Publication detail

CFD Simulation of Defogging Effectivity in Automotive Headlamp

GUZEJ, M. ZACHAR, M.

English title

CFD Simulation of Defogging Effectivity in Automotive Headlamp

Type

journal article in Web of Science

Language

en

Original abstract

In the past decade, the condensation of internal air humidity in automotive headlamps has become more prevalent than ever due to the increased usage of a new light source—LEDs. LEDs emit far less heat than previously-used halogen lamps, which makes them far more susceptible to fogging. This fogging occurs when the internal parts of the headlamp fall to a temperature below the dew point. The front glass is most vulnerable to condensation due to its direct exposure to ambient conditions. Headlamp fogging leads to a decrease in performance and the possibility of malfunctions, which has an impact not only on the functional aspect of the product’s use but also on traffic safety. There are currently several technical solutions available which can determine the effectivity of ventilation systems applied for headlamp defogging. Another approach to this problem may be to use a numerical simulation. This paper proposes a CFD (computational fluid dynamics) simulation with a slightly simplified 3D model of an actual headlamp, which allows simulation of all the phenomena closely connected with fluid flow and phase change. The results were validated by real experiments on a special fogging–defogging test rig. This paper compares three different simulations and their compliance with real experiments.

English abstract

In the past decade, the condensation of internal air humidity in automotive headlamps has become more prevalent than ever due to the increased usage of a new light source—LEDs. LEDs emit far less heat than previously-used halogen lamps, which makes them far more susceptible to fogging. This fogging occurs when the internal parts of the headlamp fall to a temperature below the dew point. The front glass is most vulnerable to condensation due to its direct exposure to ambient conditions. Headlamp fogging leads to a decrease in performance and the possibility of malfunctions, which has an impact not only on the functional aspect of the product’s use but also on traffic safety. There are currently several technical solutions available which can determine the effectivity of ventilation systems applied for headlamp defogging. Another approach to this problem may be to use a numerical simulation. This paper proposes a CFD (computational fluid dynamics) simulation with a slightly simplified 3D model of an actual headlamp, which allows simulation of all the phenomena closely connected with fluid flow and phase change. The results were validated by real experiments on a special fogging–defogging test rig. This paper compares three different simulations and their compliance with real experiments.

Keywords in English

headlamp; fogging; defogging; CFD; condensation; dew point

Released

01.07.2019

Publisher

MDPI

ISSN

1996-1073

Volume

12

Number

13

Pages from–to

1–18

Pages count

18

BIBTEX


@article{BUT157610,
  author="Michal {Guzej} and Martin {Zachar},
  title="CFD Simulation of Defogging Effectivity in Automotive Headlamp",
  year="2019",
  volume="12",
  number="13",
  month="July",
  pages="1--18",
  publisher="MDPI",
  issn="1996-1073"
}