Exhaust gas heat recovery system and transmission warmer implementation strategy for a vehicle

摘要

A vehicle includes a coolant circuit that circulates a flow of an engine coolant therethrough. The coolant circuit includes an Exhaust Gas Heat Recover (EGHR) system for transferring heat from a flow of exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine to the flow of the engine coolant. A control valve is disposed downstream of the EGHR system, and directs the flow of the engine coolant along either a first fluid flow path back to the internal combustion engine to heat the internal combustion engine, or a second fluid flow path including a transmission fluid warming system to heat a supply of transmission fluid to reduce transmission spin loss.

主权项

1. A vehicle comprising:
an internal combustion engine having a fluid outlet and a fluid inlet in fluid communication with each other and configured for circulating a flow of an engine coolant from the fluid inlet to the fluid outlet; and a coolant circuit interconnecting the fluid outlet and the fluid inlet in fluid communication and circulating the flow of the engine coolant therethrough from the fluid outlet to the fluid inlet, the coolant circuit including:
a pump disposed downstream of and in fluid communication with the fluid outlet, and configured for circulating the engine coolant through the coolant circuit;an Exhaust Gas Heat Recovery (EGHR) system disposed downstream from the pump and from the fluid outlet, and configured for transferring heat from a flow of exhaust gas from the internal combustion engine to the engine coolant;a control valve disposed downstream from and in fluid communication with the EGHR system;a first fluid flow path in fluid communication with and disposed downstream of the control valve;a second fluid flow path in fluid communication with and disposed downstream of the control valve;wherein the pump circulates the engine coolant through the entire coolant circuit, including both the first fluid flow path and the second fluid flow path of the coolant circuit;a transmission fluid warming system disposed along the second fluid flow path;wherein the control valve directs the flow of the engine coolant along the first fluid flow path when a temperature of the engine coolant is below a pre-defined temperature, and directs the flow of the engine coolant along the second fluid flow path when the temperature of the engine coolant is equal to or greater than the pre-defined temperature;an Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) system in fluid communication with and disposed downstream of the first fluid flow path and the second fluid flow path, and in fluid communication with and disposed upstream of the fluid inlet of the internal combustion engine;wherein the EGR system is operable to transfer heat from the flow of the engine coolant circulating through the coolant circuit to the internal combustion engine; andwherein the EGR system is configured to receive the flow of the engine coolant from the control valve through the first fluid flow path when the control valve directs the flow of the engine coolant through the first fluid flow path, and wherein the EGR system is configured to receive the flow of the engine coolant from the transmission fluid warming system when the control valve directs the flow of the engine coolant through the second fluid flow path.