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SAE TECHNICAL
PAPER SERIES 1999-01-0240

The Vehicle Engine Cooling System Simulation

Part 1 - Model Development
Oner Arici, John H. Johnson and Ajey J. Kulkarni
Michigan Technological University

International Congress and Exposition

Detroit, Michigan
March 1-4, 1999

400 Commonwealth Drive, Warrendale, PA 15096-0001 U.S.A. Tel: (724) 776-4841 Fax: (724) 776-5760
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Copyright 1999 Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc.

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The Vehicle Engine Cooling System Simulation
Part 1 - Model Development
Oner Arici, John H. Johnson and Ajey J. Kulkarni
Copyright © 1999 Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc.
ABSTRACT
The Vehicle Engine Cooling System Simulation (VECSS)
computer code has been developed at the Michigan
Technological University to simulate the thermal
response of the cooling system of an on-highway heavy
duty diesel powered truck under steady and transient
operation. This code includes an engine cycle analysis
program along with various components for the four main
fluid circuits for cooling air, cooling water, cooling oil, and
intake air, all evaluated simultaneously. The code predicts
the operation of the response of the cooling circuit, oil cir-
cuit, and the engine compartment air flow when the
VECSS is operated using driving cycle data of vehicle
speed, engine speed, and fuel flow rate for a given ambi-
ent temperature, pressure and relative humidity.
The one-dimensional, transient, compressible ram air/
engine compartment cooling air-flow model was incorpo-
rated into the VECSS to enhance the accuracy and the
reliability of the cooling air flow rate, temperature, and
pressure variation predictions for the ram air/engine com-
partment air with improved predictions of the perfor-
mance characteristics of the fan, radiator, charge air
cooler (CAC), condenser, and the effect of system instal-
lation variables. A one-dimensional, unsteady engine
heat transfer model was added to calculate the engine
liner, head, and piston surface temperatures. The heat
transfer model was validated with Detroit Diesel Corpora-
tion’s (DDC) steady state engine data. The single pass
cross flow radiator mathematical model which accurately
predicts the coolant and air outlet temperatures given the
inlet flow and temperature conditions was also added.
The model was validated with Behr McCord’s steady
state heat rejection data and agreement between the
data and the model were within 2%. Each of the basic
components of the cooling circuit was analyzed individu-
ally and modeled and the model predicted results were
compared with the corresponding steady-state experi-
mental data. The oil circuit was modeled to represent the
configuration for the DDC Series 60 engine. New flow
and power characteristics for the oil pump were used and
models for the oil filter, regulator, and oil thermostat were
developed. The oil cooler mathematical model was vali-
1
1999-01-0240
Michigan Technological University
dated with experimental data from DDC. For the first time,
transient pipe lines were introduced in the VECSS pro-
gram from the turbocharger to the CAC and from the
CAC to the engine air intake manifold. A lag due to inertia
in the turbocharger compressor rotor speed was also
introduced.
INTRODUCTION
For many years, cooling system design was concerned
only with providing sufficient cooling at maximum engine
output conditions at the worst vehicle operating condi-
tions (low vehicle speed and high ambient temperature).
This approach results in not achieving the best fuel econ-
omy that would be possible with improved design. With
demands of increased fuel economy, longer engine life,
and reduced emissions, greater control of engine perfor-
mance is necessary since optimal engine performance
cannot be maintained when overcooling occurs.
Ideally, engine cooling is undesirable from the thermody-
namic point of view. If the heat transfer rates from the gas
to metal could be reduced, then more power could be
produced at a particular fuel flow rate, i.e. the thermal
efficiency of the engine would increase. The other major
and probably most important aspect of reducing heat
transfer is that there is less heat to remove out of the radi-
ator. However, in practice, due to metallurgical con-
straints, the conventional engine metals can withstand
only a certain maximum temperature level. At these
higher temperatures, the fatigue stresses induced in the
metal under cyclic loading increase. Engine oil also loses
its lubricating qualities when temperatures exceed 177°C
(350°F) and, as a result, excessive engine wear occurs.
Thus, from a practical viewpoint, engine cooling is
extremely necessary for good engine reliability and dura-
bility with a compromise of the thermal efficiency. An opti-
mum system should offer the following advantages:
1. Increase in coolant, oil, and engine metal tempera-
tures during cold start or low ambient temperatures
and light route load conditions.
2. Sufficient cooling of the oil and the engine metal tem-
peratures under uphill and full load conditions.
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For the development of any technical product, one can
advance in two ways. The physical processes within the
product can be mathematically modeled to accurately
define its performance and one can also develop the
product by laboratory test work. Each of these methods
have their individual advantages. But with the advent of
high speed computers, which help in solving the complex
system of differential equations, the former has the
potential to be lower cost and less time consuming. In
contrast to the experimental approach, a simulation
model helps the designer to analyze various configura-
tions of the system. Simulation of the cooling system for
diesel trucks is one such area where a number of com-
puter programs have been developed. The simulation
program should have the following features:
• Have a systematic structure such that individual com-
ponent models can be added to an existing system or
modified to conduct parametric studies.
• Identify key parameters affecting system perfor-
mance.
• Help to minimize the hardware tests by establishing
the most important variables to be measured when
experimentally studying the performance of the sys-
tem being modeled for cost benefits and time effi-
ciency.
Such a program would provide the designer with an inex-
pensive and effective design and analysis tool for design,
development, and optimization of the vehicle engine cool-
ing system over a wide range of operating conditions. It
would also enable the designer to analyze various config-
urations easily and efficiently for better understanding of
the operation of modern cooling systems. The Vehicle
Engine Cooling System Simulation (VECSS) was first
developed at Michigan Technological University in 1982
to simulate the thermal response of an on-highway
heavy-duty diesel powered truck under steady state and
transient operation [1]. The VECSS has been developed
and validated with experimental data to date using a sys-
tem of cooling circuit components in a Freightliner truck
[5]. Future research will focus on using the VECSS in
parametric and design studies of cooling systems.
OBJECTIVES
The goal of this paper is to present the latest improve-
ments to the Vehicle Engine Cooling System Simulation
which involves incorporating Chang’s one-dimensional,
transient, compressible ram air/engine compartment air-
flow model [2]. The existing program used a very simplis-
tic and elementary airflow model to predict the air flow
rate across the radiator-shroud-fan system. Also, the
existing model did not have the flexibility to change the
system physical dimensional characteristics. The pre-
dicted air flow rate by the existing program was found to
be much higher than the experimental data supplied by
Kysor cooling systems [3]. In addition, the existing
VECSS version was not updated by Mohan [4] to incor-
porate the DDC coolant and oil circuit configuration. The
VECSS program had not been validated recently with
good steady-state and transient field data. Kysor cooling
systems and Detroit Diesel Corporation collaborated in
May-June 1996 to gather extensive data that would be
used in validation of the updated VECSS. Kysor of Cadil-
lac used a Hewlett Packard (HP) data acquisition system
and DDC used the Detroit Diesel Electronic Controls -
Electronic Control Module (DDEC-ECM) to record data
on a Freightliner FLD 120 truck with a 12.7 L Series 60
engine, a Behr McCord radiator, an Allied Signal charge-
air cooler, and Kysor DST variable speed fan clutch. The
validation data are compared to VECSS data in the com-
panion Part 2 paper by Arici et al [5].
An upgraded description of all the simulated components
of the VECSS program will be discussed first. This
involves changes for the components in the three circuits,
namely the circuits for the coolant, oil, and intake air to
the engine. The mathematical formulation of the models
for the different components of the cooling system, the
validation of each model and explanation of the physical
processes occurring in them are provided. The develop-
ment of one-dimensional, unsteady, engine heat transfer
model, which calculates the engine liner, head and sur-
face temperatures at varying load and speed is dis-
cussed.
The paper details the incorporation of the one-dimen-
sional, compressible, transient airflow model developed
by Chang [2]. It describes how this work enhanced the
accuracy and reliability of the airflow, temperature, and
pressure variation predictions of the VECSS program
with more realistic performance characteristics for fan,
shroud, radiator, charge air cooler, condenser, and grill. It
details how the end user can design a new configuration
for the cooling airflow system and study variables related
to the system installation.
REVIEW OF PAST WORK
Ursini, et al [1] and Chiang et al [6] originally developed
the Vehicle Engine Cooling System Simulation (VECSS)
at Michigan Technological University in 1982. This com-
puter program modeled the International Harvester COE-
9670, on-highway heavy-duty diesel powered truck with
the Cummins NTC-350 Big Cam II aftercooled diesel
engine. Ursini validated the VECSS by correlating the
predicted Air-To-Boil (ATB) number with experimental
data by using several empirical relationships for the
engine and oil system models in order to obtain satisfac-
tory results at the full load, rated speed, and peak torque
operation [7]. Savonen [8] continued Ursini’s work by
improving the radiator and oil system models which
increased the capabilities of the computer simulation pro-
gram to cover vehicle operation over a wide range under
extreme ambient temperature conditions. The finite differ-
ence formulation to solve the coupled, transient govern-
ing equations gave a more representative simulation of
the radiator performance during vehicle warm-up and low
radiator coolant flow. The program’s capabilities were
also expanded to allow the use of 50/50 ethylene glycol

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as the engine coolant. These developments allowed
Savonen to conduct parametric studies of the thermal
control devices at extreme ambient and truck operating
conditions [9]. Chellaiah [10], as a further enhancement
to the development of transient truck cooling system sim-
ulation, modeled a two pass cross-counterflow radiator
used in low flow cooling systems. He validated the model
with field data collected by the Cummins Engine Co., dur-
ing an on-road test run of a Peterbilt truck fitted with the
Cummins Big Cam IV aftercooled engine with a low flow
cooling system. Although the simulation results followed
the general data trends, amplitude deviations were some-
times excessive, and, in addition, the predicted trends
were, in some cases, different from the actual data
trends. Chiang attributed these discrepancies to deficien-
cies in the coolant thermostat modeling scheme [11]. Xu
[12,13] modified the VECSS to simulate a microproces-
sor-sensor-type controlled cooling system. The obvious
goals were to increase thermal efficiency, reduce fan
engagement time, reduce power to the water pump, and
increase engine temperature for cold start and low ambi-
ent temperature as opposed to a wax-sensor-actuator
type controlled cooling system. From this study, the hard-
ware and software for a prototype computer controlled
cooling system was demonstrated in an engine dyna-
mometer test. Keller [14] continued Chellaiah’s work by
improving the model of the thermal control devices. He
worked on the coolant thermostat model and also built a
radiator shutter/shutterstat model. His main contribution
was validating the VECSS by comparing the predicted
ATB numbers to measured ATB numbers at three differ-
ent engine speeds [15]. The predicted ATB numbers
matched well at an engine speed of 1900 rpm, but the
correlation became poorer at a lower engine speed of
1300 rpm. The predicted ATB number was overestimated
by 1.7°C (3°F) at 1300 rpm. Chapman [16] determined
that the deficiency in the VECSS was the engine model.
The original model used by previous researchers was too
simplistic and empirical to correlate to experimental data
over a wide range of engine loads and speeds. He
improved the engine model by incorporating an idealized
cycle analysis method which predicted a load and speed
dependent heat transfer coefficient, in-cylinder cycle
average gas temperature, and engine coolant tempera-
ture rise [17]. He made modifications to the turbocharger
and coolant pump model. He also incorporated an air
conditioning model. He validated this version of the
VECSS by comparing the predicted and actual tempera-
ture data from ATB and transient tests. Hovin [18] devel-
oped a microprocessor controlled lubricating oil cooling
system. In addition, the standard thermostats were
replaced by controllable valves, and the fan and shutter
systems were controlled by actuators. This VECSS was
also capable of setting the coolant and air flow rates
based on the dynamics of the system and the current
operating conditions [19]. Chang [2] developed a one-
dimensional, transient, compressible airflow model to
predict the airflow behavior for truck engine cooling sys-
tems. After development of this model, he calibrated and
validated it to conduct parametric studies to investigate
3
the effects of operating and ambient conditions on cool-
ing airflow [20]. He also studied the effects of installation
parameters on the air circuit and heat rejection. This
model was separate from the VECSS program. In 1993,
the main frame version of the VECSS was converted to a
PC version. Mohan [4] continued the development of the
existing Vehicle Engine Cooling System Simulation
(VECSS) version by incorporating a new engine cycle
analysis model simulating the Detroit Diesel Corpora-
tion’s (DDC) Series 60 engine to replace the existing
engine model. He modeled the turbocharged direct-injec-
tion diesel engine using “cycle analysis” concept, which
gave good results at rated speed and load and even at
part loads unlike the previous engine model. The
enhanced engine model was extensively validated
against steady-state data supplied by DDC [21]. He also
replaced the air-to-water aftercooler model in the earlier
VECSS with Allied Signal’s air-to-air charge air cooler
model.
VECSS PROGRAM REVIEW
The current code of the Vehicle Engine Cooling System
Simulation (VECSS) has been run on a Pentium II / 300
MHz with a 128 MB RAM PC running on DOS 6.22 and
Windows NT. The Fortran compiler used is the Lahey
F77L3 EM/32 Version 7.0. The latest version 8.1 of the
VECSS is capable of predicting real-time thermal perfor-
mance of a diesel engine cooling system during steady
state and over-the-road transient operation. The com-
puter model is built of various subroutines each effec-
tively representing a different component of the cooling
system. The model, currently, contains various subrou-
tines which simulate the engine, radiator, charge air
cooler (CAC), fan, ram air/engine compartment airflow
circuit, turbocharger, coolant circuit, cab heater, thermal
control devices (radiator/bypass thermostat, fan control,
oil thermostat etc.), oil circuit, regulator valve, oil cooler,
and oil filter, as shown Figure 2. Most of these major
components are modeled mathematically with a transient
approach to predict and represent the steady state as
well as the transient operation. All the physical dimen-
sions for the components are provided by means of sev-
eral input files. This gives flexibility within the model so
that any component can be replaced with a different
model with different characteristics. This systematic
approach makes possible future improvements, addi-
tions, and modifications. For the software to run, three
main run-time data have to be provided; these are the
engine speed, the engine load given by the fuel flow rate
and the vehicle speed as shown in Figure 1. The ambient
air, temperature, pressure, relative humidity and the
velocity (wind speed) is also provided as input data
through an input file and is maintained at a constant
value throughout the simulation.
ENGINE MODEL – The engine model is a critical compo-
nent of the VECSS software, since energy rejection to the
coolant and the oil comes from the engine. The six cylin-
der diesel engine was modeled by assuming that all the
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cylinders operated at approximately the same operating
conditions making it possible to mathematically model
one engine cylinder and extend the results to the remain-
ing cylinders. The engine cycle analysis simulation mod-
eling and its validation was done by Mohan [4,21].
F u el flo w rate
Veh icle
E ng in e speed
Figure 1. Vehicle-Engine-Cooling System in Freightliner
FLD 120 truck.
Combustion was modeled as a single-zone heat release
process. The gas exchange process uses a one-dimen-
sional quasi-steady compressible flow model. The heat
transfer model uses modified Annand’s correlation for
calculating convection heat transfer. The radiative heat
transfer was calculated based on flame temperature. The
frictional model converts indicated quantities (power, indi-
cated specific fuel consumption (isfc), etc.) to the corre-
sponding brake quantities. A steady-state turbocharger
model, manifold heat transfer, and pressure losses were
also included in the simulation. Finally, the engine model
calculates the surface temperatures and metal mass
average temperatures for piston, cylinder head and liner,
and exit temperatures of coolant and oil. This one-dimen-
sional unsteady heat transfer simulation model to calcu-
late the above mentioned temperatures developed by
Mohan [4] was improved and is discussed later.
DESCRIPTION OF INDIVIDUAL COMPONENTS – The
whole VECSS program can be divided basically into four
main circuits, Figure 2.
1. Coolant circuit comprising of the coolant pump, cab
heater, oil cooler, engine, radiator/bypass thermostat,
fan actuator, and the radiator.
2. Oil circuit comprising the oil pump, oil filter, oil ther-
mostat, oil cooler, regulator valve, oil gallery, main
bearing cooling circuit, crank bearing cooling circuit,
piston cooling circuit, accessories cooling circuit, and
the oil sump.
3. Ram air / engine compartment circuit comprising of
the grill, charge air cooler, condenser, radiator,
shroud, fan, and the branching in the compartment
around the engine.
4. Intake air circuit comprising of the turbocharger,
charge air cooler, engine, and the exhaust.
Thermostat & Shutterstat
AIRFLOW
Cylinder Head
CAC
Radiator
Bypass
Cylinder Block
Fan
OIL SUMP
Thermostat
C oolant Pump
O il C o oler
Oil Pump
speed
cab heater
Figure 2. Complete schematic of Vehicle Engine
Cooling System
COOLANT CIRCUIT – The coolant system consists of
the following major components: coolant pump, cab
heater, engine, thermostat, fan actuator, and radiator.
The coolant circuit which was used in the previous ver-
sion of the VECSS was a low flow coolant system
[1,6,7,8]. However, when the air-to-air charge air cooler
was introduced, the truck manufacturers switched to the
conventional radiator for increased operating tempera-
tures and hence increased thermal efficiency [4]. Since,
the present truck under study has a conventional radiator
with air-to-air charge air cooler, necessary modifications
were required to be made to the coolant circuit, radiator,
and aftercooler models in the existing VECSS. The cen-
trifugal pump is used to circulate the engine coolant.
Pressurized coolant from the pump is forced through the
oil cooler and the engine. Heat rejection from the engine
is the main source of energy to the coolant. The full
blocking-type thermostat is used to control the flow of
coolant through the radiator, providing fast engine warm-
up and regulating coolant temperature. When starting a
cold engine or when coolant is below operating tempera-
ture, the closed thermostat directs all the coolant through
the bypass to the pump. When the thermostat opening
temperature is reached, coolant flow is divided between
the radiator and the bypass tube. When the thermostat is
fully open, 70% of the coolant flows through the radiator
and the remaining 30% flows through the bypass. The
coolant circuit schematic provided by DDC is shown in
Figure 3.
COOLANT PUMP – The coolant pump circulates the
coolant through the engine cooling system. The pump is
driven directly off the engine by means of a gear mecha-
nism. Data points relating pump flow with engine speed
were supplied by DDC. An equation was developed to
calculate the pump flow as a function of the engine speed
using these data points. The power used by the pump is
calculated by standard pump laws. The coolant pump
within the cooling system is assumed to have no effect on
4
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fluid temperature. The pumping of a fluid through the sys-
tem generates an increase in thermal energy due to fluid
friction (which is dependent upon fluid viscosity and sys-
tem pressure). For an engine application, these effects
can be assumed negligible in comparison to the thermal
energy transferred to the coolant from the engine’s com-
bustion heat transfer process and frictional effects. The
most important parameter describing the pump is the
rate at which the coolant is pumped. For these reasons,
no attempt was made to theoretically model pump perfor-
mance.
T h e rm o s ta t
C y lin d e r H e a d
Co olant fan
C y lin d e r B lo c k
R adiator
O il c o o le r
B y p a s s tu b e
C o o lan t p a th
C o o la n t p u m p
C ab
Figure 3. Coolant flow schematic for DDC series 60
engine
CAB ENVIRONMENT MODEL – The cab environment
model is included in the VECSS since the cab heater unit
in the coolant circuit removes energy from the system.
The cab environment is not the main component of the
cooling system, but the cab comfort and performance of
the cooling system are coupled through the cab heater.
The mathematical models of the cab environment
described here were included in the new version of
VECSS without revision. The detailed model was devel-
oped by Ursini [1] and are for the International Harvester
COE - 9670 truck.
The cab environment control system consists of the cab
heater unit with three position blower and insulated cab
walls. Cab blower setting is dependent upon driver prefer-
ences. A simple logic used to simulate the driver’s
response to cab air temperature determines blower set-
ting and consequently cab comfort levels. This assumes
that the desirable temperature inside the cab at all ambi-
ent temperatures is 21 to 27°C (70 to 80°F). Hence, the
blower settings are made to fluctuate accordingly to
achieve this comfort temperature zone. The following
flowchart in Figure 4 shows blower settings at various
comfort temperatures:
5
Yes
Tc a b < 2 1 .1 o C (7 0 o F ) 0.189 m3/s (400 CFM)
No Yes
2 1 .1 o C ( 7 0 o F )< Tc a b < 2 3 .9 o C (7 5 o F ) 0.142 m3/s (300 CFM)
No Yes
2 3 .9 o C ( 7 5 o F )< Tc a b < 2 6 .7 o C (8 0 o F ) 0.083 m3/s (175 CFM)
No Yes
Tc a b > 2 6 .7 o C (8 0 o F ) 0 m3/s (0 CFM)
Figure 4. Cab Blower Setting Flowchart
After determining the flow rate through the blower, the
inlet air temperature to the cab heater or the temperature
out of the blower is determined based on the percentage
of fresh air allowed to mix with recirculated air. The inlet
door position will allow for about 15 - 100% of fresh air
operation. A certain percentage of fresh air is always
admitted into the cab to reduce irritating smoke and dust
effects. The inlet door may be controlled by a vacuum
actuator or by gravity. The percentage of fresh air varies
with vehicle speed for gravity operated doors. As the
vehicle speed increases, the amount of recirculation air
decreases. For the analysis here, 50% of fresh air and
50% of recirculated air was assumed to exist for all vehi-
cle speeds since the actual air inlet versus the vehicle
speed maps are not available.
Once, the inlet air temperature and the flow are estab-
lished, this mass of air flows over a blend door. The blend
door can be used to vary the percentage of inlet air that is
directed through the cab heater core. Adjusting blend
door position regulates heater effects on the cab air tem-
perature without adjusting the blower speed. The present
VECSS assumes that the blend door is maintained in the
full open position directing all inlet air through the heater.
The cab heater model is a coolant to air finned heat
exchanger. The heater is operational only when ambient
temperatures are below specified cab comfort levels.
To evaluate the average cab air temperature, it is neces-
sary to know the heat energy which is absorbed by the
cab walls and/or interior, the energy which is dissipated
through the walls and/or the energy lost by infiltration of
the ambient air (leakage of ambient air into the cab) in
addition to the heat energy entering the cab from the
heater.
In order to calculate cab surface heat rejection, the cab is
divided into six different wall types, namely, the front
panel, the windshield, the side panels (the doors), top
panel, rear panel and floorboard. The overall heat trans-
fer coefficients must be evaluated for each of these walls.
The thermal resistivity value or R value is determined for
each wall. In case where the wall composition varies, the
value is averaged over the length of the panel. Surface
area and panel length parallel to air flow is also deter-
mined for each wall.
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Internal convection coefficients are assumed to be gov-
erned by natural convection. Use of Grashoff number
allows determination of internal convection terms for
each wall based on cab-ambient temperature difference.
THERMOSTAT MODELING – Thermostats are tempera-
ture - sensitive flow control valves. They are used to con-
trol the flow of coolant through the radiator and maintain
the temperature within a specified range in the coolant
circuit. Their operation is in response to the temperatures
sensed by the wax sensor.
The themostat sensor begins to open when the liquid into
which it is immersed reaches the thermostat start-to-
open temperature (also called the thermostat activation
temperature), directing some liquid to flow along the new
path. If the temperature continues to rise, the valve fur-
ther opens until its full open temperature is reached.
When this happens, maximum flow is directed through
the radiator in the cooling system. As the system cools
down, the reverse action takes place.
The most common type of thermostat used is solid/liquid
phase wax actuator. The brass housing (cup) in these
kind of thermostats is filled with a heat expansive wax
material that is compounded to provide accurate, repeat-
able temperature response. The wax is sealed within the
cup by an elastomeric sleeve. The sleeve envelops a pol-
ished stainless steel piston with tapered end. A seal and
brass cover completes the sealing of the unit.
The brass cup is in the path of the liquid flow. Heat is con-
ducted through the walls of the cup to the wax. As the
wax within the brass cup reaches its special compounded
thermostat, it melts and expands, displacing the piston by
squeezing the sleeve. The piston is in turn moved by the
sleeve and the valve opens. As the temperature drops,
the wax contracts allowing the piston to return. Operation
of the plunger can be controlled mechanically or by vary-
ing the melting point temperature of the wax material (this
can be achieved by adding varying amounts of copper
filler).
Thus to appropriately model the thermostat, the different
processes happening within the thermostat have to care-
fully understood. The different processes that take place
in succession before the thermostat is actuated are:
• Heat transfer by convection from the hot liquid to the
outer surface of the brass cup (in contact with the
coolant).
• Heat transfer by convection through the cup to its
inner surface.
• Heat transfer by convection to and through the wax
• Melting and increase in volume of wax.
• Movement of the piston and finally the actuation of
the valve.
A rigorous model should consider each of these pro-
cesses. But, for a system modeling approach like this
cooling system simulation, such a complicated and
involved model is not necessary. So, a different method is
6
used which takes into consideration a characteristic time
lag associated with the thermostat just like any mechani-
cal control device would have. There is a definite time
gap between the instant the thermostat senses the tem-
perature, and the instant the actuator starts to function.
The time difference between the response and the stimu-
lus is called the ‘time delay’. In the case of a thermostat
this time delay is the sum of the mechanical and the ther-
mal lags. It takes sometime for the wax to reach its melt-
ing point after the cup has reached that temperature. This
is called the thermal delay. Again, the actuators do not
act instantaneously. This lag is called the mechanical
delay.
In the present cooling system, the flow to the radiator is
controlled using a single thermostat. This model consid-
ers that the sensor temperature is governed by the linear,
first order, ordinary differential equation [8,22]:
d
( UA ) ⋅ ( THT – TST ) = ( MC ) ⋅ ( TST ) (1)
dt
where, THT is the temperature of the thermostat housing,
TST temperature of the sensor, MC thermal capacity of
the housing, U overall heat transfer coefficient, A area
associated with U, and t time.
The ratio of UA/MC is defined as the time constant of the
thermostat. The value of the time constant is determined
using experimental data [10]. The sensor temperature
can be found out using the above equation, given the
housing temperature which is equal to the coolant tem-
perature flowing through the thermostat.
After the sensor temperature is calculated, and knowing
the operating characteristics of the thermostat, the lift of
the radiator thermostat is calculated using Lagrange
interpolation. Thus for any operating condition, the flow
through the radiator is determined using the flow factors
calculated based on the lift. For the specific thermostat
used for analysis, the activation temperature is 87.8°C
(190°F). Below this all the coolant flows through the
bypass and the thermostat is completely closed. When
the sensor temperature reaches to 96.1°C (205°F) the
thermostat reaches its maximum opening which allows
70% of the coolant to flow through the radiator. In the
operating range from 87.8°C (190°F) to 96.1°C (205°F),
the thermostat is continuously opening and closing. The
thermostat never completely opens such that all coolant
flows through radiator [29].
Due to the repetitive opening and closing of the thermo-
stat, a hysteresis loss is incurred, i.e., the lift of the ther-
mostat valve or the movement of the plunger will be
different when the thermostat is opening and closing for
the same sensor temperature. Thus, there are two, ther-
mostat lift vs. sensor temperature curves. One for open-
ing and one for closing of the thermostat. One important
point to be noted is that the thermostat will not fully close
until the liquid temperature is below the activation tem-
perature. A hysteresis lag of 1.7°C (3°F) is built in the
thermostat model, as shown in Figure 5. The program
after detecting the mode of operation, checks if the ther-
 Downloaded from SAE International by Univ of Nottingham - Kings Meadow Campus, Saturday, September 08, 2018
mostat is opening or closing and accordingly incorpo-
rates the hysteresis lag.
Figure 5. Coolant thermostat characteristic curve
RADIATOR MODELING – The radiator is the most
important heat exchanger in the engine cooling system
as it transfers the majority of the thermal energy from the
coolant to the surrounding air. Hence, it is extremely cru-
cial to model the radiator accurately for effective function-
ing of the coolant circuit.
The radiator is a liquid to air heat exchanger. It experi-
ences a large variation in coolant inlet condition and flow
rate. The radiator flow may be small or large or it may be
extremely low and there will be no flow when the engine
is shut down or the thermostat is completely closed. The
flow depends both on the radiator thermostat position as
well as the performance of the coolant pump. The opera-
tion of the thermostat is explained in the previous section.
The coolant flows through the radiator, only when the
coolant temperature reaches the thermostat control tem-
perature. Therefore, the radiator flow varies from 0 gal/
min (when the thermostat is fully closed) to 70 gal/min
(when thermostat is 70% open and the total coolant
pump flow is 100 gal/min). Hot coolant enters the radia-
tor, where it is cooled by ram (ambient) air. Ram air flow
is controlled by the shutters (if the truck is so equipped)
located at the back of the radiator and in front of the fan.
Depending on the amount of cooling required, the shut-
ters are open or closed.
The coolant exiting the radiator then mixes with the cool-
ant from the bypass and the coolant from the cab heater,
and is then pumped to other parts of the coolant circuit
(Figure 2). The shutters were not used in this work for
coolant temperature control since the Freightliner truck
used to collect data was not so equipped.
The primary purpose of the radiator model is the determi-
nation of the radiator outlet coolant temperature. In gen-
eral, there are three ways to analyze the performance of
a heat exchanger [11]. They are:
7
1. The Log-Mean Temperature Differential approach
(LMTD)
2. The Net Transfer Units method (NTU)
3. Numerical method
The main drawback of the first two methods is that they
are applicable only for steady state conditions. For ana-
lyzing the transient response of a heat exchangers, a
time delay function coupled with the NTU method was
used for initial versions of VECSS. This approach needs
a closed form expression for effectiveness. Also, the
results were not very satisfactory, mainly during the
warm-up period [1,6]. Later, a two pass cross counterflow
radiator was developed for the low flow cooling system
using the Euler explicit numerical scheme [11,12]. This
scheme was insufficient because the results had a large
truncation error.
The new conventional radiator modeled represents the
Behr McCord’s radiator (Model 405-16366-001) used in
the validation tests. The radiator is a single pass cross
flow type heat exchanger. Hot coolant from the engine
head enters the radiator from the top side, flows through
the single pass tubes and exits through the bottom of the
radiator. The ambient air enters through the front side of
the radiator, picks up heat from the first row of coolant
tubes, the second row and finally the third row of tubes.
Thus the coolant and the air enter the radiator from differ-
ent directions having crossflows. The radiator tubes are
fitted with continuous serpentine fins to increase the heat
transfer on the air side. The coolant and air do not mix. A
thermal mixing of the coolant takes place at the top and
the bottom of the radiator. Thus the temperature of the
coolant entering each tube from the top tank is the same
and it varies along the tube till it reaches the bottom tank.
On the other hand, since the air gets heated up as it
passes over the first row of tubes, the air temperature
entering is higher for the second row and then still higher
for the third. Mixing of the air is assumed between tube
rows and hence the inlet air temperature for all tubes in a
particular row is the same.
The coolant entry for all tubes is located at the top of the
radiator. Therefore, the coolant flow rate through each
tube is the same. Airflow rate across the radiator is evalu-
ated from the ram air / engine compartment airflow model
which is explained later in the paper.
To obtain the dynamic response of the radiator by means
of the Runge-Kutta fourth order numerical scheme, the
following assumptions were made in the analysis:
• Negligible axial conduction in the coolant.
• There is no heat generation within the radiator.
• Conduction through the wall is negligible.
• Properties of the tube like the specific heat, density,
and thermal conductivity remain constant at all tem-
peratures.
• Uniform inlet air temperature and velocity along the
full length of the tube.
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• There is complete thermal mixing of the coolant and
air at the inlet and outlet of each tube row.
• No mixing of the coolant takes place within the tube.
• The fluid velocity is the same at all points and is influ-
enced only by the changes in the flow rates.
In the radiator, the two fluids, hot coolant and the ambient
air, are separated by the tube wall. Heat transfer takes
place by two modes, conduction and convection. Heat is
transferred from the coolant to the wall by: (1) forced con-
vection, (2) by radial conduction from the inside of the
wall to the outer surface, and (3) from the outer surface of
the tube to the ambient air by forced convection. The
small thickness of the tube makes the conductive resis-
tance of the tube wall negligible. Therefore, the dominant
mode of heat transfer is forced convection. Any technique
used must be capable of predicting the temperature of
the coolant, air, and metal at different times and at differ-
ent locations under varied operating conditions.
Although, the coolant and the air temperature are of
prime significance, it is advantageous from a design point
of view to know the metal temperatures also. This helps
the designer to know the temperature distribution in the
body of the radiator for the necessary analysis of the
thermal stress effects.
The radiator has 3 rows with 47 tubes per row, 32 deg.
louvered fins and a fin density of 14 fins per inch. To
model the radiator, each of the three rows where mod-
eled separately because the inlet air temperature was dif-
ferent for each one. In a particular row, only one tube was
modeled and the analysis was extended to the other 46
tubes. Each tube was divided into 10 segments. The
application of the First Law of Thermodynamics for the
coolant, metal and the air to each segment resulted in a
set of three coupled differential equations:
dT m
( mCp ) m = ( hc Ac ( T c – T m ) ) – ( ha Aa ( T m – T a ) )
dt
dT c
( mC p )c = ( mC p ) c ( T c, i – T c, o ) – h c A c ( T c – Tm )
dt
dT a
( mC p )a = ( mC p )a ( T a, i – T a, o ) – h a A a ( Ta – Tm )
dt
where, mCp is thermal capacity, h heat transfer coeffi-
cient, A surface area for heat transfer, T temperature, and
t time. The subscripts are, m for metal, c coolant, a air, i
inlet, and o outlet.
Before attempting to solve the above coupled differential
equations all the physical dimension like the area, vol-
ume, and the internal and external heat transfer coeffi-
cients must be determined. The internal heat transfer
coefficient depends only on the coolant flow rate and is
unaffected by the air flow rate. The rate of heat removed
by air from the coolant depends directly on the air flow
rate, and only indirectly on the internal heat transfer coef-
ficient. Similarly, the external heat transfer coefficient
depends only on the air flow rate and is not influenced by
the coolant flow conditions. Again, the rate of heat
removed from the coolant depends on the coolant flow
rate but not on the external heat transfer coefficient.
Having determined the heat transfer coefficients, for a
particular operating condition, all the coefficients in the
coupled differential equations are known. The self start-
ing numerical method Runge-Kutta fourth order formula
was used.
The set of equations were solved simultaneously first for
node 1 using the Runge-Kutta fourth order formula. The
initial condition at t=0 is that the entire core of the radiator
and the air are at ambient temperature. The temperature
of the coolant exiting node 1 is the temperature of the
coolant at entry node 2. Thus the coolant temperature of
each node was used for analysis of the successive node.
A time increment of 1 second was used. The solution did
not converge and in fact was diverging. Hence, smaller
time steps were used till the solution converged.
Steady state experimental data obtained from Behr
McCord at three different coolant flow rates of 3.16, 4.42,
5.68 L/s (50, 70 and 90 gal/min) and four different air flow
rates of 4.06, 5.08, 6.1, and 7.1 m/s for each coolant flow
was used to validate the computer model at different
operating conditions. The coolant used in this case was
50/50 glycol-water. Figure 6 shows the heat rejection
rates for an inlet temperature differences of 50°C (data
for increments of 100°F). The inlet temperature was
assumed to be at 21.1°C (70°F) and the inlet coolant
temperature is at 76.7°C (170°F). As can be seen, the
model predictions were in good agreement with the
experimental data (within 2%).
(2)
(3)
(4)
Figure 6. Radiator heat rejection rate at different coolant
flow rates
OIL CIRCUIT – For analysis of the cooling system, a
study of the oil circuit is extremely important as it has a
direct effect on the coolant temperatures because the
coolant gains energy from the oil in the oil cooler. Also,
the oil system may be considered a cooling system in
itself with oil as the cooling medium. The heavy duty die-
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sel engine oil circuit has two purposes. First of all, it is OIL PUMP – The oil pump just like the coolant pump cir-
used to lubricate the engine parts to reduce engine wear culates the oil through the oil system. This pump too is
and bearing load. Secondly, the oil serves as a coolant driven by the engine, hence its speed varies with the
reducing the temperatures of the piston and bearings. engine speed. A second order polynomial curve fitted to
the experimental data is used to model the oil pump flow
The original oil system model [1] which utilized an energy
rate and the power consumption is calculated using stan-
balance at the engine cylinder to determine energy allo-
dard pump laws [22]. The oil pump contributes signifi-
cation to the oil for given engine operating conditions was
cantly to the heating of the oil. Hence, the viscous
found unsatisfactory. Hence, Savonen [8] developed a
heating of the pump due to pump losses cannot be
new model which consisted of an empirical and analytical
neglected. Rise in oil pressure and irreversible increase
formulation. It consists of several component models
of the internal energy of the oil occurs at the pump due to
which predict the significant energy transfer rates within
pump input work. As the oil travels in the system, friction
the oil system. The model developed by Savonen was
dissipation causes an increase in the internal energy of
based on the oil system used for the Cummins NTC-350
the oil. Essentially, the power used by the pump eventu-
diesel engine. But, since the predictions here are ana-
ally turns into internal energy of the oil. Hence, the pump
lyzed for the Freightliner truck with the Detroit Diesel
power calculated using the above equation is used to cal-
Series 60 engine, the accuracy of the present oil system
culate temperature rise in the oil pump.
model depends on the correct representation of these
energy transfer processes. Figure 7 shows the schematic
OIL FILTER – The oil filter is considered to be an addi-
of the oil system for the DDC Series 60. This can be com-
tional oil sump because of its size in this system. Incom-
pared with the old oil system [6].
ing oil mixes with that contained within the filter to
Following were the changes in the oil circuit for which it determine a representative oil filter temperature. The
had to be remodeled: effect of oil filter ambient heat loss is considered negligi-
ble. An energy balance gives the governing relation for
• The oil filter position is changed for the DDC engine.
the oil filter [22].
• The regulator valve position is changed.
• The thermostat characteristics used for the Cummins dTf ·
MCp = m C p ( T if – T f ) (5)
engine are different than the one used for the DDC dt
engine.
Here MCp is heat capacitance of the oil filter, Tf represen-
• Characteristics of the oil pump are different. tative temperature of filter oil, filter oil mass flow rate,
• Other physical parameters like the bearing dimen- Cp specific heat of oil, and Tif temperature of oil entering
sions, mass and area dimensions of various compo- filter.
nents are different.
• Mass of oil in the sump and the sump physical prop- OIL THERMOSTAT – The oil thermostat in the previous
erties are different. VECSS version had a sizeable amount of oil cooler oil
flow even when the oil thermostat was in the fully closed
All the required physical dimensions and material proper- position. With the changed thermostat characteristics for
ties were supplied by DDC [29]. The oil system consists the new oil system, the thermostat is similar to the cool-
of the following major components: oil pump, twin oil filter, ant thermostat. The activation temperature is fixed at
oil thermostat, oil cooler, main and connecting rod bear- 104.4°C (220°F) and is fully open at 113.9°C (237°F). A
ing heat rejection, piston cooling heat rejection, and oil 5% leakage is introduced in the thermostat when the oil
sump. temperature is below the activation temperature 100% of
oil flows through the oil cooler when thermostat is fully
open.
m a in g allery

OIL COOLER – The pump oil from the sump passes

o il co ole r
through the filters to the oil cooler. During the warm-up
period, a small amount of oil flows through the oil cooler
corresponding to the thermostat leakage of 5% of the
re gu lato r v alv e
(o pe n s at 2 .9 6 5 b ar)
oil th erm osta t fully open position. During the working of the thermostat,
(fully clo se d 1 04 .44 -1 05 .5 5 d eg C
fu lly o p en 113 .8 9 d eg C ) the oil flowing through the oil cooler transfers heat to the
coolant and the cooled oil is directed towards the regula-
oil filters
o il su rfac e
o il pu m p tor valve.
The oil cooler used with the DDC series 60 engine is
manufactured by Harrison Division of General Motors
o il su m p
Corp. It is a shell and tube type with single pass shell and
a double pass tube. The oil flows through the shell and
Figure 7. Oil schematic presently used with DDC Series the coolant flows through the tube.
60 engine

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The NTU approach is used to calculate the exit tempera-
tures of the two fluids. Knowing the surface areas, the
fluid flow rates and calculating the inner and outer heat
transfer coefficients, the effectiveness for the oil cooler is
evaluated. The correlations used for inner and outer heat
transfer coefficients and the procedures are discussed at
great length in Reference [22]. The existing oil cooler was
accordingly modified to accurately represent the present
oil cooler and was validated against the experimental
heat transfer data. Table 1 gives the comparison of the oil
cooler model predictions with the experimental data given
the inlet oil and coolant flow and temperature conditions.
The model predictions were within 2% of the experimen-
tal data for the all the seven conditions.
Table 1. Comparison of Oil Cooler Steady State
Experimental Data and VECSS Predicted Data
Condition No. 1 2 3 4 5 6
Oil flow (L/s) 3.166 1.894 0.632 3.349 2.696 1.985 1.042
Inlet oil temperature (C) 115.4 115.4 115.6 115.3 115.4 115.3 116.0
Experimental oil outlet (C) 112.3 111.1 109.2 112.1 112.1 111.6 111.1
Predicted oil outlet (C) 112.2 111.4 109.3 112.2 112.1 111.7 111.3
Coolant flow (L/s) 5.676 5.672 5.690 6.700 4.676 3.781 1.898
Inlet coolant temperature (C) 87.39 87.50 87.67 88.17 87.83 88.22 87.72
Experimental coolant outlet (C) 88.22 88.17 88.00 88.94 88.72 89.11 88.83
Predicted coolant outlet (C) 89.11 87.50 87.67 89.94 89.61 90.22 88.83
BEARING HEAT ADDITION – There are basically three
major sources of oil heating: oil pump internal energy
increase, bearing internal energy increase, and the pis-
ton cooling heat addition. The purpose of the bearing
model is to predict the oil flow to the main and big-end
connecting rod bearings and the energy generation rates
at varying engine operating conditions. The bearing
model developed by Savonen [8] is relatively simple and
is a representative prediction of the mean cyclic bearing
performance [22].
The theory is governed by the theory of hydrodynamic
lubrication. Hydrodynamic theory for dynamically loaded
journal bearings (main and con rod bearings) is very
complex. But, relatively straight forward methods are
available to determine bearing performance for constant
speeds and constant loads. The classical short bearing
theory described by Ocvirk [23] is used.
Bearing flow can be determined based on two compo-
nents:
1. flow associated with the bearing hydrodynamic
pumping action.
2. flow due to external pressure feed.
The external pressure feed is necessary to effectively
and efficiently remove energy from the bearings. This is
provided by the main rifle. The main rifle pressure is
determined in the VECSS program using experimental
maps of rifle pressure versus engine speed. Under nor-
mal operating conditions, the rifle pressure is maintained
relatively constant by the pressure regulator.
The oil flow relations used for the main bearing and the
big-end con rod bearings are:
for main bearing oil flow,
· π
V = Cr DPs   --- + 3ε + 0.75ε 2 + 0.667ε 3 ⁄ ( 3µl ) + UCrlε (6)
3
2  
for big-end con rod bearing oil flow,
 1.2 + 11 d --- ( Cr ( 1 + ε ) ) 3 PsD
·  l
V = --------------------------------------------------------------------------- + UCrlε (7)
( 12µl )
·
where, V is bearing oil volumetric flow rate, Cr bearing
radial clearance, D bearing shaft diameter, Ps main rifle
oil pressure, ε bearing eccentricity, U rotational speed of
7 bearing shaft with respect to bearing housing, l axial
length of bearing, d oil supply hole diameter, and µ
dynamic viscosity of oil.
The first term in both the equations is the pressure
induced flow component. The second term represents
the oil flow due to the hydrodynamic bearing pumping
action when using the short bearing theory.
After the oil flow to each of these bearings is determined,
the second step is to calculate the rise in temperature of
the oil flow, given the inlet temperature. For this, the rate
of frictional work for the oil is calculated and assuming
that the oil carries away all of this energy, the exit temper-
ature for the oil is evaluated.
A simple equation adopted from the short bearing theory
to calculate frictional power is:
U 2 µlr2π
E = -------------------------------------
- (8)
[ Cr ( 1 – ε 2 ) 0.5 ]
where E is the rate of frictional work produced by bear-
ing.
Modeling of this complete heat transfer mechanism is
avoided in the analysis and since, the generated bearing
energy is assumed to give a rise in the oil temperature,
regardless of the path it takes, we can say,
· ·
E = Q = ( m Cp ) oil ( T br1 – Tbr1 ) (9)
·
where, Q is heat transfer rate to oil from bearing,
·
( m Cp )oil heat capacitance rate of oil bearing, Tbr2 oil
temperature exiting bearing, Tbr1 oil temperature enter-
ing bearing.
One of the significant variables that has to be evaluated
is the bearing eccentricity, ε, a measure of the radial dis-
placement of the bearing shaft from the axis of the bear-
ing. As the bearing load and, therefore, the bearing
eccentricities vary significantly through out the engine
cycle, a representative or average load and a corre-
sponding eccentricity is chosen for the analysis.
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A representative load is given by [6],
A ( BHP )
P = --------------------------------------------------------------- + B ( ARM ) ( WROD ) ( RPM ) 2 (10)
( ( CYL ) ( STRK ) ( RPM ) )
where, BHP is engine brake horsepower, CYL number of
engine cylinders, STRK length of piston stroke, RPM
engine speed, ARM crankshaft radius, WROD mass of
piston and connecting rod, A conversion constant and B
semi-empirical constant to adjust the relative effects of
the inertial and gas forces.
Equation for calculation of the eccentricity at this repre-
sentative load was developed by Ocvirk [23], utilizing the
short bearing theory for a steadily applied load.
µUl 3
P = ---------------------- [ π 2 ( 1 – ε 2 ) + 16ε 2 ] 0.5
( 4 ( Cr ) 2 )
Since, values for all the terms are known except ε, this
relation can be inverted to obtain:
ε = f ( U, l, µ, Cr, P )
Value of ε is obtained numerically.
PISTON COOLING HEAT ADDITION – From a thermo-
dynamic point of view, piston cooling is undesirable. How-
ever, for engines of high specific output, piston
temperatures would become excessive if no cooling is
provided. Excessive piston temperatures encourage
engine failure by inducing thermal cracks on the piston.
Generally, pistons are cooled using a jet of oil impinging
on the under side of the piston. The aim in the piston
cooling heat addition model is to predict heat transfer to
the oil from the piston cooling mechanism.
Piston temperatures vary considerably with time and spa-
tial position. Hence, a purely analytical model to precisely
determine the heat transfer mechanism at the piston
underside is complex.
gallery temperature. The complexity of the heat transfer
process between the piston undercrown and cooling oil
was dealt by using empirical correlations. French [24]
performed a range of experiments on both rigs and
engines to study the effects of cocktail shaking on piston
cooling. It was found that with cocktail mode of heat
transfer, the heat transfer coefficient is sensitive to engine
speed. The following correlation was used to estimate the
piston cooling oil heat transfer coefficient hpc:
D 0.33 k o
h pc = A p ( Re ) 0.8 ( Pr ) 0.33  ---- ------------- (14)
 b Bore
 2b- -----
D
where, Re is Reynolds number,  ------ t  νo , b piston cavity
length, t period of piston motion, D piston cylindrical-cav-
ity diameter, k o thermal conductivity of the piston cooling
(11)
oil, and A p correlation constant.
The piston cooling oil flow rate as a function of the engine
speed was supplied by DDC [29].
(12) The heat transfer rate evaluated is used to calculate the
exit temperature of the cooling oil using the equation:
·
Q = ( mCp ) oil ( Tpc2 – T pc1 ) (15)
Here ( mCp ) oil is heat capacity of oil, Tpc2 temperature
of exiting oil, and Tpc1 temperature of inlet oil.
OIL SUMP – At all operating conditions, about 50% of
the oil in the system is contained in the oil sump. Hence,
the oil sump temperature is the measure of the perfor-
mance of the oil system. All the energy rejection from the
main and big end connecting rod bearings, the piston
cooling and the oil pump determines the oil sump oil tem-
perature.
The first law of thermodynamics is applied to the oil sump
control volume in order to obtain an energy balance, Fig-
ure 8.

A semi-empirical method was developed by Savonen [8]

which is similar in scope to the lumped parameter repre-
sentation. The piston cooling mechanism is formulated main conrod piston
as a steady-state one dimensional heat transfer problem bearing bearing cooling
in the axial direction of the engine cylinder. Hence, the accessories
heat flow is given by, Q spy
regulated
· T gas – Toil Q pmp oil
Q = --------------------------- (13) Q amb
R tot
· Q crk
where, R tot = 1 ⁄ ( hcn A ) + 1 ⁄ ( kA ) + 1 ⁄ ( hpc A ) , Q heat trans- oil pum p
fer rate to oil from piston, hcn heat transfer coefficient on
the gas side, t thickness of piston, K thermal conductivity Figure 8. Energy balance for the oil sump
of piston, hpc heat transfer coefficient on the oil side, Tgas
average cycle gas temperature, Toil oil temperature The governing equation for the sump is:
impinging on the piston.
dTs · ·
The values for Tgas and hcn are estimated by the engine ( MC )sump
dt
= ∑ ( m c ) i Ti – ( m c )pump Ts + ∑ Q (16)
model developed by Mohan [4]. Oil temperature imping-
ing on the piston, Toil, is assumed to be equal to the main

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where, cooler reduces the air temperature before entering the

engine for combustion.
∑ ( m c )i Ti
· · ·
= ( n + 1 ) ( m c )Tmb + n ( m c )Trb
· · · TURBOCHARGER MODEL – The turbocharger is made
+ n ( m c )T pc + ( m c )Tacc + ( m c )Trg of two primary elements: a turbine and a compressor. It is
one of the essential elements in a high specific power
∑Q = Q pmp + Q spy – Q amb – Q crk
diesel engines. The primary role of the turbocharger is to
use the energy from the exhaust gases to provide a
Here Ts is mean oil temperature, Ti oil temperature to oil
higher air mass flow rate into the engine. This provides a
sump, n number of cylinders, Tmb oil temperature leaving
higher mass of air in the cylinder and at the same time
main bearing, Trb oil temperature leaving conrod bearing,
allows a proportionally greater amount of fuel to be
Tpc oil temperature leaving piston, Tacc oil temperature
added during each cycle. The additional fueling ability, for
entering sump from accessories (equal to main gallery
a given engine, will increase the maximum power output
temp.), Trg oil temperature leaving regulator, rise in
capability of the engine.
internal energy due to pump, oil spray heat addition,
internal energy rise for crankshaft, and heat Typically, as the high temperature exhaust gases flow to
transfer to ambient air. the turbine, part of the energy in the gas is converted to
output shaft work. The mechanical energy through the
The oil pan used for the DDC series 60 engine is made of
shaft is used to drive the compressor. Hence, the com-
fiber glass. Hence, a one dimensional heat transfer
pressor uses the work to compress the air to higher pres-
model involving convection heat transfer on the oil and air
sure and temperature (greater density).
side along with conduction through the pan material was
developed. Appropriate fiber glass properties are A simple turbocharger model was developed which does
included for determination of the heat loss to ambient air not consider the inertia effects which cause the turbo-
[22]. charger lag during transient mode of operation. Perfor-
mance maps of the compressor and turbine obtained
Heat flow is given by:
from DDC were entered into the simulation in a tabular
· T oil – Tair form. At each time step of the simulation program the
Q = ------------------------------------------------------ (17) tables were interpolated to get the required information.
 ------------
1
- + -------- + -------------
t 1
 h oil A KA h air A This two-dimensional interpolation involved determining
· four unknown variables from two known map variables.
where, Q is heat transfer rate to air from oil, hoil heat The known variables were the speed and load. The vari-
transfer coefficient on the oil side, t thickness of pan, K ables to be determined were the mass flow rate out of the
thermal conductivity of pan, hair heat transfer coefficient compressor, efficiency, pressure ratio, and rotor speed.
on the air side, Tair engine compartment air temperature, Efficiency, pressure ratio, and rotor speed are used to
and Toil oil temperature in the oil sump. calculate the outlet temperature of air [22].
Although the turbocharger was not modeled directly with
INTAKE CHARGE AIR CIRCUIT
the inertia effects, a lag was incorporated in the compres-
sor rotor speed by means of an exponential curve, so that
The intake charge air circuit is another important circuit in
a step change in the engine speed and/or load would not
the VECSS simulation program, as it evaluates the tem-
result in a step change in the rotor speed.This helped in
perature and mass of the intake air into the engine for
better predictions of the turbochrger outlet air tempera-
engine cycle analysis. A model was developed using the
ture and mass flow rate predictions during the transient
compressor maps provided by DDC as well as using
modes.
empirical and analytical formulations. It consists of the
turbocharger, charge air cooler and transient pipe lines The following equations are used.
connecting turbocharger and charge air cooler and
For increasing rotor speed modes:
charge air cooler and the engine. This is the first time
such a model of turbocharger delay and pipe line heat
transfer have been introduced in the VECSS program to (18)
calculate temperature and pressure drop.
For decreasing rotor speed modes:
After the combustion process and during the exhaust
stroke, hot gases flow into the exhaust manifold. The
exhaust gases have temperatures ranging from 427 to (19)
649°C (800 to 1200°F), depending on the speed and load
of the engine. Then the gases flow to the turbine of the where, ω actual is rotor speed calculated (rad/sec), ω map
turbocharger. The turbocharger uses this energy to com- rotor speed from DDC supplied map (rad/sec), ∆t time
press the air going into the engine. In the process, the step size for VECSS program (sec), τ i and τ d average
temperature of the intake air increases. The charge air time constants for the turbocharger acceleration and
deceleration respectively (sec).

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The time constants were determined through optimiza-
tion by observing the standard deviation of the differ-
ences between the predicted and experimental data for
runs 4,5, and 6 [5]. τ i and τ d are 175 ms and 140 ms
respectively. Transient runs that are presented in the
companion paper [5] were based on these values. Typi-
cally the differences observed were within 5.5°C (10°F).
If ideal gases are assumed and kinetic energy effects are
eliminated, the equations for compressor outlet flow tem-
perature and compressor shaft torque can be computed:
· with the condenser.
W isentropic
η = ----------------------------
· -
W actual
γ–1
T2, isentropic P 2 -----------
-------------------------------- =  ------ γ
T1  P 1
· ·
Wisentropic = m Cp ( T2, isentropic – T 1 )
·
·
W = m Cp ( T 2 – T1 )
γ–1
 1  ------2 γ – 1 
P -----------
T2 = T 1  1 + ---  (24)
η  P 1
 
·
W actual = t⋅ω
· γ–1
m CpT1 P 2 -----------
t = --------------------  ------ γ – 1
ηω  P 1
where, η is compressor efficiency, t torque on the shaft, ω
shaft rotational speed, T2 temperature out of compres-
·
sor, T1 temperature into compressor, W work rate, m· Cp
heat capacity of the intake air, P2/P1 pressure ratio for the
compressor, and γ ratio of Cp/Cv.
CHARGE AIR COOLER MODEL – The air coming out of
the turbocharger is at an increased temperature. To
increase the intake air density into the engine, the air is
cooled in the charge air cooler. Hence, the charge air
cooler is placed between the turbocharger and the
engine. This results in increased air mass to the engine,
making it possible to burn more fuel and make the com-
bustion more complete. The combustion starts at a lower
temperature thus reducing peak temperatures and pres-
sures in the engine. Also, the charge air cooling provides
other improvements such as fuel economy, increased
power density and reduced emissions, particularly partic-
ulate matter and oxides of nitrogen. All of these factors
result in reduced thermal and mechanical stresses com-
pared to the non-aftercooled turbocharged engine result-
ing in increased durability and reliability.
The charge air coolers can be of two types, air-to-water
and air-to-air type. Previously in the low flow system, the
charge air cooler or the aftercooler used was a air to
water type heat exchanger. It was positioned within the
coolant circuit after the radiator. The inlet air in this case
could be cooled to a certain desired degree during light
load conditions and at low ambient temperatures, thus
improving the combustion. However, the coolant being at
higher temperature than the ambient air, the degree of
cooling that can be achieved at high loads is limited.
The present system has an air-to-air cooler. A lower
engine intake air temperature is obtained by directly uti-
lizing the ambient air as the cooling medium. By provid-
ing this kind of a cooler, the temperature can be reduced
to about 22-28°C (40-50°F) higher than the ambient tem-
perature. However, the air-to-air system while achieving a
higher degree of cooling, introduces more resistance to
be overcome by the fan in the ram air flow. Hence, higher
temperature and less air flows over the radiator. The
cooler in the present configuration is mounted in parallel
(20)
The charge air cooler was modeled as a quasi-steady
state model. It is a plate-fin type heat exchanger with off-
(21) set strip fins. The offset surface design destroys the
established velocity profile and initiates a new and thin-
ner boundary layer at each break in the system. This
(22)
resulted in increase in both the heat transfer and pres-
(23) sure drop which is the function of the fin offset length.
The procedure for modeling the charge air cooler
involves calculating the effectiveness and pressure drop
as developed and described by Mohan [4].
(25) CHARGE AIR COOLER PIPES – Air pipe lines serve as
connecting conduit between the turbocharger and the
(26) charge air cooler and from the charge air cooler to the
engine intake manifold. During passage of the air through
the pipe lines, there is a drop in the temperature and
pressure of the charge air. This is because of the heat
loss to the surrounding ambient air, which is at a lower
temperature than the charge air and the pressure drop is
due to internal friction of the pipe line.
The heat loss and pressure drop of the air within the pipe
lines must be quantified, since they are factors which will
affect the state of the intake air to the engine.
A transient analysis of the connecting pipe lines devel-
oped by Huang [25] was incorporated in the simulation.
The pipe line was assumed to have no bends or curva-
tures. Applying the first law of thermodynamics, we get a
set of three coupled equations, as in case of the radiator
modeling. The three equations when solved simulta-
neously would give the energy exchange in the element
[22].
These are:
1. Pipe:
dT m
( mC p ) m = h f A f ( T f – Tm ) – h a A a ( T m – T a ) (27)
dt
2. Internal charge air:
dT f
( mCp ) f = ( mC p ) f ( T f, i – T f, o ) – h f Af ( T f – Tm ) (28)
dt
3. Ambient air:
dT a
( mC p )a = ( mCp ) a ( T a, i – T a, o ) – h a A a ( Ta – Tm ) (29)
dt
where, all terms are explained in the radiator model.
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The following assumptions were made in developing the
above differential equations:
• The thermodynamic properties of the air are constant
within an element.
• The diffusivity through the air and pipe material are
minimal.
• Changes in kinetic and potential energy are negligi-
ble.
• Heat transfer due to frictional work on the control sur-
face is negligible.
Before we can solve the above equations, the heat trans-
fer coefficients for inner and outer sides have to be evalu-
ated. The forced convection correlations for cross flow
over cylinders was used to calculate the heat transfer
coefficients, and is of the form:
Nu = c ( Re ) m ( Pr ) 1 / 3
where, Nu is Nusselt number, Re Reynolds number, Pr
Prandtl number, c and m are correlation coefficients as a
function of Reynolds number
Later the three equations were solved using Euler explicit
method [25].
The pressure loss in the pipe were determined using
Darcy-Weisbach equation [26],
ρV 2 f∆L
∆P = ---------- ---------
2 Dh
where, ∆P pressure drop, D h hydraulic diameter, V
velocity, ∆L length of pipe, f is the Darcy friction factor.
HEAT TRANSFER MODEL FOR THE ENGINE
Heat transfer in the engine affects its performance, effi-
ciency, and emissions. If the heat transfer within the
engine is reduced, problems such as thermal stresses in
the high temperature regions, and deterioration of the
lubricating oil film can occur. An increase of heat transfer
to the combustion chamber walls will lower the gas tem-
perature and pressure within the cylinder, and in turn will
reduce the work per cycle transferred to the piston.
Hence, heat transfer between the gas in the cylinder and
the gas-exposed cylinder surfaces is important from
three aspects:
1. the effect on the thermodynamic cycle and its effi-
ciency and emissions,
2. the effect of the resulting metal temperatures on the
operation of the different components, and
3. the energy transferred to the coolant and the oil in
turn needs to be removed from the system by the
radiator.
Changes in the gas temperature due to heat transfer
impact pollutant emission formation processes. Gener-
ally, a higher temperature in the cylinder during combus-
tion will cause an increase in the NOx emissions, but a
lower temperature in the cylinder will affect the oxidation
of the particulate matter. Therefore, in the sense of emis-
sions control, attention should be focussed on engine
heat transfer.
Since heat transfer is so important in engines, an appro-
priate model had to be developed. All the engine heat
transfer models developed previously in the VECSS pro-
gram by Mohan [4] calculated the heat transfer to the pis-
ton, cylinder head, and cylinder block based on the metal
mass average temperatures and a constant liner, head,
and piston temperature. As these temperatures are much
lower than the actual metal surface temperatures, the
heat transfer rates predicted were higher. Thus, the aim
of the heat transfer calculations in the new simulation
model are twofold:
1. To compute instantaneous heat transfer rates at each
incremental time step for the VECSS, and
(30) 2. To compute mean surface temperatures for the three
gas-exposed surfaces (liner, head, and piston) at the
end of each cycle calculation.
The following assumptions were made to simulate the
one-dimensional unsteady heat transfer model:
• A time averaged gas temperature (cycle average) is
used for the analysis of the heat transfer rate to the
piston, head, and liner. This is an accurate method to
calculate the cycle average heat transfer even though
gas temperature varies with crank angle and in turn
(31) the instantaneous heat transfer varies as a function
of crank angle.
• The instantaneous heat transfer coefficient for each
gas-exposed surface is uniform.
• There are no heat transfer effects from surface
deposits on either side of the wall (gas and coolant ).
• Each surface has a uniform temperature over its
area; that is, the surface temperature variations
across a particular area are neglected.
• The heat transfer surface temperatures are constant
with crank angle; i.e. cyclic variations are not consid-
ered.
• Heat transfer by conduction through the piston, cylin-
der head, and the cylinder block are analyzed on a
one-dimensional basis.
• Temperature of the mass of the coolant around the
cylinder head and block is considered to be uniform.
The engine cylinder heat transfer model was divided into
nine different control volumes. The control volumes were:
cylinder liner surface, cylinder block mass, cylinder head
surface, cylinder head mass, piston surface, piston mass,
piston cooling oil, coolant in the block, and coolant in the
head.
In the previous VECSS version, the model was divided
into only six control volumes, out of which three were, the
liner, head, and piston mass volumes. With the new
model each of these three control volumes was further
divided into two volumes, one representing the surface
and the other the main mass, resulting in nine control vol-
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umes. The surface was assumed to be a thin layer of
mass, approximated to be one-eighth of the total mass.
Heat transfer from the combustion chamber is calculated
using the temperature of the thin layer. One-dimensional
heat transfer is assumed between the surface control vol-
ume and the mass control volume. Energy rejection to
the coolant and the oil is based on the mass control vol-
ume temperature. Energy rejection to the engine com-
partment air is based on the block and head mass control
volume temperature.
For each of the nine control volumes, the unsteady form
of the first law of thermodynamics is applied, considering
enthalpy flux, convective and radiative heat transfer,
energy stored, and a mass averaged temperature distri-
bution. The resulting nine time dependent equations
were then solved to obtain the new temperatures for the
metal and exit temperatures for the coolant and oil.
CYLINDER BLOCK – The cylinder block was divided into
two control volumes: the cylinder liner surface and the
cylinder block mass. The liner surface control volume
receives heat from the in-cylinder gas and piston and
rejects it to the block mass control volume. The volume
which receives heat from the liner surface control volume
rejects heat to the block coolant and to the engine com-
partment air. The unsteady form of first law of thermody-
namics, describing this process, is shown in Figure 9,
and the equations are:
Figure 9. Engine cylinder block control volumes
For liner surface:
(32)
For block mass:
(33)
where,
gas, rad: Cycle-averaged radiative heat transfer rate from
gases to liner surface
15
gas, conv: Cycle-averaged convective heat transfer rate
from gases to liner surface
piston: Heat transfer rate from piston to liner surface
cond: Conductive heat transfer rate from liner surface
control volume to block mass control volume
amb, rad: Radiative heat transfer rate from block mass to
the engine compartment air
amb, conv: Convective heat transfer rate from block mass
to the engine compartment air
coolant: Convective heat transfer to coolant
where the subscripts are i for liner surface control vol-
ume, o for block mass control volume, w cylinder block.
The gas side heat transfer coefficient and the average
cycle gas temperature is calculated by the engine cycle
analysis program [4]. Other convective and radiative heat
transfer rates were approximated by modeling the engine
block as a square cylinder [16].
(34)
(35)
The convective heat transfer coefficient for the air side is
defined as [16]:
(36)
and the radiative emissivity from the cast iron block mass
control volume is assumed to be ε amb = 0.44 , where, Two
is block mass temperature, Tamb engine compartment air
temperature, Ab block area exposed to engine compart-
ment air, and le effective engine length.
Also,
(37)
where, hc is coolant side heat transfer coefficient, Ac sur-
face area of block exposed to the coolant, Tc2 tempera-
ture of the coolant leaving the control volume, and [16],
(38)
where, kc is the thermal conductivity of the coolant.
Similarly, for the cylinder head and piston, the heat trans-
fer coefficients are determined. The governing equations
and the control volumes are detailed in the following
paragraphs without discussing the heat transfer coeffi-
cients.
CYLINDER HEAD – Similar to the cylinder block, the cyl-
inder head is also divided into two control volumes: the
head surface and the head mass. The head surface vol-
ume receives heat from the in-cylinder gas and exhaust
gases, and rejects heat to the cylinder mass. Whereas,
the cylinder mass rejects heat to the coolant, and engine
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compartment air. Only the convective mode of heat trans-
fer from the exhaust gas to the head surface volume was
assumed since this dominates the total exhaust port heat
transfer due to high exhaust port velocities. The control
volume analysis for the cylinder head is similar to that of
the cylinder block.
For head surface:
(39)
For head mass:
(40)
·
where [4], Q ex = h ex A ep ( T e – T hi ) , Aep exhaust port heat
transfer area, hex heat transfer coefficient, T e cycle aver-
aged exhaust gas temperature, and T hi cylinder head
surface temperature.
PISTON – Similar analysis was performed for the piston
surface and the piston mass control volume. The follow-
ing correlation was used to estimate the piston cooling oil
heat transfer coefficient hcp [4]:
(41)
where, Re is Reynolds number, (2b/t)D/ υ o , b piston cav-
ity length, D piston cylindrical-cavity diameter, D' = D/b,
k o thermal conductivity of the piston cooling oil, A cp cor-
relation constant.
COOLANT IN BLOCK AND HEAD – An energy balance
for the block and head coolant results in an equation
which describes the temperature response of the block
coolant.
For the block:
(42)
For the head:
(43)
where, m· c is mass flow rate of the coolant, M Cb and
M Ch : coolant mass in the block and head respectively,
T c1 temperature of the coolant entering the block control
volume, T c2 temperature of the coolant leaving the block
or entering the head volume, and T c3 temperature of the
coolant leaving head
PISTON COOLING OIL – The piston cooling oil control
volume receives heat from the piston undercrown. The
piston cooling flow rate as a function of engine speed
was supplied by DDC. The first law energy balance yields
[22]:
(44)
16
SOLUTION TO THE SYSTEM OF EQUATIONS – The
differential equations developed in the previous section
represent a coupled system of equations, which, when
solved simultaneously, represent the time dependent
behavior of the engine cylinder heat transfer model. The
system of equations were discretized by using the first
order implicit scheme. The resulting matrix was solved
using the Gaussian method with partial pivoting. The
matrix was solved iteratively due to temperature depen-
dent properties and radiative heat transfer until tempera-
tures converged on their new values. Convergence
checking was done by calculation of the error [16].
RAM AIR/ENGINE COMPARTMENT COOLING
AIRFLOW MODEL
The coolant and the oil cooling system is designed to
limit the temperatures in the various engine parts. There-
fore, how to design the cooling system for sufficient cool-
ing airflow during worst case situations with maximum
power consumption has always been a major concern.
The worst case situations are high ambient temperature,
full load, and low vehicle speed, such as the case
encountered in going up a steep mountain in desert con-
ditions.
Cooling airflow is either generated due to the ram air
effect of the vehicle motion and/or by the cooling air fan.
Because of the complex geometry, complex airflow pat-
terns are induced along the flow passage through the
charge-air-cooler, radiator, shroud, and over the engine.
These flows are not easily understood even from good
experimental studies. To achieve a more precise predic-
tion of the engine cooling system performance, an analyt-
ical model of the cooling airflow system was developed
by Chang [2] in 1990.
The fan is run by a variable speed clutch drive. A pulse
width modulator sends a pulse to the variable speed
clutch. The pulse width depends on the coolant tempera-
ture at the radiator top tank. For the Kysor DST fan
installed in the Freightliner truck, when the radiator top
tank temperature is less than 87.8°C (190°F), the fan
speed is 0.45 times the engine speed. As the coolant
temperature increases from 87.8 to 96.1°C (190 to
205°F), the pulse width changes the fan speed from 0.45
to 1.12 times (a non-linear curve) the engine speed. The
fan speed factor data is based on the experimental data
and is included in the fan model in a tabular form. During
code validation, the program was tested for two limiting
cases; one where the fan is off, and the other where the
fan was run at a constant speed regardless of the vari-
able clutch drive. These cases will be presented later
labeled as fan: OFF and fan: ON respectively. All other
test runs presented are under the variable clutch drive
feature added to the software where a 3.9°C (7°F) hyster-
esis is also built in the fan engagement to disengagement
period.
The conventional cooling airflow passage consists of the
grill, condenser, charge air cooler, radiator, shroud, fan,
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and engine compartment. One of the primary objectives
of this work was to enhance the accuracy and reliability of
the Vehicle Engine Cooling System Simulation (VECSS)
by incorporating Chang’s model [2] using performance
characteristics of the fan, radiator, shutter, and the sys-
tem installation dimensions.
The following were the outline of the specific goals:
• include the fan, radiator, and shutter performance
characteristics,
• incorporate the branch flow in the engine compart-
ment,
• incorporate the system installation physical dimen-
sions, and
• identify empirical constants and necessary experi-
mental data required.
FLOW RESISTANCE IN THE AIRFLOW PASSAGE –
The cooling air passage is essentially treated as a one-
dimensional duct network. The total core flow area of the
radiator is used as the duct cross sectional area, and the
core flow hydraulic diameter is used as the diameter. A
similar set of simplifications is applied to the other flow
area components.
Fluid head losses can be generally categorized into two
sources - the skin friction and the pressure force. The
flow resistance due to skin friction is characterized by the
friction factor ‘f’. The pressure loss is [2]:
(45)
where, At total friction surface area, A cross sectional
area, Swet wetted perimeter, and l passage length.
The secondary loss is called the minor loss, which results
from the separation of the flow and secondary flow that
occurs whenever there is a change in the cross-sectional
area. The resistance associated with the minor losses is
characterized by the local resistance coefficient ‘k’.
(46)
The flow resistance characteristics of the complete cool-
ing circuit can be specified by the friction factor ‘f’ and the
head loss (local resistance) coefficient ‘k’ for each section
through the passage. These factors are specified as a
data block, and used approximately depending on the
current grid element in the one-dimensional passage.

The computational domain of the airflow system was The pressure losses are used to calculate the external
divided into 35 equally spaced nodal points from the front force term in the governing momentum equation
of the grill to back of the fan. The region around the (described later). For the skin friction [2],
engine was additionally divided in 7,10, 6 and 6 nodal
points for the top, bottom, left and right side of the engine
(47)
respectively. Depending on the physical dimensional rela-
tionship between the various components like the grill For the minor loss coefficient [2],
(Nodal points 1-2), CAC and condensor (Nodal points 7-
13), radiator (Nodal points 16-21), and fan (Nodal points
26-34), the free flow area at each nodal point was calcu- (48)
lated. The free flow area for individual components was
where, lk is the length in which minor loss occurs (m).
calculated from the component drawings supplied by the
respective manufacturers. The position of the compo- Both of these external force terms are added together
nents in the system was measured in the Freightliner while solving the governing equations.
FLD120 truck. The hydraulic diameter is evaluated using
It appears that it is desirable to have f-Re and k-Re [26]
the free flow area and the wetted perimeter, which is also
curves which specify these coefficients as a function of
calculated from the supplied component drawings. The
the Reynolds number, that is easier and directly applica-
engine compartment and airflow branching areas and
ble to the complete geometrical flow passage.
nodal points for the Freightliner FLD 120 truck are shown
in Figure 10. Finally, it sometimes occurs that the local resistance is
high near the shroud, engine compartment and the joints.
Experimentally determined pressure drop data at known
Abrupt contractions and expansions in these areas lead
airflow velocity is used to calculate the skin friction fac-
to the usage of the following empirical approximation
tor(f) for all the components and hence the nodal points.
[26]:
The free flow area, hydraulic diameter and the skin fric-
tion factor at each nodal point along with fan characteris-
tics and heat rejection from the radiator, condensor and (49)
CAC are used as inputs to the airflow subroutine.
where, d smaller diameter (exit for contraction), D larger
The free flow area hydraulic diameter and the skin friction diameter (inlet for contraction). As mentioned earlier, in
for the branching over the engine are exprimentally deter- the calculations the effective external force term is calcu-
mined by Chang [20]. lated after the skin friction and local resistance coeffi-
cients have been evaluated.

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A branch flow simplification is applied in Chang’s airflow

SHROU D
model [2], in which a quasi 3D separation of branches is
A IR F L O W observed. Four branches, in the top, bottom, right and left

CHAR GE COO LER

directions, are modeled, as shown in Figure 10. Each
B ranch 1
(A rea : 0.21) branch is regarded as a one-dimensional duct with vari-
B ranch 3

R A D IATO R
SHUTTER
(A rea: 0.17)
FA N
able cross-sectional area, having distinct length, resis-

G R IL L
B ranch 4
(A rea: 0.17)
tance, and heat transfer qualities.
B ranch 2
(A rea: 0.20)
The heat transfer inside the engine compartment is

CONDENSO R
A IR F L O W based on the results predicted by VECSS, in which the
engine block is approximately modeled as a square cylin-
0.7
der having convective and radiative heat transfer rates.
0.6
0.5
The gross heat transfer rate [2] predicted is divided into

A REA
(sq.m )
0.4
0.3 four parts.
0.2
35 1 0.1
N O D E P O IN T S
GOVERNING EQUATIONS – The governing equations
Figure 10. Airflow branching in engine compartment are derived as an extension to the gas dynamic model.
The one dimensional dynamic model is generally used
FAN PERFORMANCE – According to laws of conserva- for unsteady, compressible flow in a complex duct net-
tion of momentum and energy, for a steady airflow work. One form of the model, that is applicable to the air-
through an axial fan operating at a constant speed, the flow simulation, is as follows [2]:
net thrust force acting on the air by the fan blades will be
Continuity:
equal to the force resulting from the pressure difference
across the fan, and the mechanical energy obtained by
the air will be related to the power expended by the fan. (52)
Thus, the fan thrust term is [27]:
Momentum:

(50) (53)
and the fan work term is [27]: Energy:

(51) (54)
where, Ffan is net fan thrust force, ∆ps air static pressure where, Fl external force per unit length as explained in
rise across fan, Afan equivalent free flow area of fan, lfan sections. heat transfer rate per unit length (W/m), and
length of fan, PW power consumed by fan, and Cfn is fan work per unit length per unit time (W/m). Numerical
coefficient. implications and details are available in the references
[2].
The coefficient Cfn [2] reflects the power loss in the fan
bearings, and is usually close to 1.0. Experimentally
EXTENSION TO BRANCH FLOW CONDITIONS – In the
determined ∆ps-Q curves and PW-Q curves, where Q is
above duct calculations, only one inlet and one outlet is
the flow rate (∆p/resistance), were used as fan character-
involved. At a node along this path, the general case of
istics. The instantaneous operating point of the fan is
one-dimensional flow with branches is applied.
determined using the volumetric flow rate entering the
fan. The application of mass and energy conservation laws,
combined with a modified pressure calculation at each
When applying these curves to a case with air density
branch exit and entry results in the following equations.
and fan speed that do not equal the specified values, cor-
rection of the fan characteristic is required [2,22,27]. The Continuity:
following proportionalities are applied for the correction:
Q∝n, ∆ps∝n2, and PW∝n3 where n is the fan speed. For
constant flow rate: ∆ps∝ρ and PW∝ρ. (55)

BRANCH FLOW IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT – Energy:

By treating the cooling air path as an equivalent one-
dimensional duct, the gross air flow and heat transferred
can be computed with sufficient accuracy. However, this (56)
cannot provide any detail about the spatial flow field of
the air in the engine compartment.

18
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Pressure:

(57)

(58)
The constant Ki is experimentally determined [2]. It repre-
sents the pressure drop coefficient, and the pressure loss
is assumed to be a function of the local Mach number.

RESULTS

The results of the VECSS model predictions will be intro-

duced next under three separate categories. These are:
the validation of the improved heat transfer model used in
the engine cycle analysis, the energy balance on the
engine model and the implementention of the engine
compartment air flow model with and without the fan Figure 11. Fuel flow rate into the engine at two different
operating. engine speeds

VALIDATION OF REVISED ENGINE MODEL – The un-

steady heat transfer model developed was incorporated
in the engine program developed by Mohan [4]. A similar
study like Mohan [4] carried out had to be done in order
to validate the engine program with the enhanced heat
transfer model to the steady state data on engine brake
power, brake specific fuel consumption, and exhaust tem-
perature supplied by DDC at 1200 and 1800 rpm. This
was conducted using a stand-alone engine program with
the heat transfer model. The inputs to the model were the
fuel flow rate and the engine speed given in Figures 11.
The program was run until all temperatures reached
steady state. The predicted data for A/F ratio, boost pres-
sure, brake horsepower, bsfc, and exhaust temperature,
show good agreement with the experimental data (within
2%), Figures 12,13 ,14,15,16.
Additional predicted properties such as piston surface
temperature, cylinder head surface temperature, and Figure 12. Calculated air to fuel ratio varying with the
liner surface temperature variations are shown in Figures engine load in BMEP (Bar)
17,18,19.
The coolant temperature rise in the engine is more for
1200 rpm, Figure 20, as would be expected, because of
lower coolant flow rate. The predicted oil temperature out
of the piston is also shown in Figure 21.

Figure 13. The boost pressure with engine load

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Figure 17. Piston surface temperature variation with load

Figure 14. Comparison of the output power at different and speed
engine speeds

Figure 18. Cylinder head surface temperature variation

Figure 15. BSFC predictions at 1200 & 1800 rpm with speed and load

Figure 16. Exhaust temperature predictions at 1200 & Figure 19. Liner surface temperature with speed and load
1800 rpm

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Figure 22. Control volume for energy balance on the

engine

Table 2 provides the magnitude of the energy rejection

rates to the coolant and oil at various speeds and loads.
Figure 20. Coolant temperature rise predictions in the As can be noted, the frictional power between the piston
engine and the cylinder wall as well as the bearing frictional
power increase with increase in engine speed. The brake
horse power of the engine, the energy in the exhaust
gases and the heat transfer to the coolant depend on the
energy coming into the engine, i.e., the fuel flow rate.
Only about 2-3% of the energy in the fuel is unaccounted
for except at 1200 rpm where 7% is unaccounted for. The
results are in good agreement with the published litera-
ture [28].

Table 2. Magnitudes for First Law Check on Energy

Balance in kW
Engine speed 1200 1350 1500 1650 1800

(rpm) kW % kW % kW % kW % kW %
Fuel in 608.8 100 670.3 100 740.5 100 715.0 100 677.8 100

Brake power 224.8 36.9 251.4 37.5 280.8 37.9 269.8 37.7 252.5 37.2

Exhaust 233.0 38.3 277.6 41.4 313.3 42.3 295.9 41.4 274.5 40.5

Figure 21. Temperature rise predictions for piston cooling
oil
FIRST LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS CHECK ON
ENGINE HEAT BALANCE – The overall first law energy
balance for the engine provides useful information on the
flow of the chemical energy in the fuel. It also acts as a
validation for the VECSS software. For the control volume
which surrounds the engine (refer to Figure 22), the
steady-state energy conservation equation is:
(59)
where, he is exhaust enthalpy, heat transfer rate to oil
which includes friction between piston and cylinder wall,
bearing friction, etc., heat transfer rate to the engine
compartment air by convection and radiation, brake
power, hf lower heating value of fuel, ha air enthalpy,
mass of air, mass of fuel, and mass of coolant.
Coolant 78.5 12.9 89.1 13.3 96.8 13.1 95.0 13.3 93.2 13.8
Piston
friction 18.7 3.07 20.7 3.09 23.8 3.21 27.7 3.87 31.3 4.62
Bearing 2.99 0.49 3.60 0.54 4.43 0.60 5.13 0.72 5.92 0.87
friction
Oil splash 5.15 0.85 6.27 0.94 7.15 0.97 7.24 1.01 7.17 1.06
Piston
cooling oil 1.88 0.31 2.13 0.32 2.27 0.31 2.25 0.31 2.21 0.33
Engine
Compartment air
1.80 0.29 2.19 0.33 4.11 0.55 2.38 0.33 3.46 0.51
Total energy out 566.8 93.1 652.9 97.4 732.6 98.9 705.4 98.6 670.2 98.9
FAN MODEL PREDICTIONS – The model was tested for
two conditions of the fan, ON and OFF. For both these
tests the wind speed, vehicle velocity, ambient air tem-
perature, atmospheric pressure, relative humidity, and
radiator energy rejection were held constant.
CASE 1: Fan OFF – All the parameters given below are
inputs to the airflow program, which describe the operat-
ing conditions for the test.

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Windspeed + Vehicle velocity: 15 + 61.75 = 76.75 mph

Ambient air temperature: 27°C (80.6°F)
Atmospheric pressure: 101325 Pa = 1 atm.
Relative humidity: 85%
Radiator heat rejection: 4481.2 W

Table 3. Predictions of AIRFLOW model when the fan is

OFF
Actual
Free flow
At Friction Temperature volume Mass flow
Branch area
node Coefficient (deg C) flow rate rate (kg/s)
(sq.m)
(ACMS)
Main 18 0.51 0.21 41.56 2.91 3.27

1 4 0.21 1.20 82.39 0.74 0.72 Figure 25. Pressure variation when fan is OFF for main
2 5 0.20 3.80 81.22 0.08 0.09 branch
3 3 0.17 3.90 81.72 1.11 1.23 *Note: Grill (1-2), Condenser and CAC (7-13), Radiator
4 3 0.17 3.40 81.83 1.17 1.24
(16-21), Shroud (24-32), Fan(26-34)
Figure 23 and Figure 24 depicts the airflow velocity and
Table 3 gives the actual volume flow rate and mass flow the actual volume flow rate at each node in the main
rate predictions for the test case when fan is off. The branch and the temperature and density variation plots
table gives the number of nodes that were . The free flow respectively. As the air flows over the radiator, energy
area, the friction coefficient and the predicted volume transfer from the radiator increases the temperature of
flow rate and mass flow rate are given at the central (or the air, decreasing the density (node points 14 to 21).
midpoint) node of each branch, i.e. node 18 for main This results in increase in the actual volumetric flow rate,
branch, node 4 for branch 1, node 5 for branch 2, and since the mass flow is conserved. For the case I, the air
node 3 for branch 3 and 4. pressure keeps decreasing from the front of the grill until
the end of the fan as shown in Figure .

CASE 2: Fan ON – The input parameters which describe

Figure 23. Velocity and airflow rate when fan is OFF
*Note: Grill (1-2), Condenser and CAC (7-13), Radiator
(16-21), Shroud (24-32), Fan(26-34)
the operating condition for this test are as follows,
Wind speed + Vehicle velocity: 15 + 61.75 = 76.75 mph
Ambient air temperature: 27°C (80.6°F)
Atmospheric pressure: 101325 Pa = 1 atm.
Relative humidity: 85%
Radiator heat rejection: 4481.2 W
Table 4 gives the predicted volume flow rate and mass
flow rate for the central nodes for each branch. Figure 26
shows the rise in temperature of the air as it passes over
the radiator and the corresponding drop in pressure. This
increases the actual volumetric flow rate in the radiator as
shown in Figure 27. The pressure of the air decreases
until nodal point 25, and then rises from 26 to 35 because
of the condition that the fan is ON as shown in Figure 27.

Table 4. Predictions of AIRFLOW model when the fan is

ON
Actual
Free flow
At Friction Temperature volume Mass flow
Branch node area °C)
Coefficient (° flow rate rate (kg/s)
(sq.m)
(ACMS)

Main 18 0.51 0.21 52.00 4.01 4.48

1 4 0.21 1.20 70.72 1.86 1.86

2 5 0.20 3.80 69.72 0.46 0.54

3 3 0.17 3.90 70.17 0.96 1.07

Figure 24. Temperature and density variation when fan is
OFF 4 3 0.17 3.40 70.11 0.99 1.01

*Note: Grill (1-2), Condenser and CAC (7-13), Radiator

(16-21), Shroud (24-32), Fan(26-34)

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Figure 26. Temperature and density variation when fan is
ON
*Note: Grill (1-2), Condenser and CAC (7-13), Radiator
(16-21), Shroud (24-32), Fan(26-34)
Figure 27. Velocity and airflow rate when fan is ON
*Note: Grill (1-2), Condenser and CAC (7-13), Radiator
(16-21), Shroud (24-32), Fan(26-34)
Figure 28. Pressure variation when fan is ON for main
branmch
*Note: Grill (1-2), Condenser and CAC (7-13), Radiator
(16-21), Shroud (24-32), Fan(26-34)
23
All the figures show the variation of the indicated parame-
ter in the MAIN branch at each node. Comparison
between Figure 23 and Figure 27 shows that for the con-
dition that the fan is ON, the airflow velocity and volume
flow rate at all node points in the main branch is much
higher than when the fan is OFF. Since, the inlet tempera-
ture condition, and the radiator energy rejection is the
same for both cases, the temperature variation and the
density variation along the nodes remains the same. For
fan ON condition, the pressure variation curve (Figure
27), shows a drop in the pressure from nodes 1 to 26 due
to the system resistance and then shows a steep rise in
pressure from nodes 26 to 35 due to fan work. As
opposed to this, the fan OFF condition shows a continu-
ous drop in pressure from nodes 1 to 35 (Figure 25).
CONCLUSIONS
The main objective of this paper was to develop the
VECSS (ver 8.1) software program with the addition of
cooling airflow model and to validate the calculated
engine parameters as compared to the experimental data
for the improved heat transfer model. The software pro-
gram had to be enhanced and upgraded to the truck con-
figuration for which the steady-state and transient truck
data were recorded. These data are compared to the
VECSS model output data in the accompanying paper,
part 2 by Arici, et al [5]. The one-dimensional, transient,
compressible ram air / engine compartment airflow model
developed by Chang [2] was incorporated in the VECSS
program. This work enhanced the capability of the
VECSS program to accurately predict the airflow over the
radiator and in the engine compartment. The additional
feature gives the user the capability to study the tempera-
ture and pressure variation in the cooling airflow system
with a change in the system installation characteristics.
The one-dimensional, unsteady engine heat transfer
model was developed and incorporated into Mohan’s [4]
engine cycle analysis model so that time varying piston,
head, and liner temperatures could be evaluated.
In the process of validating the program the following
have been achieved:
1. The engine cycle analysis model that incorporated
the heat transfer model predicted engine brake
power, brake specific fuel consumption, and exhaust
gas temperature in good agreement with DDC’s
steady state experimental data at engine speeds of
1200 and 1800 rpm for which it was validated (within
1.5%).
2. The radiator model developed was validated with
Behr McCord’s steady state heat rejection data so
that the agreement was within 2%.
3. The oil cooler model was modified, and extensively
validated against DDC’s effectiveness data (within
2%), and incorporated into the VECSS.
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4. The first law energy balance check on the engine
cycle analysis model showed good agreement with
the energy in the fuel.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors acknowledge the continued financial and
technical support by Kysor Cooling Systems of the
Schwitzer Group. In particular, we want to express our
appreciation to Vince Ursini from Kysor for his efforts in
collecting the vehicle test data used for the validation,
and valuable comments on the thermostat and fan mod-
els. Detroit Diesel Corporation is gratefully acknowledged
for providing us with extensive test data on their Series
60 12.7 L engine and also other engine related informa-
tion including help in modeling the oil circuit. John Fisher,
Chris Prichard, and Dr. Dan Ducu of DDC gave us signifi-
cant help and feedback on our modeling and validation
effort.
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