AIR CONDITIONING

Calibration and validation of
air-conditioning subsystems:
the art of blowing hot and cold

The generalisation of air conditioning in vehicles makes a wide range of operational subsystems available. Even so, they need to be perfectly calibrated to the manufacturer and end user expectations, which are increasingly demanding in terms of comfort.

PROPOSING BESPOKE SOLUTIONS USING THE STANDARDS

Currently, all car manufacturers have proven air conditioning units on the major part of their models. ARIAMIS thermal engineers carry out a complete specific calibration based on these existing subsystems. The engineers use their modelling library to propose the most finely calibrated HVAC system for each new vehicle model, based on the passenger compartment volume, the place of use and the pre-defined comfort criteria from the specifications. Each air conditioning unit is unique, from its modelling to its control command system. Unit heater, blower, condenser, evaporator, dehydrator... each element of the system is used in the calculations. Depending on the results obtained and the targets to reach, ARIAMIS can also make adjustments by adding extra tricks such as electric heating elements or by resizing the air conditioning compressor.

The correct operation of an air conditioning system depends on the vehicle’s global thermal balance.

GUARANTEEING COMFORT WITHOUT ALTERING ENGINE PERFORMANCE

Guided by its permanent quest for thermal balance, the ARIAMIS team never forgets that an air conditioning unit is part of a whole. Plugged to the engine’s water circuit, the unit heater can impact the engine cooling cycle by creating load losses. This situation can be frequent when users request a fast temperature rise in the passenger compartment when the vehicle has been parked in the cold for a long time. In order to slow the engine temperature rise, ARIAMIS can implement calculator pre-settings in order to optimise air conditioning behaviour when it is running in automatic mode.