Assessment of the Fluid Dynamics Aspects of a Vehicle Ventilation System

Vehicular air conditioning systems are directly affected by the ducts and fans of the ventilation system. This paper presents an experimental study of the influence of the geometry of the air ducts and fans on the performance of an automotive air conditioning system. The flow rate, pressure drops and power requirement demand were evaluated for different geometrical and operational conditions. A test bench was used that constituted the air-box of an automotive air conditioning system, composed of the air ducts, the centrifugal blower, and an instrumental panel. Two different geometrical fans and ducts were tested. The experimental results showed a great potential for performance improvement. Significant gains were achieved for the pressure drop, flow rate and air distribution at the branch ducts with the modifications implemented. The experimental results also showed that the power consumption slightly increased with the considered modifications.