A new method for controlling refrigerant flow in automobile air conditioning

This paper describes the improvement of the refrigerant flow control method by using an electronic 14 expansion valve (EEV) which is driven by a stepper motor in automobile air conditioning system. An EEV can make a quick response to the abrupt change in the refrigerant flow rate during the change in automobile speed and the thermostatic on/off operation. The flow rate characteristic of the EEV for automobile air conditioning was presented. A microcontroller is used to receive the input signal and generate the output signal to control the opening of the EEV. The fuzzy self-tuning proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control method is employed. Experimental results show that the new control method can feed adequate refrigerant flow into the evaporator in various operations. The evaporator discharge air temperature has dropped by approximately 3 degreesC as compared with that of the conventional PID control system. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.