EP1483486A1

EP1483486A1 - Air-cooled frontal radiator module

Info

Publication number: EP1483486A1
Application number: EP03743373A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Michael Wieschalka
Original assignee: MODULARE PLANUNGS- und KONSTRUKTIONSTECHNIK GmbH
Current assignee: MODULARE PLANUNGS- und KONSTRUKTIONSTECHNIK GmbH
Priority date: 2002-03-04
Filing date: 2003-03-04
Publication date: 2004-12-08
Also published as: WO2003074849A1; DE10209237A1; AU2003210411A1; DE10209237B4

Abstract

The invention relates to an air-cooled frontal radiator module (20) for a motor vehicle comprising a combustion engine comprising one or several radiator networks (24). Said radiator networks (24) are provided with pipes (25) and act as heat exchangers (21, 22, 23). A cooling medium (LM) respectively flows through said cooling networks and cooling air (LA) blows against them from the outside. One or more vehicle elements (13) are arranged in the path of the cooling air (LA) to the frontal radiator module (20). Additionally, one or more fans (30) are provided with drives (31). The pipes of at least one of the radiator networks (24) are recessed in the region behind the vehicle elements (13) in the path of the cooling air (LA). The drive (31) of the fan(s) (30) protrudes into, preferably, at least one of the radiator networks (24). In a preferred embodiment, the fan drive (31) is arranged in an area which is sheltered from the wind by the bumper (13).

Description

Air-cooled front cooler module

The invention relates to an air-cooled front cooler module for a motor vehicle with an internal combustion engine, one or more heat exchangers with cooling networks with pipes, through which one or more cooling media flow and outside of which cooling air flows, with one or more vehicle elements in the path of the cooling air to the front cooler module, and with one or more fans with fan drive.

Motor vehicles usually have internal combustion engines that also need to be cooled. This is about cooling the coolant itself, but also about the charge air. Motor vehicles increasingly have to be equipped with air conditioning capacitors. This cooling is expediently built in the form of front cooler modules which are arranged directly behind the front of the vehicle, where they are exposed to the driving wind. Attempts are being made to build the radiators as compactly as possible and with small external dimensions, because the space in the engine compartment immediately behind is becoming increasingly scarce, since more and more and larger units have to be built there with increasing technology and increasing demands.

In the case of heavy-duty motor vehicles, DE 100 25 221 A1 even proposes not to install the plurality of coolers required there one behind the other, but rather one above the other and next to one another, the individual coolers each being oriented vertically. A common cooling fan motor is arranged in the middle. This arrangement of the various coolers allows space to be saved in the axial direction, in which space is particularly important in heavy-duty motor vehicles. On the other hand, there is practically any space available in the vertical direction and in the width, and access to the various coolers through the driving wind is also unproblematic with such vehicles. However, this concept is not suitable for passenger cars with their completely different dimensions and requirements in the area of the front end. A further concept is proposed in EP 0 183 596 B1, in which the fan motor is encapsulated in a cup-like sleeve and is predominantly located within the hub of the fan and between the fan and the cooler module. Since this installation space is insufficient, the cup-shaped sleeve partially protrudes into the cooler. Although this design shortens the installation space, it significantly interferes with the coolant flow within the cooler and in no way takes into account the flow conditions of the cooling air in the area of the front end of motor vehicles.

The front part of the motor vehicles should have a certain desired stability in order to protect the occupants in the event of a collision. At the same time, however, the front part of the motor vehicle should also remain flexible in order to keep the risk of injury to pedestrians as low as possible in the event of an impact. Attempts are being made to counter this contradiction with compromise solutions. Since the front cooler modules do not contribute to the stability of the front of the vehicle, but adversely affect the flexibility of the crumple zone, attempts are made to remove them from the immediate deformation area as far as possible.

In addition, one would like to minimize the openings in the front of the motor vehicles for aerodynamic and acoustic reasons. If these openings (colloquially often referred to as "radiator grille") are relatively large, the air resistance (drag coefficient) also increases and the noise level caused by the motor vehicle also increases. Both effects are undesirable, so that tends to reduce these openings, so more and more space and area-closing vehicle elements are placed in the path of the cooling air to the front cooler module, which naturally impairs the cooling.

DE 41 32 570 C2 attempts to counter this problem by integrating cooling air channels into the bumper parts for a motor vehicle front end, which supply cooling air to the cooler of the vehicle drive unit. An attempt is made to clear the access paths actually blocked by the bumper by directing the cooling air. An attempt is therefore made to better distribute the cooling air flow to the individual consumers by means of a duct. The heat exchangers remain unchanged. The amount of cooling air that can be supplied through these integrated channels is also limited. In addition, the ventilation with the fan drive is arranged in the area between the bumper and the radiator of the vehicle; The fan is therefore operated differently than is usually the case as a pressure fan (and not as a draft fan). This means that the positions of the fan and the cooling air ducts in the bumper can be better coordinated with each other, but the access routes for the driving wind are further adjusted and the possibilities for the construction of this area are further restricted.

Both trends, on the one hand the increasing compaction of the coolers and on the other hand the adjustment of the access routes for the driving wind, make it more difficult to install coolers. It should be borne in mind that larger motors also require appropriate cooling.

The object of the invention is therefore to propose an air-cooled front cooler module for motor vehicles that can meet these requirements.

This object is achieved in a generic front cooler module in that the tubes of at least one of the cooling networks cut out the area behind the vehicle elements in the path of the cooling air.

It is very particularly preferred if the fan drive of the fan projects into at least one of the cooler networks.

Conventionally, attempts at compacting in the prior art have mostly attempted to concentrate on the external dimensions of a cooler, that is to say to reduce its dimensions in some way without endangering its function. DE 197 31 999 A1, for example, proposes the use of module carriers for the independent mounting of several coolers of a cooler module in order to save installation space. According to the invention, however, the outer dimensions are not changed, but the opposite is done: as a rule, practically the central, central area of a cooler network, at least of the cooler network that is closest to the fan wheel, is simply left out. It practically creates a "cooler with a central hole". The external dimensions (width, length, height) remain essentially unchanged.

The fan drive, which previously had to extend into the engine compartment in an undesired form, can be placed in this vacant area practically inside the front cooler module, so that the fan drive can now be made strong and inexpensive, which further improves the cooling performance.

The fan wheel itself can now also be placed very close to the cooler network. On the other hand, the fan cowl, which was previously required, can now be completely dispensed with, which avoids the hindering of the outflow that has previously taken place during airflow operation and leads to a further improvement in the cooling performance.

The approach surprisingly leads to success: Although parts of the radiator network are now simply no longer part of the state of the art or are no longer as uniform as before, there are clear advantages for the overall depth of the complete front cooler module. Several centimeters of space in the direction of the vehicle's longitudinal axis are gained. This is countered by the loss or change in the routing of the pipes of a cooler network, low losses in the capacity of the heat exchanger, which can be neglected in particular in the embodiments which are still discussed below, compared with the achievable advantages.

Other units that previously had to be arranged in an unfavorably shaped manner in the engine compartment can also be integrated into the resulting recesses. The radiator is put out of function exactly where it has its lowest efficiency anyway, namely in that section of the radiator that is completely covered by the bumper or other vehicle elements and therefore only contributes to the cooling effect by free convection due to lack of driving wind. This is done by the recess for the fan drive in the slipstream of a bumper or other vehicle elements.

In particular, however, the space that is freed up can be used particularly expediently in preferred embodiments of the invention.

Even if in a motor vehicle other vehicle elements are arranged in the path of the cooling air to the front cooler module, the tubes can preferably omit the area behind the vehicle elements.

The vehicle elements in the path of the cooling air, which impair the homogeneous inflow of the front cooler module, i.e. to a certain extent the stems in front of the radiator, include above all, but not exclusively, the bumper.

It turns out that the now more homogeneous cooling drastically reduces the unfavorable mixing effects of otherwise differently cooled cooling medium in the collectors and thus improves efficiency, especially since a better heat flow can be observed on the outer surfaces despite the shorter residence time of the cooling medium.

There are several ways in which a recess for the fan drive can be implemented within the cooler. It is preferred if some of the horizontally extending pipes lying next to one another are omitted in the case of a cooler network which is constructed as usual.

Alternatively, it is also possible to press the pipes together in certain middle areas, i.e. to allow them to rise and / or descend evenly or suitably in steps or curves from the edge to the center, so that there is a recess in the spacing between the pipes that has become larger as a result forms. In contrast, a technical structure such as that would be less suitable for a completely different purpose has been proposed in EP 0 183 596 B1. Collecting, squeezing together on a small cross-section and then disorderly distribution would be bad for the efficiency. However, there was still no thought of the driving wind and the relative orientation of the area around the fan drive.

Technically, there is also a further possibility that one of the cooler networks is constructed from two subnetworks which are arranged one above the other and are at a distance from one another. The cutout for the fan drive is then again located between these two parts of the cooler network. The two parts of the cooler network can be practically independent and each form their own cooler network. The connections of these two parts of the cooler network should, however, be coordinated appropriately so that they can jointly ensure the functionality of this overall cooling network.

These two subnets do not necessarily have to be the same size. A sub-network of different sizes can also be used to achieve a recess which is not exactly central, but which is still in the central region of the radiator network, and which is precisely aligned with the vehicle elements by way of the cooling air to the front cooler module.

The invention can be used both in front cooler modules which are designed as a multilayer structure comprising a plurality of cooling networks, and in front cooler modules in which the individual cooler networks are combined, that is to say in so-called monoblocks.

The cooler modules with their cooler networks are preferably arranged in a layered manner perpendicular to the cooling air. This means that the cooling is based on the cross-flow principle, that is, the cooling air flows perpendicular to the cooling medium in the cooler networks. In a first approximation, the direction of flow of the cooling air is parallel to the driving wind, but angles of approximately 20 ° are also possible, depending on the direction of movement, depending on the specific structure of the motor vehicle or the front end. It is also preferred if the flow resistance of the front cooler module for the cooling air over the area swept by the fan wheel remains approximately constant through the use of an air-permeable screen.

Further preferred features can be found in the subclaims.

An exemplary embodiment of the invention is described in more detail below with reference to the drawing. Show it:

Figure 1 is a schematic vertical section through the front part of a motor vehicle with a front cooler module according to the invention; and

FIG. 2 shows a schematic view in the direction of travel of the embodiment of the front cooler module from FIG. 1.

The front part of a motor vehicle shown in Figure 1 is shown purely schematically in section. The vehicle has a body 10, of which only the bonnet 12 can be seen in the sectional view. To the right outside the picture would be the engine compartment, not shown, and behind it the passenger compartment. At the bottom of FIG. 1, the vehicle floor 11 and the wheels would be conceivable. The fenders of the body are in front of or behind the image plane and are therefore also missing in the sectional view.

The vehicle would move to the left. A bumper 13 and a stiffening 14 for the bumper 13 are therefore indicated schematically there. A spoiler 15 extends obliquely from the vehicle floor 11 up to the bumper 13. The spoiler 15 has large openings in which a ventilation grille 16 is arranged. The ventilation grille 16 in turn has openings. There are also ventilation grilles 16 between the bumper 13 and the bonnet 12. Cooling air L _{A can} flow in from the left through the ventilation grilles 16. This is indicated by six arrows, cooling air L _A flowing in both above and below the bumper 13.

The bumper 13 and its stiffening 14 are thus vehicle elements in the path of the cooling air L _A.

This cooling air L _A now flows onto a front cooler module 20. In the illustrated embodiment, the front cooler module 20 consists of several elements. A different structure is also conceivable here, depending on the vehicle type. Not every vehicle has all of these elements, but more can be added.

In the illustrated embodiment, the front cooler module 20 has an air conditioning condenser 21, a charge air cooler 22, a coolant cooler 23 and finally a fan 30. The structure is layered, with each layer arranged perpendicular to the direction of travel. The first layer in the direction of travel is the air conditioning condenser 21, followed by the charge air cooler 22, the coolant cooler 23 and the fan 30. The cooling air L _A therefore flows perpendicular to these layers.

The fan 30 has a fan drive 31 and a fan wheel 32. There are also embodiments in which the fan 30 is arranged in the direction of travel in front of the heat exchangers, that is to say to the left of these in the figure.

Each individual layer, for example the air conditioning condenser 21, is constructed as a separate heat exchanger. In this example, three independent cooler networks 24 are created, one for each heat exchanger.

For the charge air cooler 22, this is indicated separately again in an enlarged area at the bottom left in FIG. 1. The cooler network 24 of the heat exchanger is a system of fins and pipes 25 through which a cooling medium L _M flows. This cooling medium L _M essentially flows from left to right or from right to left, ie horizontally, just as the cooling air L _A flows horizontally. So both meet on the cross flow principle for cooling. The medium L _{M to} be cooled can be air, cooling water or another refrigerant, for example carbon dioxide CO ₂ . It flows through oval tubes or round tubes 25, which are preferably at a constant distance from one another. Inflow and outflow collectors 26 are provided on the right and left in the vehicle and are described in more detail in connection with FIG. 2.

The heat transport between the cooling air L _A and the cooling media L _M mainly takes place on the way of free and forced convection, the heat radiation, on the other hand, has only a small proportion. Behind the sandwich arrangement of the various heat exchangers 21, 22, 23 with their cooler networks 24, there is also the fan 30 in parallel and to a certain extent in a layered manner. For a front cooler module, a corresponding depth of space must be provided in the vehicle, because in the illustration only to the right of the cooler the actual engine compartment to be built. The front cooler module 20 must be able to work both in the driving wind mode and in the pure fan mode. A view of FIG. 1 shows that the end face of the entire radiator network 24 is generally approximately twice as large as the openings of the ventilation grilles 16 between the spoiler 15, the bumper 13 and the bonnet 12. Only in the driving wind mode and in the fan mode are only partial areas of the Heat flows directly onto the heat exchanger, ie cooled by forced convection. The rest of the surface gives off the heat by means of free convection. As a result, different temperatures of the respective cooling medium L normally form in each one of the many parallel tubes 25 through which flow flows. The media from the better and poorly cooled areas mix in the outflow collector to form an average temperature there.

In contrast to the prior art, it is precisely the area behind the bumper 13 that is kept free from the tubes 25 of the heat exchangers 21, 22 and 23 of the front cooler module 20. The entire part of the cooler network 24 which is actually occupied by pipes 25 is flowed directly by cooling air L _A by forced convection. The conventionally poorer cooled ranges are no longer required. As can also be seen in FIG. 1, this measure is not necessarily carried out in all cooler networks 24, but in particular in the cooler networks 24 which are furthest to the rear in the direction of travel, in the example shown these are the charge air cooler 22 and the coolant cooler 23.

These are the heat exchangers closest to fan 30.

Of course, the cooling effect in this area is dispensed with in these two cooler networks 24, the cooling actually taking place in the outer areas, on the other hand, is more effective and the resulting from the mixing adverse effects are avoided. The entire volume flow of the charge air and the coolant of the charge air cooler 22 and of the coolant cooler 23 shifts in each case into the region of the forced convection. The dwell time, for example, of an air particle in the pipe 25 of the charge air cooler 22 becomes shorter because the speed of the air particles increases due to the reduced flow cross section. However, the temperature difference ΔT in the wall layer area of the cooler network 24 of the charge air cooler 22 is greater, since the cooling air L _{A also flows} directly. All in all, despite the smaller cooler network area, this results in a better heat flow Q and thus better cooling, although a considerable part of the pipes and fins of the cooler network 24 has been omitted.

A look at FIG. 2 shows that the solution is also independent of whether there are heat exchangers in which the coolant medium L _{M flows} only once from one collector 26 to the other collector 26 or whether the cooler network 24 is flowed through several times. The throughflow in the first type is also referred to as “I throughflow”, that in the second type as “U throughflow” or “S throughflow”.

FIG. 2 shows heat exchangers through which T flows, with collectors 26, for inflowing the hot, uncooled medium and for outflowing the cooling medium L _M cooled in the heat exchanger. The arrangement of the inlet and outlet connections over the diagonal is optimal, which ensures a uniform volume flow over all pipes 25 within each of the three heat exchangers 21, 22, 23. This also contributes to lower pressure drops and better temperature distribution.

A renewed look at FIG. 1 again shows that not only no disadvantages arise from omitting the central tubes 25 in at least some of the cooler networks 24 of the heat exchangers. The middle area behind the bumper 13, which has so far been poorly flowed, also offers approximately 5 dm ³ volume, which were previously occupied by pipes 25. This space is now free and can be used differently. For this purpose, it is advisable - as also shown in FIG. 1 - to accommodate the drive unit 31 of the fan 30 here. This protrudes conventionally into the engine compartment and must be housed there as space-saving as possible due to the unfavorable and actually not desired, also flat design.

In an arrangement according to this embodiment of the invention, however, the length of the drive unit 31 is only relevant for the depth of the front cooler module 20 from a certain limit. This means that inexpensive and powerful fans can be used.

Due to the free space inside the heat exchanger, the fan 30 with its fan drive 31 can simultaneously be further optimized and thus possibly improve the overall effect of the cooler.

The fan wheel 32 is placed very close to the cooler network 24 of the coolant cooler 23. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the outer race of the fan wheel 32 has a distance from the cooler network 24 of the coolant cooler 23 of approximately 3 mm. This also makes it possible to do without a conventional fan guard, which is therefore not shown either. In addition to the reduced effort, this also has the advantage that the outflow is not unnecessarily prevented by this fan guard during driving wind operation.

In order to further optimize the invention, a seal 27 is used to achieve a better flow through the individual heat exchangers. This seal 27 closes the gap that forms between two heat exchangers, that is, two cooler networks 24. As a result, suction of secondary air or bypassing certain parts of the front cooler module 20 by the cooling air L _{A is} prevented.

Since the fan 30 has the highest power density in the outer region of the fan wheel 32, that is to say the maximum negative pressure, the blade of the fan wheel 32, which flares outward more and more, is arranged such that the distance of the wing to the radiator network 24 becomes larger from the inside out. This can be seen particularly well in the sectional illustration in FIG. 1.

This also enables a better pressure distribution between the cooler network and the fan wheel 32.

A fan 30 which is brought relatively close to the inhomogeneous cooler network 24 could possibly tend to cause pressure pulsations in the transition area between the cooler network 24 and the air, which are then perceived as noise. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, this noise development is prevented by an air-permeable screen 40. The air resistance of the panel 40 and the cooler module are approximately the same. The diaphragm 40 closes with its dimensions flush with the right edge of the front cooler module 20 in FIG. 1, ie the rear edge in the motor vehicle. The diaphragm 40 thus also has a receiving function for the fan 30.

The cover 40 also avoids the warm air being drawn in from the engine compartment by the fan 30. The entire recessed area of the radiator networks 24 is therefore closed with the cover 40. The aperture 40 is airtight outside the area swept by the fan wheel 32.

The front cooler module 20 according to the invention is suitable both for passenger vehicles and for trucks and other commercial vehicles. The idea can be extended not only to symmetrical arrangements as in FIG. 1, but also to more asymmetrical arrangements of bumpers 13.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

0 Body 1 Vehicle floor 2 Bonnet 3 Bumpers

14 stiffening of the bumper

15 spoilers

16 ventilation grilles

0 front cooler module 1 air conditioning condenser 2 charge air cooler 3 coolant cooler 4 cooler network 5 pipes 6 header 7 seals

30 fans

31 fan drive

32 fan wheel

40 aperture

LA cooling air

L cooling medium

Claims

Expectations

1. Air-cooled front cooler module (20) for a motor vehicle with an internal combustion engine, with one or more heat exchangers (21, 22, 23) with cooler networks (24) with tubes (25) through which one or more cooling media (L _M ) flows and outside flow of cooling air (L _A ), with one or more vehicle elements (13) in the path of the cooling air (L _A ) to the front cooler module (20), and with one or more fans (30) with fan drive (31), characterized in that the pipes (25) of at least one of the radiator networks (24) leave the area behind the vehicle elements (13) in the path of the cooling air (L _A ).

2. Air-cooled front cooler module (20) according to claim 1, characterized in that the fan drive (31) or the fan (30) protrudes into at least one of the cooler networks (24).

3. Air-cooled front cooler module according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the tubes (25) of this cooler network (24) omit the area for the fan drive (31).

4. Air-cooled front cooler module according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the recess for the fan drive (31) is in the slipstream of a bumper (13).

5. Air-cooled front cooler module according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cooler networks (24) are arranged in a layer shape perpendicular to the cooling air (L _A ).

6. Air-cooled front cooler module according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the tubes (25) are omitted in the central region.

7. Air-cooled front cooler module according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the cooler network (24) with the recess has two sub-networks, which are arranged above and below the fan drive (31).

8. Air-cooled front cooler module according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the tubes (25) diverge adjacent to the recess from the edges to the center to form the recess.

9. Air-cooled front cooler module according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least the tubes (25) are omitted in the area behind the vehicle elements (13) of that cooler network (24) that is closest to a fan wheel (32) of the fan (30) lies.

10. Air-cooled front cooler module according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that seals (27) are provided which close the gaps between the cooler networks (24) of the heat exchangers (21, 22, 23).

11. Air-cooled front cooler module according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the recessed area of the cooler network (24) is closed with an orifice (40).

12. Air-cooled front cooler module according to claim 11, characterized in that the cover (40) is at least partially permeable to air.

13. Air-cooled front cooler module according to claim 12, characterized in that the flow resistance of the front cooler module for the cooling air (L _A ) over the area swept by the fan wheel (32) remains approximately constant through the use of the air-permeable screen (40).