10.

Prospects of Advanced Technologies

10.1 Technologies for Better Comfort

Automotive air-conditioning has aimed to provide air-conditioning without making

passengers feel uncomfortable, neither hot or cold. One solution was the upper/lower
right/left independent temperature control, explained in Chapter 5. This unit can
control the temperature of each part independently. However, air-conditioning that
does not cause discomfort is not our ultimate goal. "Personal air-conditioning", which
can provide air-conditioning according to the individual preference and to the seat
position, might be a tentative solution but this is still far inferior to the comfort of
natural wind. Our final goal is to provide "air-conditioning with active comfort" of
fresh early summer wind, often referred to as an ultimate comfort in Haiku poetry.

(1) Personal Air-Conditioning

Even if air-conditioning unit can provide zone temperature control in the cabin space, if
the operation is too complicated, it is not comfortable any more. Our final goal of
personal air-conditioning is non-operation air-conditioning, which controls the cabin
temperature automatically by detecting the factors that affect personal thermal
sensation.

(i) Detecting the Condition

Comfortable temperature can vary depending on what you wear. If you had been
walking outside on a hot summer day, your body would be warmer than usual for a
while. Under the condition with same temperature and wind speed, thermal sensation
may vary according to the condition of a person. Therefore, it is necessary to know the
thermal condition of individual in order to provide personal air-conditioning. Studies
have indicated that skin temperature best represents the personal thermal sensation
among all bio-signals (Figure 10.1). Based on this result, a system that measures the
skin temperature of forehead and provides air-conditioning to the target skin
temperature (approx. 33°C) has been suggested (Figure 10.2).
Presently, there is no system that can measure the skin temperature of forehead with a
satisfactory accuracy. As an alternative, a thermal mannequin system (Figure 10.3)
has been developed. Different from conventional thermal mannequin, this system has
sensors for temperature, wind speed, radiation and humidity on the surface of
mannequin and calculates the skin temperature based on the readings of these sensors.
The system can provide the thermal sensation as a visual display. Relationship
between the skin temperature and thermal sensation varies according to the solar
radiation, sexuality and age of a passenger. Accuracy of the system should be further
improved in the future.
 Very hot ５
Hot ４ 95% C onfidence
Interval
３ γ =0.82
W arm ２

Thermal Feeling
１
N eutral ０
－１
－２
－３
N=280
C old － ４
Very cold － ５
25 30 35

Skin Tem perature (Head) Tsf (℃ )

[Figure10.1] Relationship between skin temperature and thermal sensation

Infrared Sensor
･Skin Temp.
･Set Temp. Feeling

･Temp. Feeling
･Setting Device

Automotive A/C Equipment

[Figure 10.2] Ideal air-conditioning system

Environmental Factor Sensing Therm al Comfort Indication

・Tem p. Sensor Therm al W armth D istribution in Colors

・Wind Velocity +5
Sensor +4
・Radiation Hot
+3
Sensor Calculated Temp.
W arm +2
・Hum idity of Skin in each
Sensor Location +1
(human-Body Neutral 0
Thermal M odel) -1
Cool -2
-3
Cold -4
-5

[Figure 10.3] Thermal warms feeling evaluation system

(ii) Knowing Preferences

Even if air-conditioning can detect the condition of passengers and provide a precise
control of temperature, there still remains a problem of personal preference. Some
people do not like wind and would like to reduce the wind even at the time of cool down.
To adjust to the preference of individual perfectly, operation is still necessary. To
eliminate the need of operation to adjust to personal preference, it is necessary to
program the operation pattern of each individual. To enable this, neural-control air-
conditioning has been developed. To enormously improve the control ability, control
data of air-conditioning under various conditions have been input to this neural-
controlled air-conditioning system. Starting from this neural control, learning control
shall be improved further to eliminate the need of operation.

(2) Air-Conditioning with Active Comfort

One of the problems of current air-conditioning system is as follows: passengers feel
comfortable with the wind at first but soon get used to it and gradually feel
uncomfortable with the wind. However, when the wind is varied, passengers do not
feel discomfort any more. It is said that comfortable condition refers not to a condition
when human thermogenesis is balanced with his thermolysis but to a condition when
homeostasis mechanism of human being is activated with an adequate amount of
sub-stress. In this respect, it can be said that our goal is to develop air-conditioning
system that can actively make people feel comfortable by varying an adequate amount
of sub-stress (fluctuation).

(i) Feeling Warm and Coolness

When we are in a condition with a stable adequate temperature, we feel comfortable at
first but get used to it gradually, and finally we do not feel either hot or cold any more.
By fluctuating the temperature within a range of adequate sub-stress (approx. ±2°C),
we start to feel comfortable again (Figure 10.4). In summer, for example, we feel
"rather cool" and comfortable when temperature is going down. When we compare the
brain waves obtained at this point, it is clear that the brain is activated when there is
an adequate amount of sub-stress (Figure 10.5). Such a condition is ideal for a driver
in terms of safety, because, then the driver can maintain adequate awareness required
for the drive.

ts=35.0℃
n=86
Comfortable 2
1
Neutral 0
-1
Uncomfortable -2
Comfort Vote

-3

ts=33.0℃
Comfortable -2 n=81
1
Neutral 0
-1
Uncomfortable -2
-3
-5 0 5
Skin Temperature Variation (℃/s)

[Figure 10.4] Comfortable skin Temperature fluctuation

 (a) (b) 3.00
Intensive Alpha Waves
uvolt/Hz
/div
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0

(a) Steady Air Temperature (b) Fluctuations Air Temperature

（b) 温度ゆらぎあり

[Figure 10.5] Alpha wave distribution

One of the technologies to realize this temperature fluctuation is "intelligent swing

register". Intelligent swing register is a technology to control the swing angle and
direction of register grill freely according to the condition of passengers and cabin
temperature. For example, in summer, when the cabin temperature is high, cool wind
is targeted to the passengers to provide rapid cool down. As the cabin temperature has
been lowered, swing movement of register grill is started to avoid discomfort of constant
cool airflow, combined with random swing from time to time. When there is a solar
radiation, the range of swing is narrowed according to the intensity of solar radiation in
order to maintain the comfort of passengers.
Utilizing such technologies with fluctuation of wind and temperature, it is expected that
air-conditioning with active comfort shall be realized further in the future.

When the cabin temperature has been lowered When the cabin temperature is stable

Avoid discomfort Fluctuate the

Improve immediate effect Cope with solar radiation
of constant airflow temperature
Targeted passenger Widen the range of swing Random swing Narrow the range of swing

[Figure 10.6] Operation image

(ii) Feeling Fresh

Among senses of human being, sense of smell exerts a great influence upon comfort.
Therefore, deodorization is conducted and dust and odor filter have been attached to the
air-conditioning system. However, these approaches remove discomfort only. As the
first step to realize air-conditioning system with fresh feeling, automatic air-intake
control (fresh /recirculation air) system (Figure 10.7) has been developed. This system
prevents invasion of exhaust gas into the cabin space and introduces fresh air when
there is no exhaust gas around the vehicle.
Furthermore, there are some other products developed which can actively improve the
quality of air in the cabin; such as negative ion generator. It is said that negative ions,
which are abundant especially around waterfalls and plateaus in the nature, can
activate human organisms. By introducing negative ions into the cabin, it is expected
that negative ions may help reduce driving fatigue. In a study, in which negative ions
were provided to drivers, adrenaline in urine has decreased after driving and the
fatigue reducing effect of negative ions was confirmed.
Technology for better comfort is expected to develop from personal air-conditioning
adjustable to individual to air-conditioning with active comfort, and for better thermal
comfort and quality of air such as fresh feeling.

Intake Door

Gas Sensor

Control Unit Servo Motor

[Figure 10.7] Automatic intake system

**: There is the significant difference when significant level p is < 0.05.
2
** Excluding - Toyota Central R&D Labs., Inc. and
negative DENSO Corporation evaluation
1.5 ions - Bench test
Adrenaline Including - The amount of negative ions; about
(Relative value) negative 10,000/cm3.
ions
1

0.5
Before driving After driving

[Figure 10.8] Effect of negative ions

10.2 Thermal Management Technology

Automotive air-conditioning provides air conditioning by utilizing the heat amount from
coolant. However, it is not only automotive air-conditioning that requires heat. For
example, when the engine is started after long period of time, it is necessary to warm
the catalyst to purify the engine and exhaust gas. This helps improve the fuel
efficiency and reduce the emission directly. Technology that utilizes the heat source of
vehicle in the engine, transmission, heater, etc. to improve heating and fuel efficiencies
and to reduce emission is collectively called thermal management. Various
technologies including recovery of waste heat, heat accumulation, and heat distribution
are examined. This section explains about the trend of such technologies.

(1) Waste Heat Recovery Technology

Effective work of a vehicle is around 20% and the rest is discharged as waste heat
(Figure 10.9). Heat of coolant is utilized for heating, etc. but heat of exhaust gas is
mostly discharged except for heating catalyst. Considering this situation, a method to
utilize waste heat should be developed in the future. Since temperature of exhaust gas
is high at 100°C to 500°C, its handling is not easy. Currently, several approaches are
being considered. Some of the examples are to introduce exhaust gas through heat
exchanger to recover the heat to the coolant and use it to improve the heating ability of
engine to heat the cabin space, or to convert the heat into electricity by utilizing thermo-
electric element and use the obtained electricity as supplemental electric source.

Others
その他
11%
11% Effective
有効仕事 work
21%21%

排気ガス
Exhaust gas
35%
35% 冷却水
Coolant
33%
33%

[Figure 10.9] Heat distribution of vehicles

(2) Heat Storage Technology

Besides recovery technology of waste heat, storage technology of waste heat to utilize it
during cold start is also important. By warming the engine in an early stage, it is
possible to improve combustion, thus improving fuel efficiency and reducing emission,
and to obtain quick warming in the cabin space. When utilizing the stored heat in the
cabin, the usage may be limited due to installation and safety problem. Therefore,
sensible heat storage system that uses warm coolant as it is, is common. There are
some alternative methods, such as latent heat storage, which uses latent heat
accumulator, and chemical heat storage, which uses chemical reaction heat, but there
are still many problems in terms of safety and responsiveness (Table 10.1).
 [Table 10.1] Major Heat Storage Methods

Classification Characteristic
Sensible heat Typical heat accumulator is water. Because this is sensible heat
storage storage, the heat storage amount is small.
The system is cheap and safe but the temperature should be maintained.
Latent heat Heat accumulators are extensive such as inorganic chloride.
storage The heat storage amount is large but the heat conductivity is not good.
Some heat accumulators are poisonous.
Chemical This system utilizes chemical reaction heat.
heat storage Heat accumulators are extensive including hydrates and hydroxides but
the reaction takes time.

(3) Heat Distribution Technology

Coolant, which is warmed by the engine, controls the temperature of engine and
transmission besides heating the cabin space. Another important point to consider is
how and to where to distribute the recovered heat. For example, engine and
transmission oils have higher viscosity than coolant. When temperature of such oil
can be increased, it is possible to reduce friction loss, improve fuel efficiency, and
decrease emission. To achieve this goal, a method to electrically control the flow rate of
coolant is currently considered. While the temperature of coolant is controlled between
80 and 85°C with thermostat at moment, the temperature can be increased to about
100°C with electric control. As another effective approach, a method to warm
automatic oil with coolant is considered; this should reduce the transmission friction.

10.3 Alternative Refrigeration Cycle

Two major geophysical phenomena, namely the ozone depletion and the climate change
or global warming are the major driving forces for the phaseout of conventional
refrigerants. In this section, the two most promising alternative refrigeration systems
are introduced. They use natural refrigerants either carbon dioxide as transcritical
cycle or secondary loop systems, possibly using hydrocarbons.

(1) Carbon Dioxide Transcritical Cycle

Over the last decade, Carbon Dioxide (CO2 or R-744) is studied extensively as an
ultimate refrigerant for the automobile climate control system. Use of CO2 as a
refrigerant gives a number of additional economic and practical advantages as
compared to the conventional refrigerant R-12 and R-134a: it is environmentally benign
(zero ODP and almost zero GWP), of low toxicity, non-flammable, high heat transfer
coefficients, high volumetric capacity (requiring a small compressor), excellent
availability at low cost, and of convenient refrigerant service: no need for recovery and
recycling, and compactness of machinery and components. The disadvantages of CO2
are: low cycle efficiency (transcritical cycle), high operating pressure (needs system
design change), and need for new safety standards and designs. Since the CO2
refrigeration cycle is unique as compared to cycles using conventional refrigerants, the
characteristics of CO2 are discussed next.

(i) CO2 Transcritical Refrigeration Cycle

Figure 10.10 shows a comparison of the conventional vapor compression cycle and
transcritical cycle in a pressure-enthalpy diagram. The heat exchange processes of the
conventional vapor compression cycle (evaporation and condensation) include a
two-phase region (Figure 10.10 (a)). Refrigerants with a lower critical temperature than
the ambient temperature, like CO2, cannot use the condensation process for heat
removal. Heat removal enabling such refrigerants to reach the ambient temperature
occurs at supercritical pressure level. Thus, the refrigeration cycle becomes a
transcritical cycle that moves between a subcritical and a supercritical pressure (Figure
10.10 (b)). The following unique characteristics of the transcritical cycle as compared
to the conventional vapor compression cycle can be observed as compared in Figure
10.10 (b) (Hwang, 1997).

(a) Reverse Rankine Cycle (b) Transcritical Cycle

Tamb1 Tamb2 isentrope Tamb1 Tamb2 isentrope
Critical point Heat Sink D
C
D C AT
Pressure

Critical point
Pressure

AT
Heat Sink
Heat Source
AT Heat Source
B AT
A A B
Two-phase region isotherm Two-phase region isotherm

Enthalpy Enthalpy

[Figure 10.10] Comparisons of Two Cycles

• The gas cooling pressure is a very important parameter determining the
performance of the transcritical cycle. It can be chosen independent of the
temperature.
• Capacity drops very quickly as the gas cooling pressure approaches the critical
pressure when the gas cooler outlet temperature is constant. This large capacity
drop is a consequence of the proximity of the critical point. As shown in Figure
10.10, the isotherm flattens in the P-h diagram as the critical point is
approached. When approaching the critical pressure at the same gas cooler
outlet temperature, the enthalpy increases rapidly as the gas cooling pressure
decreases. Therefore, the evaporator capacity decreases very quickly as the gas
cooling pressure falls. At the same time, the compressor work changes only very
slightly.
• For each gas cooler outlet temperature, there is an optimum gas cooling
pressure to achieve a maximum COP. The optimum gas cooling pressure
increases as the ambient temperature increases.
• The COP decreases as the gas cooling pressure increases above the optimum
value. This is a consequence of the pressure being chosen independently of the
temperature. As shown in Figure 10.10, the isothermal decrease of enthalpy at
the evaporator inlet is smaller than the isentropic increase of enthalpy at the
compressor outlet as the gas cooling pressure increases above the optimum gas
cooling pressure.
• As the ambient temperature increases, the capacity and COP decrease. These
changes decrease as the gas cooling pressure increases.

(ii) Properties of CO2

The carbon dioxide is a high vapor pressure refrigerant having a low normal boiling
point and critical point as compared to conventional refrigerants. As shown in Figure
10.11, the vapor pressure of CO2 is approximately 11 times higher than that of R-134a.
The high vapor pressure offers the opportunity of reducing heat exchanger and
compressor size and weight.
Due to the low critical point (31°C vs. 101°C for R-134a), the CO2 refrigeration cycle
becomes a transcritical cycle that has a two-phase evaporation and a supercritical gas
cooling process. The state change of the evaporation process of CO2 is the same as for
the conventional evaporation process. It changes from two-phase fluid entering the
evaporator to vapor at the evaporator outlet. On the other hand, the state changes of the
gas cooling process are different from the conventional condensing process. The state
of CO2 leaving the compressor changes from a high temperature supercritical fluid to a
low temperature supercritical fluid or subcritical liquid depending on the heat sink
temperature and heat transfer. Therefore, it is important to consider the
thermophysical properties of supercritical state of CO2 for the proper design of gas
cooler.

(a) Critical Point

The critical point is defined as a state where no liquefaction will take place above the
critical pressure and no gas will be formed above the critical temperature (Luque et al.
1994). While some thermophysical properties such as specific heat and thermal
conductivity diverge at the critical point, some thermophysical properties such as latent
heat disappear. When the pressure exceeds the critical pressure and the temperature
exceeds the critical temperature, the fluid is in the supercritical region. The fluid becomes
subcritical when either the temperature is lower than the critical temperature or the
pressure is lower than the critical pressure.

10
Pressure [MPa]

R-12 R-290

R-134a NH3

R-22 CO2

0.1
-20 0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Temperature [°C]

[Figure 10.11] Vapor Pressures of Selected Refrigerants

(b) Supercritical Properties of CO2

The behavior of thermophysical properties of a supercritical fluid around the critical
point is quite different from that of other states. The gas-cooling process of the
transcritical cycle occurs when the high side pressure is above the critical pressure.
Therefore, the refrigerant in the gas cooler changes from the high temperature
supercritical fluid to the low temperature supercritical fluid or subcritical liquid depending
on the heat sink temperature. There are large changes of enthalpy, entropy, density and
viscosity in the neighborhood of the critical point. While enthalpy and entropy decrease,
other properties such as density, viscosity, and thermal conductivity increase as these
variables approach the critical point from high temperatures at constant (supercritical)
pressure. The specific heat and thermal conductivity spike as the critical point is
approached. This rapid increase, which is only observed near the critical point, is called
“critical enhancement.” Figure 10.12 shows how density and specific heat of CO2 change
during the supercritical gas-cooling process. When the specific heat peaks, the density
changes the most. The pseudo critical temperature (Tpc) is defined as the temperature
at which the specific heat becomes maximum for a given pressure. This Tpc is an
important parameter influencing the heat transfer mechanism in the supercritical
region since the heat transfer is enhanced the most when the specific heat peaks. As
shown in Figure 10.12, the Tpc decreases and the maximum specific heat increases as
the gas cooling pressure approaches the critical pressure.
In a well-designed gas cooler, the heat transfer coefficient for supercritical CO2 can
exceed those of a condensing conventional refrigerant.

900 35
P=8.0 MPa 9.25
800 30
8.25 9.5
Specific Heat [kJ/kg-K]
8.5 9.75
700
8.75 10 25
Density [kg/m3]

600 9 P=8.0 MPa 8.75 9.5

20
8.25 9 9.75
500
15 8.5 9.25 10
400

10
300

200 5

100 0
20 40 60 80 100 20 40 60 80 100
30 50 70 90 30 50 70 90

Temperature [C] Temperature [C]

(a) Density (b) Specific Heat

[Figure 10.12] Supercritical Properties of CO2

(2) Secondary Loop System

Safety issues associated with refrigerant leakage call for the use of a secondary loop
system. The secondary loop system cascades the refrigeration loop and the secondary
fluid loop through an internal heat exchanger. A safe chemical (so called secondary
refrigerant) should be used as the working fluid of the secondary loop. If only the
air-to-liquid heat exchanger of the secondary loop is installed in the cabin, then the
refrigeration cycle containing the refrigerant is isolated from the cabin. Therefore, any
refrigerant leaking from the refrigeration cycle can be released only to the ambient
without entering to the cabin. For this reason, the secondary loop system widens the
choice of refrigerants since the passengers in the cabin are safe from any harmful
refrigerant leakage. Moreover the refrigeration system can be very compact, and thus
has less leakage and small charge.
 Secondary Fluid Loop Refrigeration Cycle

Air Flow
Condenser

Air-to-liquid
Internal
Heat Compressor
Heat
Exchanger
Exchanger

Expansion Device

Pump

[Figure 10.13] Schematic Diagram of Secondary Loop System

(i) Safety of Refrigerants

The safety concerns associated with refrigerant leakage are environmental impact,
toxicity, flammability, and physical hazards. Table 10.2 compares characteristics and
properties of refrigerants of concern. As shown there, the recommended occupational
exposure limit of most refrigerants is 1,000ppm except for carbon dioxide. The exposure
limit of carbon dioxide is 5 times higher than that of other refrigerants. However, a
higher concentration of any refrigerant is harmful because it replaces air, and causes
lack of oxygen. Propane is the only flammable fluid among refrigerants of concern.
The high operating pressure of the transcritical carbon dioxide cycle raises safety
concerns such as component rupture and possible exposure to refrigerant under high
pressure. The secondary loop system can reduce any worry of refrigerant hazards and
protect passengers from toxicity, flammability, and physical hazards.

[Table 10.2] Characteristics and Properties of Some Refrigerants

Refrigerants CFC-12 HFC-134a C3H8 (R-290) CO2 (R-744)
Natural Substance No No Yes Yes
ODP 1.0 0 0 0
GWP (100 Years) 7,100 1,200 0 1
Exposure limit [ppm] 1,000 1,000 1,000 5,000
IDLH *[ppm] 15,000 50,000* 2,100 40,000
Flammable No No Yes No
Flammability limits in air [vol. %] - - 2.1/9.5 -
Toxic/irritating decomposition products Yes Yes No No
Critical Temperature [°C] 112.0 101.1 96.7 31.1
Critical Pressure [MPa] 4.1 4.1 4.2 7.4
Molar mass 120.9 102.0 44.1 44.0
Vol. refrigeration capacity at 0°C [kJ/m3] 2,740 2,860 3,870 22,600
*IDLH: Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health, Maximum level from which one could
escape within 30 minutes without impairing symptoms or any irreversible health effects
(www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/npg.html).
**NIOSH: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, it has not set an
IDLH for R-134a; the value shown is the ARI recommendation determined in a
consistent manner.

(ii) Advantage and Disadvantage of Secondary Loop System

The use of natural refrigerants in the secondary loop system has many advantages such
as ease of refrigerant service, environmentally benign character, and low refrigerant
cost. Moreover the secondary loop system can provide the secondary fluid to all desired
places relatively easily and offer an improved thermal comfort. For example, it can
provide cooling of electronics and the cooling and heating of internal surfaces.
Moreover, with a thermal storage tank, it can provide improved initial
cooling-or-heating or bridge periods where the engine is turned off (waiting at red light
and short term standing or parking etc.) or during all electric operation of a hybrid car.
Since the secondary loop system uses an internal heat exchanger and circulation pump,
the coefficient of performance is worse than that of conventional refrigeration systems
and the cost of the secondary system increases. The energy penalty of the secondary
loop system ranges 15 to 20% (Ghodbane, 1999). However, the secondary loop system
can reduce the total equivalent warming impact if it uses a “natural” fluid as its
refrigerant by reducing the direct global warming impact.