An air cycle heat pump heating system using a turbocharger for full electric vehicle

An air cycle heat pump has large potentials than the PTC (positive temperature coefficient thermistor) in heating applications for full electric vehicles. A key challenge faced nowadays is the matching problem between the expander and compressor of a conventional air cycle heat pump. This paper designed an air cycle heat pump system using a turbocharger (ACHPT) to replace the expander and compressor. The heating power consumptions of PTC and ACHPT were numerically compared, the results showed the ACHPT could save more energy with the outside temperature lower for the full electric vehicles. The simulation results also showed the ACHPT could work below the outside temperature of -10°C and the optimal pressure ratio is more sensitive to the environment temperature. In order to validate its operation effect, a test bench of the ACHPT was worked out.