CFD Simulation for a Road Vehicle Cabin

A numerical study of a two-dimensional, turbulent, recirculating flow within a passenger car cabin is presented. The study is based on the solution of the elliptic partial differential equations representing conservation of mass, momentum, temperature, turbulence energy and its dissipation rate in finite volume form. Algebraic expressions for the turbulent viscosity and diffusion coefficients are calculated using the two-equation model(k − ε). Different parameters are considered to illustrate their influences on the flow filed and temperature distribution inside car cabin. These parameters include number and location of the air conditioning systems inlets inside car cabin, different air temperatures at the inlets, different air velocities at the inlets, different solar intensity during day-time for a certain day of the year, different diffuse solar radiation (variation in the kind of car glass). Generally, the results indicate some of negative effects such as development of zones of low air circulation. Also it is found that the number of inlets inside car cabin play an important role in determining car air conditioning system efficiency. Moreover, the air temperature and velocity at inlets play an important role in determining cabin climate. The results are used to enhance the understating of the airflow fields within a road vehicle passenger cabin.