Effects of Supply Power and Environmental Conditions on Urea Coolant Melting Phenomena in Urea Supply Lines in Vehicles

Abstract

Freezing of urea is one of the major barriers to using the urea-SCR technique in vehicles. Therefore, urea melting-time predictions under various environmental conditions are very important. Transient numerical analysis was performed to predict the melting time. The urea supply line was composed of a double tube structure. Two copper wires were installed around the inner tube for the heater role. The urea melting time was calculated using ANSYS transient thermal v.15. The supply voltage, ambient temperature, and heat transfer coefficient on the external surface of supply line were changed to evaluate the effects of supply power and environmental conditions. The urea melted in less than 600 s in all cases. The urea melting time was influenced by the ambient temperature rather than the speed of the vehicle.

Keywords

• urea
• heat transfer
• melting