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Good afternoon class, today our group will be present on paper 1 entitled
Automotive Thermostat Valve Configurations; Enhanced Warm-up Performance

OUTLINE

Objectives
Introduction of the Cooling system
Cooling system confgurations
Thermal test bench and Setting up
Main Findings
Explanation of Equation
Advantages and Problem fndings
Summary

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The outline of this presentation consists of 8 parts which I will be taking care of the
Objectives, Introduction of the Cooling system, Cooling system configurations, and pros
and cons
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PAWAT will tell you how to set up the test bench at the Clemson University and main
findings of this paper.
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Moreover, RUESITA will elaborate more in-depth detail about EXPLANATION OF
EQUATION and end the presentation with summary

OBJ ECTIVES
To investigate the warm-up behavior and thermostat
valve operations in different thermostat valve
configurations in order to improve internal
combustion engine performance through enhance
coolant temperature control and reduce parasitic
losses.

OBJECTIVES
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To investigate the warm-up behavior and thermostat valve operations in different
thermostat valve configurations in order to improve internal combustion engine performance
through enhance
coolant temperature control
and reduce parasitic losses.

The next topic that will cover is the

INTRODUCTION TO COOLING SYSTEM
INTRODUCTION TO COOLING SYSTEM

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A cooling system is a part of the engine that prevents engine breakdown due to
overheating.
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All the parts that make up the cooling system have only one purpose and that is to
make sure that the circulation of the coolant inside the engine can absorb and release the heat.
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So !!! One important area of cooling system operation is warm-up, during which fluid
flow is regulated between the bypass and radiator loops.
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In this paper, four different thermostat configurations were analyzed due to questions
concerns the efficiency of common thermostat valve. The criteria are warm-up time,
temperature tracking and cooling system power consumption.
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The internal combustion engine has undergone extensive
developments. The replacement of conventional thermal management components with
updated electric or hydraulic version offers more effective operation.
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functionality in this will be investigated in ground vehicle advanced thermal
management system
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The valve design dictates its placement in the cooling system since valve geometry
contributes to the dynamics of the overall cooling system.

COOLING SYSTEM CONFIGURATIONS

COOLING SYSTEM CONFIGURATIONS AND VALVE OPERATION

As I mentioned earlier, functionalities may be accomplished through different valve
configurations and system architectures.
2.1

Traditional Thermostat Valve Fluid Control (Case 1)

Conventional thermostats are wax based while in operation; when the engine is cold,
the thermostat is closed and coolant is forced to flow through an internal engine bypass
Once the coolant reaches the desired operating temperature, the thermostat begins to
open which the wax is melted.
Fig. 2 The flow of coolant through opening and closing of the thermostat valve
and allow coolant to flow through the radiator where excess heat can be rejected. Coolant
flowing through the radiator is further cooled by the radiator fan pulling air across the radiator.
When the coolant has dropped below the thermostat temperature rating, the valve
closes (via spring force) directing the coolant again through the bypass. Traditional water
pumps and radiator fans are generally driven by engines crankshaft.
Fig. 3 Shows the Traditional Thermostat Valve Fluid Control cooling system
configuration demonstrating the use of mechanically driven water pump and radiator fan
with a wax thermostat.
2.2

Two-way Valve Fluid control (Case 2)

The two-way smart valve controls flow by blocking the coolant from entering an external
bypass by a DC motor.
When the engine is cold, the valve is open and coolant flows through the bypass at a
rate proportional to the pressure drop across the bypass and valve.
Therefore, the pressure drop can be partially controlled by the valve position. During this
time, the radiator is also receiving a portion of the coolant flow.
Once the engine has reached operating temperature, the valve begins to close and
coolant is routed through the radiator only. Moreover, the amount of coolant flow through the
bypass and radiator is determined by the valves geometry and location within the cooling circuit
[3].
2.3

Three-way Valve Fluid control (Case 3)

In the third case, the operation is very similar to that of the two-way valve which could be
electrically controlled by the engine control module (ECM). However, a three-way valve controls
coolant flow through the bypass and radiator loops.
Dissimilar to two-way valve, three-way valve can completely blocked the coolant flow
from entering the radiator or bypass by turning on and off valves.

2.4

No valve fluid control (Case 4 and 5)

In case 4 and 5 configurations, there is no valves present in the cooling system with
addition of baffles in the fifth case.
The valve is now reduced to controlling fluid flow between the bypass and radiator loops,
which is only required during warm-up conditions.
When the engine is cold, coolant is routed through the bypass via valve position to
reduce warm-up times and it has to flow all the time to prevent hot spots that may develop
during the warm-up causing damage to the engine. Furthermore, flow rate of the coolant
controls the temperature handling by the pump in which it has to minimized in order for the
operation to reach the operate range temperature faster.
When the engine reaches its operating temperature, pump speed is to be adjusted to be
suitable for the heat load in the system. The radiator fan starts to run when the pump alone
cannot control the thermal input from the engine and is adjusted to match the necessary amount
of heat rejection.
Case 5 shows the additional improvement on the warm-up times by adding the baffle to
provides external radiator airflow control for further enhancing effectiveness and helps to
keep radiator firmly and securely in place at all times [5]. In essence, the baffles serve as a
valve for external air flow due to vehicle speed.
In warm-up conditions, the baffles would be closed (Refers to Fig.6 at the right) to block
airflow across the radiator and minimize the amount of heat rejected. Once the engine has
reached its operating temperature, the baffles may be opened and the radiator functions
normally (Refers to Fig.6 at the left). The coolant pump operation would be similar to the no
baffle case.
Fig. 6 The thermostat valve is removed which eliminates the need for a bypass;
temperature control achieved by the coolant pump and radiator fan. Note that the
radiator baffles range from fully open to fully closed.
The advantages and problems finding in this paper in each configurations are summarized in
the table below.
Case 1: Traditional Thermostat Valve Fluid
Control

Advantages
Traditional cooling system is passive and
there is no direct control over its operation.
Problems finding
Large parasitic losses are associated with

operating mechanical components at high

rotational speeds due to their mechanical
linkages
Increase in fuel consumption
Over-/undercooling may occur
Case 2: Two-way Valve Fluid control

Advantages
Emphases design simplicity
Problems finding
Non-precise fluid flow control between
radiator and bypass loops while valve is
oriented in bypass mode; therefore, it affects
the engine when trying to rapidly warm up to
operating temperature

Case 3: Three-way Valve Fluid control

Advantages
Better engine warm-up time and precise fluid
flow regulation comparing to the two-way
valve in which the coolant flow can be
completely blocked from entering the radiator
or bypass
Problems finding
Complication in valve geometries when
design
Expensive

Case 4 and 5: No valve fluid control

Advantages
Simplicity
Improve in warm-up time(with baffles case)
Problems finding
When there is no valve present, the system
loses one of its primary purposes due to
active pump speed control
Increase in warm-up time(no baffles)