10/28/2015 Keep the frost on the outside! | The Leading Simulation Software Provider | Exa Corporation

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By Kamalesh Bhambare (/users/kamalesh-bhambare)

Keep the frost on the outside! (/blog/keep-frost-outside)28

Oct

10/28/2015 Keep the frost on the outside! | The Leading Simulation Software Provider | Exa Corporation

http://exa.com/blog/keep-frost-outside 2/6

Automotive (/category/automotive) CFD (/category/cfd)

Commercial Vehicle (/category/commercial-vehicle) Exa (/category/exa)

Simulation (/category/simulation) Thermal Management (/category/thermal-management)

(/users/kamalesh-bhambare)

Global competition for market share is fierce in the automotive industry. Automotive manufacturers work

hard to make their vehicles attractive to consumers to suit tastes and meet regulations in a variety of

geographic regions. They also face the challenge to ensure their global products function well, regardless of

diverse climate conditions and usage patterns that vary significantly from one region to another. Compliance

with various government safety standards only adds to the complexity involved in the design and engineering

of a world car.

 

A good example of such practical issues is what HVAC engineers have to do to design their climate control

systems properly for a market with an extremely cold environment. When the ambient temperature is very

low (around -20 degrees Celsius) and the vehicle is moving at a high speed, the moisture from the occupants’

breath can form “frost” on the interior sides of a vehicle’s windshield and side glasses. The frost impairs

driver’s visibility, potentially leading to a serious safety issue. The vehicle’s HVAC system should be designed

appropriately to be able to quickly remove the frost layer and prevent further formation.

 

Recent advances in climate control simulation methods, discussed in Exa’s publication with SAE

(http://papers.sae.org/2014-01-0702/), make it possible to accurately predict the defrosting patterns. Design

factors such as the defroster air flow speed and directions, blower performance, heater warm-up behavior,

and the cabin ventilation characteristics can be evaluated digitally before the first prototype build. This

simulation-driven process provides HVAC engineers with the opportunities for early-detection of potential

issues.  Furthermore it offers great flexibility to optimize the HVAC components and sub-systems for the best

performance with minimal costs

 

To see an animation of the Exa PowerFLOW defrosting simulation, please click here (http://info.exacorp-

news.com/DefrostDemist_Animation_Request.html)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kamalesh Bhambare

Kamalesh Bhambare is a Senior Thermal Application Engineer at Exa

Corporation. For over four years, Kamalesh has worked with Exa

Corporation on several projects covering brake cooling, brake duty cycle

simulations... read more (/users/kamalesh-bhambare)