Control strategy of electric coolant pumps for fuel economy improvement

The engine cooling system for a medium duty V6, 4.5 L diesel engine was modeled with a commercial code, GT-Cool in order to investigate the effect of controllable electric pump on the cooling performance and the fuel economy. The simulation results of the cooling system model with mechanical coolant pump were validated with experimental data. Two different types of electric pumps were implemented into the cooling system model and PID control for electric pump operation was incorporated into the simulation study. Based on the simulation result with electric pump, conventional thermostat hysteresis was modified to reduce pump operation for additional improvement of fuel economy, and then the benefit of electric pumps with modified thermostat hysteresis on fuel economy was demonstrated with the simulation. The predicted result indicates that the cooling system with electric pump and modified thermostat hysteresis can reduce pump power consumption by more than 99% during the FTP 74 driving cycle.