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Reliability of CAE processes is one of the major tasks of development groups within the automotive business in our days. Since more than 15 years ECS is dealing with the simulation of vehicle thermal management including the engine cooling package as well as the HVAC system. For these purposes the 1D software (KULI) and various 3D approaches are used to analyze the thermal efficiency of such systems. This paper shows examples where 1D and 3D simulations were combined to increase the reliability of the results.

Heat management must allow the adjustment of optimal operating temperatures of all components of a vehicle. A comprehensive simulation model (KULI) will contain all components relevant for heat management. This includes heat sources, heat exchangers, fans, etc. Main aspects of the simulation are flow and heat transfer analysis. Not only the engine cooling system can be covered with this simulation tool, also the air-conditioning circuit including phase changing models is a part of it (KULI AC). To fulfill the needs of integrating various software tools to an overall simulation cluster an interface to a fluid flow 1-dimensional software (FLOWMASTER) was developed. The use of 1- dimensional methods and mesh flow theory for modeling the underhood air flow of vehicles is very efficient method. For complex flow patterns however it is desirable to use CFD analysis.