Active Shutters of the Internal Combustion Engine Cooling System of a Passenger Car

The practice of using active shutters in the modern automotive industry is analyzed in this work, and the high efficiency of such systems is emphasized. It is also noted that by using active shutters the aerodynamic drag of the car can be reduced by 6–10 %. The reduction in the engine’s warm-up time provides faster heating of the car interior. All this helps to save fuel and reduce emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere. The possibility of utilizing the radiator’s active shutters with two autonomously controlled sections is considered. CFD numerical modelling is used to conduct the research, and the potential of the proposed active shutters design is determined. The research has shown that besides the high efficiency, the proposed shutters system has a simpler design and reliability associated with several factors. Due to the vertical arrangement of the slats, the shutters do not reduce the efficiency of the engine’s cooling system and the air conditioning system in the passenger compartment. Unlike in the existing designs, in the proposed system the cooling air supply is regulated by separate opening or closing of two independent sections.

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