris and Eugene Porter
Copyright © 2004 SAE International
ABSTRACT
In vehicles today, the visibility through the windshield is
decreased due to contaminants such as oils, waxes,
organic matter, frost, snow, or ice that collect on the
windshield surface. Ordinary washer fluid in conjunction
with the wiper system is not always effective in removing
these contaminants. By increasing the temperature of
the washer fluid, it is possible to dramatically increase
the cleaning efficiency of the windshield washer system.
By using a uniquely designed, electronically controlled
device, the temperature of the washer fluid applied to
the windshield can be increased without damaging side-
effects to the fluid, vehicle or human components. This
technology will enhance the driver's ability to see
through the windshield under all driving conditions.
INTRODUCTION
PROBLEM DEFINITION
Vehicles today have multiple vision surfaces that impact
the ability of the driver to effectively and safely operate
the vehicle. These vision surfaces take the form of the
front and rear windshield, side glass, mirrors, camera
lenses, headlamps tail lamps, etc. The driver’s inability
to get the proper information from these surfaces is at
the minimum a convenience issue and potentially a
safety problem.
The windshield, being one of the vision surfaces, is an
integral part of a motorized vehicle with multiple
functions. One such function is to block contaminants
from entering the passenger compartment. But in doing
so, the windshield is now exposed to the contaminants,
which directly impacts the field of vision of the driver. In
2004-01-0784
Valeo Wiper Systems
order to keep a clear view through the windshield, MVSS
104 cN (US and Canadian Motor Vehicle Regulations),
requires passenger cars be equipped with a windshield
washer system “capable of delivering sufficient fluid to
clear, in conjunction with the wiper system 75% of the
effective wipe pattern defined in paragraph 3.1.2 of SAE
J903O within 10 wipe cycles”. The contaminant referred
to by MVSS 104 is a mixture of dust and water.P
In reality, windshields of motorized vehicles are exposed
to numerous contaminants that reduce the driver’s view
through the windshield. These contaminants vary
depending on the climate and location the vehicle is
driven. In a warm climate, the contaminates can be in
the form of bugs, dust, and petroleum residues acquired
while driving, soaps and waxes used to wash the
vehicle, wax and graphite deposits from the windshield
wiper blade elements and the residue left from water
drying on the windshield. In a cold climate, the types of
contaminants can be much different. The windshield is
exposed to frost, snow, ice, and road grime including
salt exposure. All of these contaminants affect the field
of vision through the windshield.
A typical windshield washer system has washer fluid, a
reservoir to store the fluid, a pump to pressurize and
transport the fluid, hosing to transfer the fluid, and
nozzles to disperse a volume of washer fluid onto the
windshield. The washer system is activated in
conjunction with the wiper system. Washer fluid is
provided to the windshield prior to and during the wiping
operation of the windshield wiper system to clear the
view through the windshield vision area of the driver.
The washer fluid can be in the form of water or a mixture
of water and alcohol and/or detergent. This type of
washer system is effective at removing only a limited
number of the contaminants the windshield is exposed
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to in a short period of time or with a limited number of
wash cycles. In addition, the fluid supply is not infinite
and repeated washing would result in the accelerated
emptying of the reservoir.
PROPOSED SOLUTION
In cleaning applications, it is well known that hot fluid
removes contaminants from a surface much better and
faster than colder fluids. Applying this concept to the
washer fluid dramatically improves the effectiveness of
the washer fluid to remove most types of contaminants
from vision surfaces and specifically the windshield. For
driver convenience, it is beneficial to increase the fluid
temperature as fast as possible to a level where the
cleaning efficiency is maximized but limited so as to not
harm a human, the washer fluid or any other vehicle
component. Ideally, the hot washer fluid would be
immediately available to the driver on demand at any
time the need or desire arises.
Windshield
Column
Switch
Washer Nozzle(s)
Fluid Bottle
(underhood) & controls
Fluid line
Electrical Ignition Signal
Signal
Pump
Pump Fluid line Automatic
Fluid Heating Module
Battery
Ground
Figure 1. Washer System with Automatic Water Heating Module
Figure 1 depicts the proposed solution. In the
illustration,
a heating unit, to heat the washer fluid, is incorporated
in-line with the washer pump and the nozzles. The
heating unit heats the washer fluid upon receiving a
signal that the ignition switch is “On” and senses that the
vehicle’s engine and charging system are working in a
prescribed operating range. When the driver wants to
clean the windshield, the driver activates the wash
switch and the washer pump pushes heated fluid out of
the heating module through the hoses and nozzles to
the windshield. As the heated fluid is pushed out, colder
fluid enters the heating module from the reservoir where
it is now heated. In this configuration, the application of
heated fluid is transparent to the operator and is integral
to the base washer system.
MAIN SECTION
SCOPE OF WORK
x Determine optimal washer fluid temperature for
cleaning effectiveness
x Develop a method of heating the washer fluid
without damaging the fluid, humans or other vehicle
components
x Evaluate and select a fast, controllable, and robust
source of heat.
x Evaluate materials and processing methods to
maximize heat transfer of the heat source to the
Heat Exchanger
x Develop a method of controlling the temperature of
the washer fluid
x Validate the technology through system testing
FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS
x Improve cleaning efficiency of washer system
x Do not damage the washer fluid in the process of
heating the fluid
x Do not harm the environment that is exposed to the
fluid
x Heat 60 ml of washer fluid to 65 +/- 5 °C within 60
seconds
x Device must meet motor vehicle life requirements
x Minimize the power required to heat the fluid
The first three functional requirements were to maximize
the temperature of the washer fluid for improved
cleaning performance without harming the fluid and/or
the surrounding environment. It was therefore
necessary to first determine the respective temperature
thresholds and then rationalize them with each other for
an optimal solution. It became clear that there would be
a conflict with cleaning efficiency and the ‘no harm’
requirements. For maximum cleaning efficiency of most
organic materials (bug remains, petroleum products,
waxes) the temperature of a water based fluid would be
80-90q C. But fluid temperatures this high present
several conflicts with the goals of not harming the fluid or
any other downstream items. A maximum temperature
of 70q C was selected based on the following key points:
1. Many commercial fluids and all winter fluids contain
alcohol compounds. Temperatures greater than
70qC can drive off significant amounts of the alcohol
from the solution. This would degrade the fluid’s low
temperature performance and the cleaning
performance against some organic contaminants.
Furthermore, if sufficient amounts of alcohol are
driven off and captured, a flash condition may occur.
2. Boiling of the washer fluid can also create abnormal
pressure within the washer system. If a check valve
is present before the Heated Wash device, and one
of the downstream components is blocked (i.e.
frozen), the extreme pressure may cause a
connection to separate or damage the weakest
component.
3. Recent safety studies indicate that fluid
temperatures greater than 70q C can cause serious
damage to human skin Q. For example, 70q C fluid
temperature can cause 3rd degree burns on human
skin after 1 second exposure where there is
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sufficient thermal mass as in a shower. Since the
thermal mass of a wash cycle is very low, the
concern is mitigated, yet should not be ignored.
4. Internal Valeo testing show two definitive cleaning
efficiency plateaus below 80qC. (See figure 5) Since
80qC is too high relative to items 1 and 2, it would be
advantageous to provide a targeted quantity of
heated fluid at highest cleaning efficiency plateau
below 80qC. The targeted quantity was determined
by measuring the typical flow rate used in the
automotive industry for front windshield washer
systems to date, allowing for a minimum of 2 wash
cycles of 3 seconds of wash, with heated fluid at the
aforementioned cleaning plateau.
5. Many consumers in warm climates use only water
as their washer fluid. In many areas this water may
be hard to very hard (>121 mg/L). While several
factors are involved, temperature is a key factor in
the precipitation of calcium compounds from hard
water. As the water temperature is increased, the
potential for precipitating the calcites is also
increased. It is also advantageous to keep any
contact temperature below water’s boiling point so
as not to ‘cook’ out even greater percentages of the
minerals in solution. This is very important in that
these minerals and particularly calcite compounds
can create plaque that may become an obstruction
in the washer system especially at the nozzles.
To meet these functional requirements a novel approach
was selected considering the following key elements and
as depicted in Figure 2.
Heated Washer System
+Bat
Battery
Ground
ECU Heating
Elements
Cmd Signal
Water Inlet
Water Outlet
Aluminum radiator
Plastic box
Figure 2. Washer System with Automatic Water Heating Module
METHOD OF HEATING
There are various methods to generate the heat required
to raise the temperature of the washer fluid such as
scavenged heat from coolant or exhaust, combustible
fuel, or electrical resistance.
The concept of scavenged heat is well known but also
has significant weaknesses relative to the defined
functional requirements. First is time. The source of
heat (i.e. engine, transmission, cooling, exhaust), must
first be allowed to heat up to its optimal operating
temperature before any heat is available to be
scavenged. This constraint prevents these systems
from being available within the 60 second target. In
addition, the energy available for transfer is related to
the capacity and needs of the primary device (i.e.
engine, transmission), not the washer fluid. As a result,
the amount of energy is variable, difficult to control at the
washer device and often far exceeds the desired
interface temperature.
A combustible fuel heater in an automobile has several
obvious negatives that will not be discussed in any detail
in this paper.
Electrical resistance heating offers some intriguing
opportunities and options. Resistance heating can be
available immediately and can be tuned to the desired
wattage or BTU output. It can be relatively easy to
control in both on/off mode but also in variable
operation. It can also be accomplished by a variety of
means by a variety of components. For example,
multiple low resistance, high power, resistors can be
mounted such that, as current passes through the
resistors, the heat generated by the resistors is
transmitted through the housing to the fluid. This
method was evaluated with some level of success;
however the cost of such systems is quite expensive
with some question as to their long term life.
The thin trace or thick film heater, printed on a metal
substrate offers the possibility of high customization and
cost efficiency. As current passes through the trace,
heat is generated within the trace because of its
resistance. This method also showed some promise but
had two major concerns. The technology required for
the accurate trace width and thickness on an aluminum
substrate is rather new and production capability was
not known. More importantly, there were significant
concerns as the robustness and long term reliability of
the technology.
A method using an adaptation of glow plug technology
offered the highest performance and reliability while also
being very cost effective. The resulting heaters offered
very fast heat-up times, high watt density capacity, and
consistent wattage output tolerance (critical for
electronic control). The devices have also proven to be
very robust and reliable in an automobile environment.
The production of the devices uses known
manufacturing technologies and is cost effective. The
use of multiple heating devices allows for a broader
heating ‘foot print’ to the heat exchanger, thus reducing
the potential of ‘hot spots’ and offers expanded
temperature control possibilities. As a result, this
solution showed itself to be superior to all other methods
of generating heat for the fluid.
METHOD OF TRANSFERRING THE HEAT FROM THE
HEAT SOURCE TO THE FLUID
As in the case of heat generation, there are various
methods to transfer the heat from the heating elements
to the washer fluid. The proper selection of the heat
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transfer method was just as critical in meeting the
functional objectives as the proper temperature and
method of heating. If too much heat is applied too
quickly, it may damage the fluid as described previously.
If the heat were applied too slowly, the time objective
would not be met.
One common method is to place the heating element in
direct contact with the fluid. This is found in many
immersion types of heaters including home water
heaters. The method has the advantage of applying the
energy directly to the fluid being heated and as
exemplified by home ‘instantaneous’ or ‘on demand’
water heaters, can heat up the fluid very rapidly. Such a
method works well if the fluid is not high in mineral
content, there are sufficient anti-scald protections within
the device and it can receive regular maintenance.
However, in an automotive washer environment, the
washer fluid can contain alcohol, detergents, and other
proprietary solutions to aid in cleaning and hydrophobic
performance of the glass. All of these aforementioned
additives are temperature sensitive and can be
damaged or made ineffective, if overheated by the high
surface temperatures of a direct contact heater. It is
therefore inadvisable that such fluid solutions be in direct
contact with a standard heating element. To resolve this
problem, the heating element surface temperature would
have to be kept below the temperature that would
damage the fluid. Unfortunately the 'T provided by the
heater to achieve the desired threshold temperature of
the heated fluid would be relatively small, resulting in
very long heat-up times. In addition, while an electrical
heater has several advantages it has a relatively small
surface area to transfer heat.
These two issues were resolved by a novel multi-faceted
approach. The solution was to first create a heat
exchanger designed as a thermal mass, rather than a
thin wall heat exchanger as in an automotive radiator.
The heat source, in the form of robust ‘glow plug’ like
heating elements, would be integrated directly into the
thermal mass of the heat exchanger. This would allow
the heat exchanger to become a heat sink for the
heaters, pulling the thermal energy from the heaters and
becoming a buffered heating conduit to the fluid. Since
the heating elements are not in direct contact with the
washer fluid, the high surface temperatures of an
exposed heater do not damage the fluid. Furthermore,
as the hot washer fluid is pumped out of the heat
exchanger and replaced with cool washer fluid, the
thermal mass is able to transfer some of its stored heat
immediately into the cool fluid. This results in reducing
the amount of time the heating elements have to be
reenergized to heat the second batch of washer fluid.
The thermal mass can also assist in maintaining the
desired temperature in the device, while ‘waiting’ for
future wash operations.
The heat exchanger concept also enabled a method to
increase the surface area of the material heating the
fluid. The heat exchanger is composed of labyrinthine
channels designed to increase the surface area for heat
transfer to the fluid while still buffering the thermal
energy from the heaters. To further increase the
efficiency of the heaters, the heaters are encased by two
opposed fluid labyrinths which allows for a 360 degree
transfer of heat into the heat exchanger.
Design optimization of the labyrinthine channels
however could not be limited to heat transfer. Ideally, the
labyrinthine channels would incorporate turbulent flow to
maximize the heat transfer rate. Unfortunately, a
turbulent flow would increase the pressure drop within
the heat exchanger and ultimately decrease the
pressure of the fluid exiting the nozzles thus affecting
the spray pattern on the windshield. Similarly, the shape
of the channel cross section could be further optimized
for heat transfer but at a cost in pressure drop. In order
to minimize the effects on the spray pattern and nozzle
performance, the heat transfer capability must be
rationalized with the pressure drop within the heat
exchanger.
A final important consideration to the thermal mass heat
exchanger would be the inherent thermal conductivity of
materials and interface to the heat source. The heat
exchanger material would have to have high thermal
conductivity (heat transfer). It would need to be
processed in such a way so as to have low porosity for
heat transfer. It would need to be corrosion resistant
and alcohol resistant but without a coating that would
insulate or possibly flake off. And, the heaters must
have intimate contact with the heat exchanger.
THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY
It is well known that heat travels through a material by
means of conduction. The rate of the heat flow, H, is the
heat current. Heat current of conduction is described by
the following equation:
H KA'T / 'x
Where:
K= Thermal Conductivity ǻT =Temperature Gradient
A = Cross Sectional Area 'x = Length
For a given design: A, ǻT, and 'x are constants,
therefore heat current of conduction or conductive heat
transfer is directly proportional to thermal conductivity.
In order to meet the functional requirements for the heat
exchanger, various materials and processing methods
were evaluated. Aluminum was chosen due to its price
stability, high thermal conductivity and numerous
sources available for manufacture. Since the heat
exchanger lends itself to a complex ‘molded’ like shape,
die casting was chosen as the primary processing
option.
Further refining the material choice, a number of
aluminum alloys were evaluated. Thermal conductivity
would be the primary criteria however, availability, ease
of processing, cost, and ease of anodizing were also
considered. Based on the evaluation, aluminum alloys
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356 and 357 were found to have superior thermal COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS
conductivity compared to the more common die casting
380 alloy. See Table 1. Computational Fluid Dynamics commonly referred to as
CFD was used to understand the temperature variation
Since the thermal conductivity has nearly a linear of the heat exchanger and its ability to transfer heat to
dependency with porosity, it would be important to select the washer fluid. Reference Figure 3. The analysis was
a processing method that would produce minimum conducted with a 2-D model. The critical design
porosity. In addition, not all die casting processes are parameters used were volume of water, mass of water,
favorable with the preferred 356/357 alloys. Standard volume of aluminum, mass of aluminum, volume of the
high pressure and vacuum die casting present a heating elements, mass of the heating elements, heating
problem since they do not process these alloys well due power, heating time, heat capacity, and initial
to their lack of iron. The 356/357 alloys can however, be temperature. Assumptions made are that the heating
cast by Semi-solid casting (Thixo’, Rheo’, Semi- elements are in perfect contact with the heat exchanger
Liquidous) and to a limited degree by squeeze casting. resulting in perfect conduction of heat, no external
These casting techniques also result in the lowest convection of heat and no convection of heat from the
porosity, which is beneficial in this application since it fluid. The material properties found in Table 2 were
increases the casting’s robustness against fluid leakage. used.
The final selection pointed to Semi-solid casting
techniques because of two additional features of the Thermal Conductivity Specific Heat Mass Density
process. With Semi-Solid casting, the temperature of
the material in the shot sleeve and die temperatures are (W.m-1K-1) (J.Kg-1K-1) (kg.m-3)
considerably lower than the other methods. This better
Aluminum 160 897 2710
enables the option of insert casting the heaters into the
aluminum, further improving the thermal transfer. Magnesium 66 100 1810
Second, since the solids content of the shot is higher
going into the die, there is very little effect of irregular Water 0.6 4180 1000
wall sections to porosity due to the rapid solidification
within the die. Squeeze casting and the part design can
be tuned to handle some wall thickness irregularity but it
would have great difficulty with the insert casting of the Table 2: Material Properties
heaters during the ‘squeeze’ phase of the casting.

Aluminum Thermal Porosity Anodizing Ability to Cast

Alloy/ Conductivity Capability (Including Non-
Process Uniform wall
sections)
W/m°C % Yes / No Yes / No

356
Semi- 167 < 0.5 Yes Yes
Solid
356
Die Cast 142 10 - 15 Yes No (Soldering)
356
Vacuum 158 2–5 Yes No (Soldering)
Cast
356 Limited (Some
Squeeze 163 1–2 Yes soldering risk,
Cast some issues
with thin walls)
Yes (slightly
357
more difficult
Semi-
Solid 167 < 0.5 compared to Yes
A356) Figure 3: CFD Analysis of the Heat Exchanger with fluid
No (High
380 Die porosity with
Cast 92 10 – 15 Yes non-uniform
walls)
380
Semi- 109 < 0.5 Yes Yes
Solid

Table 1: Comparison of various aluminum alloys and processes

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Additional analysis was conducted without fluid in the
heat exchanger to study the heat transfer from the
heating elements to the heat exchanger. Excellent
correlation results can be seen when comparing the
results as shown in Figures 4 (CFD Thermal Analysis
using FloTherm software and actual thermal imaging
data in Figure 5. These positive results assisted the
design teams in North America and Europe to optimize
the number, placement and wattage of the heating
elements, temperature control of the electronics and
balance of heat transfer and fluid flow capacity to reduce
pressure losses in the heat exchanger.
Figure 4: CFD Analysis of Heat Exchanger without Fluid
Figure 5: Analysis of Heat Exchanger Without Fluid Using Thermal
Imaging Camera
CONTROL SCHEME
1. Optimization of the heat-up time
2. Optimization of the fluid temperature
3. Optimization of the power usage
4. Protection of vehicle electrical systems
These criteria lead to the following functional objective;
to heat the fluid to the designated temperature as fast as
possible, without detrimentally overshooting this
temperature and with the minimum current or power
consumption. Using multiple heating elements and
controlling them electronically through a specific power
on and off sequence based on monitored temperature,
achieved this goal.
Figure 4 demonstrates the control sequence of the
heating elements. At the initial receipt of the signal
informing the heated wash controller that the ignition
was on and that the temperature or the unit is below the
target, all three heating elements are turned on to
quickly start the rise in temperature of the fluid. When
the temperature measured at the temperature sensor,
reaches a specific set point, the controller turns off two
of the three heating elements allowing the third element,
which is identified as the maintenance core, to gently
bring the fluid up to its final targeted temperature. Once
the temperature sensor senses that the final
temperature threshold has been reached, the
maintenance core is turned off.
All three heating elements will remain off until the
temperature sensor senses the fluid temperature has
dropped below defined thresholds. At the first of these
thresholds, the maintenance core alone is re-energized
to bring the temperature of the fluid back up to the
desired temperature. This would be a common cycle
while the unit is waiting in a ‘ready’ state but has lost
some of its heat to the environment.
Another operational cycle may be experienced during a
wash cycle. Upon activation of the washer pump, cold
washer fluid is pumped into the heat exchanger
replacing the heated fluid. The temperature sensor
senses the drop in temperature. As before, the first
threshold that is reached turns on the maintenance
heater core. The temperature sensed by the
temperature sensor may continue to drop as long as the
washer pump is activated until a second threshold is
reached. At this threshold, the remaining two heating
elements are energized.
The power required to heat the washer fluid quickly is
directly dependent on the power put into the system.
Energizing three heating elements requires a current
draw of approximately 57 amps at 13.5 volts as
measured at the terminals. This current draw is reduced
to approximately 18 amps when only the maintenance
core is energized. When all three heating elements are
off and the ignition switch on, the controller will draw
only a few milli-amps of current.
The duty cycle of the activation of the unit assuming the
engine is always on has been calculated to be 9.75
minutes between activations. The rate of power
consumption is 45 watts/ minute on average at 13.5
volts assuming the ambient temperature is 25q C.
The maximum current draw can be reduced at a
sacrifice of time to heat the washer fluid. For example,
the design could have only two heating elements instead
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of three. This would reduce the maximum current draw

by approximately 18 amps. The heat-up time would
increase by approximately 20 seconds.

Performance

Current (Amps)
Maximum Fluid Temp. = 68 °C
Voltage (Volts)

Pump Activation (Volts)

Current (Amps)

Voltage (Volts)

Pump Activation (Volts)

*Voltage was set to 13.5 V at the connector. Time (sec)

Figure 6. Control Sequence

Figure 7. Solubility curves of inorganic compounds in water t

VALIDATION

When the concept of heated wash is first mentioned, the

first benefit that comes to mind is winter performance;
however the concept offers many benefits as well to The cleaning efficiency of common roadway organic
warm weather driving. materials can be divided into two groups, those miscible
or partially miscible in water (i.e. some insect or
CLEANING EFFICIENCY IN SUMMER vegetable fluids, benzenes, glycols, and low molecular
weight ketones) and those not water soluble (waxes,
oils, shellacs, vinyls, and acrylics). For these organic
Considering the presence of contaminants mentioned in
contaminants, the ability to clean them has many
the onset, spring and summer present a cornucopia of
variables: 1) temperature of cleaning solution; 2) length
possibilities. For the sake of this discussion, these
of time the contaminant has ‘sat’; 3) soak time for the
contaminants can be broken into two groups, inorganic
solution; 4) agitation of the solution; 5) type of solution;
and organic.
and 6) concentration of solution.
The cleaning efficiency of inorganic materials, such as
For those contaminants that are miscible in water, higher
dirt, dust, road salts, is improved with heated cleaning
temperature water is advantageous for both the
solutions. The solubility of most these substances
dissolving of those compounds into solution and the
increase with temperature as demonstrated in the
amount of those compounds that can be held in solution.
curves below (figure 5). Unfortunately one of the most
This is especially true where the contaminant has ‘sat’
common salts, NaCl, is only marginally improved
for considerable time. See Figure 6 & 7
however CACl2 (Calcium Chloride) is greatly improved
and in general it can be stated that most inorganic
materials common to the roadways are positively SUMMER -
affected by elevated water temperatures. Cleaning efficiency as a function of washer fluid
Cleaning Efficiency - Contaminant: ‘Organic
Avg. # of Wash Cycles

Grime Solution’. 6mm

diameter spots. Let dry
under lights for 1 hour.
- Washer Fluid: Water.
- Wash Cycle: 2 wet wipes
+ 3 dry wipes.
- Clean = All the organic
grime spots removed,
and wipe quality is 10.
Source: Valeo Wiper
Systems, Internal Test
Report
Fluid Temperature
*Temperature measured at the device.

Figure 8. Summer Cleaning Efficiency

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16
pressure provided by the pump, the nozzle is still able to
14
perform as designed. See Figures 8 & 9
12
■
Wash Cycles

10 SmartWash
with tap water
8
6
4
■ Standard Wash
System with Dr. Wack
2 detergent

0
Oil Wax "Bugs"

Test Conditions
x Ambient Temperature: 23º C
x Nozzle Type: Hood mounted fan spray

Figure 9. Cleaning Efficiency of Heated Water versus Standard Wash

System with Enhanced Cleaning Fluid

For contaminates not water soluble, at least one studyR

has shown that alcohol is probably the best solvent
commonly available for removing ionic contaminants.
This study also showed that ethyl and methyl alcohol are Figure 10. Fan spray nozzle with 50/50 isopropyl alcohol and water
superior to isopropyl alcohol for removal of ionic solution at -12º C, Standard Washer System
residues. Similar to water, for such cleaning, increased
temperature is beneficial in most cases.

For other contaminants an entire industry is focused on

various surfactants or detergents to improve their
removal. While many of these surfactants or detergents
can be formulated to perform in a relatively cold solution,
the general performance of these cleaning materials can
be enhanced by an increase in temperature.

CLEANING EFFICIENCY IN WINTER

Winter driving still must contend with the many road

contaminants that are typical with the drivers region. In
many cases, their presence will be exacerbated by
increased humidity/rain and resulting ‘muddy’ conditions
or by road salts used to clear roadway snow and ice. For
these conditions, the advantages previously discussed
for summer driving are only enhanced in the winter.
Since the washer fluid in the standard system is even
colder, the effectiveness of the washer fluid and any
cleaning agents present is further diminished. The
heating of the washer fluid allows for the fluid to perform
equally well at any time of the year or ambient
temperature. The concept of heated wash however,
presents two additional vision enhancement features
that are extremely valuable.
Many of today’s automobiles have taken advantage of
the improved spray pattern performance of fan or broad
spray pattern nozzles. These nozzles effectively spray
washer fluid across a large portion of the glass, which
promotes better cleaning over a larger area of the
windscreen. However, as the fluid gets closer to its
freezing point, its viscosity increases. As a result, the
performance of these nozzles is dramatically affected.
As the viscosity increases, the spray pattern will first
shrink to a stream and eventually may even fail to reach
the windscreen in the case of hood or cowl mounted
nozzles. With the heated washer fluid and operating
Figure 11. Fan spray nozzle with 50/50 isopropyl alcohol and water
solution at -12º C, Heated Washer System
The second advantage is also one of the most
marketable. With the rapid heat up time, the heated
washer fluid can now enhance the removal of frost, ice
or snow from the windscreen and blades. The actual
performance will depend on the overall washer system
design. By adding the small amount of heated fluid to
the windscreen, frost and snow can be quickly melted
and depending on the thickness and density, may not
require driver scraping. In ice conditions, the heated
washer may not be able to remove all the ice, but it will
facilitate its removal.
Perhaps an unexpected enhancement also takes place
with the inside of the windscreen. In many cases a
driver may clean a vision area on the outside surface of
the windscreen only to find that after they begin driving
the still cold vehicle, that they must now manually clean
the inside because of condensation ‘fogging’. This
 Downloaded from SAE International by Columbia Univ, Wednesday, April 15, 2020

condition is slowed or hindered where the heated fluid To Jim Park, Valeo Wiper Systems Benchmarking,
has made contact and been able ‘warm’ the windscreen. Auburn Hills Michigan, USA, for his analysis.

Finally, spray patterns that have good coverage to the To all of the Heated Wash development team worldwide
arms and blades will aid in removing snow and ice build for their dedicated efforts.
up and since the fluid still is alcohol rich, the potential of
refreeze is lowered or slowed. REFERENCES

1. FMVSS 571-104, 49 CFR, “Motor Vehicle Safety

CONCLUSION
For the safe and effective operation of a motor vehicle
vision is critical. Therefore any method that can cost
effectively improve the driver’s vision is desirable. The
automotive washer system of any design can be
enhanced by the use of a heated wash system designed
for cleaning.
As a general rule, a washer solution’s performance can
be improved with an increase in temperature. This
increase of temperature however must be balanced with
the needs and protection of the solution and surrounding
environment in mind. The advent of a heated washer
system may now open new techniques in vision surface
cleaning and should be exploited to its full potential.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would like to express their appreciation to
Tim Shoskey, Vahan Pilibosian, and Uwe Lasebnick of
the Valeo Wiper Systems Test and Engineering Labs,
Auburn Hills Michigan, USA and Bietigheim, Germany
for their assistance in collection of the cleaning efficiency
data.
Standards; Windshield Wiping and Washing
Systems”, National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration, DOT USA;
2. CMVSR 104, Transport Canada, Road Safety
3. SAE J903A, May 1966 “Passenger Car Windshield
Wiper Systems”, SAE Recommended Practice
4. TP104-08 June 26. 1996, “Laboratory Test
Procedure for FMVSS 104, Windshield Wiper and
Washing Systems”, US Department of
Transportation, NHTSA, Office of Vehicle Safety
Compliance.
5. “Domestic Hot water Scald Burn Lawsuits- The Who,
What, When, Why, W here, and How; Seminar and
Technical Paper for the 25-28Oct98 Annual ASPE
Meeting, Indianapolis, Indiana. Time temperature
relations based on the work of Martin and
Richardson, the original work of Hendriques and
Moritz in the late 1940’s.
6. Ionic Residue Removal: Which Solvent is Best?
Phillips, Howard E., Electronic Packaging and
Production Magazine, 1973.
7. Solubility Curves for inorganic compounds, from
/teacherweb.ftl.pinecrest.edu/ and various.
CONTACT

To Sandra Simon, Valeo Wiper Systems, Analytical Michele Cox

Tools and Simulation, Laverriere, France, for Thermal Valeo Wiper Systems
and CFD analysis of the thermal mass and heat 3000 University Drive
exchanger. Auburn Hills, MI 48326
248-340-8258
To Franck Faucon, Valeo Wiper Systems, Electronics 248-371-1150 (fax)
Chatellerault, France for the control methods and logic. michele.cox@valeo.com

To James Jackson and Lee Bissonnette, Valeo Wiper

Systems R&D, Laverriere, France and Auburn Hills DEFINITIONS, ACRONYMS, ABBREVIATIONS
Michigan, USA for early development of the thermal
mass concept. MVSS (Pg 1): “Motor Vehicle Safety Standards”