An internal combustion engine has evaporative cooling and waste heat utilization in a common vapor circulation system. The internal combustion engine includes a first exhaust gas heat exchanger. An evaporator system fluidly connected to the first exhaust gas heat exchanger is formed from a cooling jacket heat exchanger inside a housing for the evaporative cooling. A second exhaust gas heat exchanger is fluidly connected to the evaporator system. An expansion machine is fluidly connected to the second exhaust heat exchanger. A condenser is fluidly connected to the expansion machine. A feed pump is fluidly connected to the condenser. A third exhaust gas heat exchanger is disposed in an exhaust gas train. The first exhaust gas heat exchanger is fluidically connected to the second exhaust gas heat exchanger via the third exhaust gas heat exchanger and then via the cooling jacket heat exchanger.

The invention relates to a method, system, and computer program product for controlling a waste heat recovery system associated with a vehicle powertrain, the powertrain comprising a combustion engine and a gearbox connected to the combustion engine, the waste heat recovery system comprising a working fluid circuit; an evaporator; an expander; a condenser; a reservoir for a working fluid and a pump arranged to pump the working fluid through the circuit, wherein the evaporator is arranged for heat exchange between the working fluid and at least one heat source, wherein the waste heat recovery system further comprises a cooling circuit arranged in connection to the condenser, and wherein the expander is mechanically coupled to the powertrain. The method comprises the steps of determining the pressure and temperature of the working fluid upstream of the expander; and controlling the rotational speed of the expander based on the determined pressure and temperature.

A heat recovery system is provided. The heat recovery system comprises at least one heat exchanger capable of transferring heat from a first fluid heated by the engine to at least one second fluid, at least one turbine capable of obtaining motion energy from the second fluid pressurized by heating in said heat exchanger, at least one condenser capable of discharging the heat of the second fluid exiting said turbine and transferring it back to the heat exchanger, and at least one alternator capable of converting the motion energy obtained from the turbine into electrical energy.

The invention provides a single radiator cooling system for use in hybrid electric vehicles, the system comprising a surface in thermal communication with electronics, and subcooled boiling fluid contacting the surface. The invention also provides a single radiator method for simultaneously cooling electronics and an internal combustion engine in a hybrid electric vehicle, the method comprising separating a coolant fluid into a first portion and a second portion; directing the first portion to the electronics and the second portion to the internal combustion engine for a time sufficient to maintain the temperature of the electronics at or below 175 C.; combining the first and second portion to reestablish the coolant fluid; and treating the reestablished coolant fluid to the single radiator for a time sufficient to decrease the temperature of the reestablished coolant fluid to the temperature it had before separation.

Methods and systems are provided for controlling coolant flow through parallel branches of a coolant circuit including an AC condenser and a charge air cooler. Flow is apportioned responsive to an AC head pressure and a CAC temperature to reduce parasitic losses and improve fuel economy. The flow is apportioned via adjustments to a coolant pump output and a proportioning valve.

A pressure relief valve is opened from a first time to a second time for the purpose of reducing the pressure in the gas phase in a gas-liquid separator. A first water pump (WP) is driven at a third time and a fourth time. The third time and fourth time correspond to timings at which a difference between a boiling temperature and an actual temperature becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined temperature. Since liquid-phase coolant in a catch tank can be fed to another water pump by driving the first WP, the actual temperature of the liquid-phase coolant immediately upstream of the other water pump can be lowered. It is thus possible to prevent intense boiling of the liquid-phase coolant immediately upstream of the other water pump.

Methods and systems are provided for controlling coolant flow through parallel branches of a coolant circuit including an AC condenser and a charge air cooler. Flow is apportioned responsive to an AC head pressure and a CAC temperature to reduce parasitic losses and improve fuel economy. The flow is apportioned via adjustments to a coolant pump output and a proportioning valve.

Methods and systems are provided for controlling coolant flow through parallel branches of a coolant circuit including an AC condenser and a charge air cooler. Flow is apportioned responsive to an AC head pressure and a CAC temperature to reduce parasitic losses and improve fuel economy. The flow is apportioned via adjustments to a coolant pump output and a proportioning valve.

A system for rapidly heating a vehicle engine when the engine is below a pre-determined temperature allows for improved fuel efficiency after a vehicle cold-start. The system includes an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) loop having a two-phase ORC fluid traveling circuitously through a conduit. The ORC fluid is vaporized by a power electronics cooling device and by an evaporator in thermal communication with exhaust waste heat. The vaporized ORC fluid is passed through an expander to generate electrical power. When the vehicle engine is below the pre-determined temperature, heat from the vaporized ORC fluid is transferred directly or indirectly to the engine. When the vehicle engine is at or above the pre-determined temperature, heat from the vaporized ORC fluid is instead transferred to an alternate heat sink.

An ebullient cooling device includes: an internal combustion engine cooled by boiling a coolant flowing through a coolant passage formed within the internal combustion engine; a gas-liquid separator that separates a coolant discharged from the internal combustion engine into a liquid-phase coolant and a gas-phase coolant; a condenser that is disposed on a downstream side of the expander, and cools the gas-phase coolant having passed through the expander so as to be changed into a liquid-phase coolant; a first passage that supplies the liquid-phase coolant from the condenser to the coolant passage formed within the internal combustion engine; a second passage that is branched from the first passage, and is connected to the gas-liquid separator; and a control valve that controls a supply state of a liquid-phase coolant supplied to the gas-liquid separator from the condenser through the second passage.