BorgWarner Thermal Systems presented the regulated coolant pump as a major step toward a comprehensive heat management system for commercial vehicles at this year’s IAA trade show in Hanover.
This concept of demand-based control of the coolant flow based on the BorgWarner Visctronic technology is said to produce a reduction in fuel consumption of one percent to two percent.
The system pressure of the coolant circuit is limited by means of reduced flow at high engine speeds, allowing a cost-efficient design of the heat exchanger, according to the company.
The continuing challenge of reducing the CO2 emissions of combustion-engine driven vehicles resulted in BorgWarner developing a controllable coolant pump. After the fan as the largest consumer in terms of power, the coolant pump is the next biggest consumer to be controlled. With optimally adjusted control algorithms for controlling the fan clutch and the clutch for the coolant pump, it is possible to achieve significant fuel savings.
Depending on the route profile, these amount to two percent to three percent for the Visctronic fan clutch and a further one percent to two percent from the controlled coolant pump.
The new patented hydraulic concept is used in the coolant pump and is said to have set a new benchmark in terms of the system’s response times to increase or reduce the coolant flow. In addition, compared to a fixed clutch system, the concept regulates the flow so the pump can reduce flow and pressure at high engine speeds. The company says that by choosing higher speed ratios, the flow of the pump can be boosted in the lower speed ranges (e.g. maximum torque) in order to flow more coolant without increasing pressure in the high engine speed range, where the system will limit the impeller speed.
