Design and Analysis of Computer Experiments (DACE) and 3D Computation Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations for agricultural tractor cooling concept

Abstract

The Design and Analysis of Computer Experiments (DACE) approach, in combination with 3D Computation Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation, was used to develop and virtually test cooling and thermal management system. The engine technologies used to satisfy the next EU and USA exhaust emission legislative requirements (Tier4) increase the amount of heat rejected by 25% with respect to Tier3a, therefore more powerful cooling systems and advanced engine thermal management are needed. CFD simulation combined with the DACE methodology in a very early development stage allows a wider range of solutions to be explored. The DACE method allows a series of virtual experiments to be planned in order to extract the maximum quantity of information from a given number of samples, even before the physical prototypes are built. DACE is centered on factors, responses and runs and helps to determine if and how a factor affects a response.