Temperature optimisation of a diesel engine using exhaust gas heat recovery and thermal energy storage (Diesel engine with thermal energy storage)

Pertti Kauranen , Tuomo Elonen , Lisa Wikström , Jorma Heikkinen , Juhani Laurikko

Modern automotive diesel engines are so energy efficient that they are heating up slowly and tend to run rather cold at subzero temperatures. The problem is especially severe in mail delivery operations where the average speed is low and the drive cycle includes plenty of idling. The problem is typically solved by adding a diesel fuelled additional engine heater which is used for the preheating of the engine during cold start and additional heating of the engine if the coolant temperature falls below a thermostat set point during the drive cycle. However, this additional heater may drastically increase the total fuel consumption and exhaust gas emissions of the vehicle. In this study the additional heater was replaced by a combination of exhaust gas heat recovery system and latent heat accumulator for thermal energy storage. The system was evaluated on a laboratory dynamometer using a simulated drive cycle and in field testing in the city of Oulu (65 °N), Finland in February 2009.

Mots clés: Diesel engine; Heat recovery; Thermal energy storage; Phase change materials; Cold start emissions; Fuel economy

Pertti Kauranen, Tuomo Elonen, Lisa Wikström, Jorma Heikkinen, Juhani Laurikko. Temperature optimisation of a diesel engine using exhaust gas heat recovery and thermal energy storage (Diesel engine with thermal energy storage). Applied Thermal Engineering, 2009, 30 (6-7), pp.631. ⟨10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2009.11.008⟩. ⟨hal-00544814⟩