Triple-screw pumps for ICE cooling systems in the transportation sector

Abstract

Recent EU Regulations have been pushing the transportation sector increasingly towards the reduction of primary harmful pollutants and CO2 emissions. In this context, the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) cooling system is gaining a new technological interest. In fact, improvements on pump efficiency can significantly reduce its absorbed energy during real on-the-road operation. Typically, centrifugal pumps are adopted, but their efficiency is highly dependent on rotational speed, wasting energy during real operation, even if they are designed to have a very high efficiency at the design point. This study investigates the three screws pumps potentiality to substitute traditional centrifugal pumps in engine cooling applications. In fact, triple-screw pumps belong to positive displacement pumps, which have an efficiency ideally independent on rotational speed. A zero-dimensional mathematical model of this pump previously developed by the authors was improved, giving a specific focus on the mechanical efficiency of the pump. The validation of the model resulted in a good agreement with experimental results. The model has been used to design a pump for an IVECO F1C diesel engine. The energy requested to drive the pump over a Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Cycle (WLTC) has been calculated and compared with that of the traditional existing centrifugal pump. Results show that the electrically actuated triple screw pump allows to reduce the energy of about 14 %.