At the IAA Transportation 2024 in Hanover, MAHLE is presenting a bio-inspired high-performance fan which makes commercial vehicles significantly quieter. The fan was developed for particularly demanding fuel cell and battery electric vehicles.
When optimizing its ventilation blades with the use of AI, the MAHLE engineers took inspiration from the wings of an owl. One of the quietest birds in the world, the owl’s plumage has a noise-reducing effect. The new fan blades can reduce the fan noise of a truck by up to 4 dB(A)—equal to more than halving the sound output.
This significant reduction solves another challenge for e-mobility: loud fan noise, which can be disturbing both at full load as well as when charging the vehicle at night, whether in residential areas or during resting times at service stations.
The fan is also significantly more efficient than conventional designs, due to 10% better performance and a 10% lighter design. MAHLE also enables the use of its new fan in passenger cars.
The design of the fan blades was modeled on owl wings and feathers. This minimizes noise turbulence and makes the fan much more quiet and efficient.
It is particularly in noise-sensitive areas that the new bionic high-performance fan shows its strength. During fast charging of vehicles, for example, reduced noise levels increase comfort for drivers and area residents alike.
MAHLE offers the fan in a broad power range from 300 watts to 35 kW. This enables its use in small electric passenger cars all the way through to large, particularly temperature-sensitive fuel cell trucks. The first prototypes are already being trialed by various passenger car and commercial vehicle manufacturers.
To save even more weight, MAHLE also developed the fan cover and carrier in accordance with bionic principles. As a result, both components are more than 10% lighter, and have increased structural integrity.
Electrification and thermal management, i.e., heating and cooling, are closely interwoven. Efficient electrification is not possible without efficient thermal managment. MAHLE is one of the few global suppliers active in both fields, where it leverages its excellent expertise to develop technical solutions for all drives.
In another premiere, MAHLE is showcasing its new evaporative cooling system for fuel cell vehicles. This system generates up to 50 kW higher cooling capacity in the same amount of space. This makes it possible to decrease fan usage—and thereby reduce hydrogen consumption by up to 1.5%. For hydrogen engines, MAHLE has developed a Power Cell Unit (H2-PCU) to ensure the robust and problem-free operation of this climate-neutral drive.
Source from Green Car Congress
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