proach to help you balance your engineering
targets – such as battery
lifetime, system costs and driving
range – with potentially conflicting
passenger comfort goals, at an early
development phase. This significantly
reduces the need for you to
conduct vehicle tests in wind tunnels
and on test tracks, speeding up development,
reducing your reliance
on prototypes. The entire VTMS,
including all coolant circuits and
the refrigerant cycle, can be tested
under dynamic conditions and driving
cycles, such as WLTP and RDE,
even when no hardware is available.
As well as supporting real time capable
simulated VTMS models, the
proper functionality of all the subsystems
and even pre-calibration of
all system actuators can be tested
alongside it on the physical testbed
at an early stage of development
process. This does away with the
need of a vehicle prototype and is
independent of the weather.
You can perform all kinds of tests
with our system. Whether it’s the
performance evaluation of coolant
circuits based on real drive cycles,
for the sizing of air inlets, for example,
or the calibration of VTMS
controls, such as grille shutter control
after cold starts, and battery
thermal conditioning strategy development
using predictive control.
Other potential applications include:
• Filling of refrigerant cycle, including
the evaluation of ideal oil concentrations
for optimized thermal
performance of cabin and battery
conditioning
• Evaluation of the energy consumption
of the VTMS and its
influence on driving range
• Developing a front heat exchanger
refrigerant de-icing strategy for
different driving cycles
• Optimizing the heat pump strategy
using different heat sources like
ambient heat and waste heat from
the powertrain
With our innovative approach to
thermal management, we are streamlining
the development of electrified
powertrains. Efficient, comfortable
vehicles with reduced development
effort are now a reality, thanks to the
AVL ThermalLab.
Testing of the VTMS in an emulated vehicle
environment on the AVL ThermalLab
The ThermalLab is a must for skill improvement in
thermal management for the automotive industry.
Overall, Hutchinson expects an increase in the
accuracy of model prediction by 25 %. With this
tool, Hutchinson is able to provide solutions for
the mobility needs of today’s OEM and passenger
car users, and delivers innovative thermal products
(ultra-thin insulation, electrical expansion valves,
thermal energy storage), new thermal systems
(integrate thermal management modules) and
efficient control strategies.
Helder-Filipe de-Campos-Garcia
Thermal Management Systems Responsible, Hutchinson
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