Using an air cycle heat pump system with a turbocharger to supply heating for full electric vehicles

Air cycle heat pump has large potentials in heating applications. However, a key challenge faced nowadays is the matching problem between its expander and compressor. This paper presents the performance evaluation of an air cycle heat pump system integrated with a turbocharger, a blower and a regenerated heat exchanger. A thermodynamic model for this system is first developed and the relationships between the system performance and the operating parameters are investigated. Then, the performance of three different air cycle heat pumps with a blower installed before the compressor, and a blower installed before the turbine, and with an expander, are numerically simulated. The results indicated that the blower installed before the compressor can achieve a higher heating capacity and thus a higher COP. Finally, the heating power consumption of air cycle heat pump was compared with the PTC and the vapor compression heat pump of the full electric vehicle.