• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.99-106
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• 2011

This paper deals with engine room layout design optimization of fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV), which has been proposed as a potential alternative to fossil fuel depletion. Investing the great R&D efforts, the global vehicle manufacturers, especially Honda motor corporate, have shown not prototype vehicle but commercial vehicle using fuel cell in the market recently. In this paper, we analyze cooling performance and flow characteristic in the engine room of newly FCEV, in addition we suggest the optimization process for engine room layout design optimization. The two radiators in the vehicle for fuel cell stack and electronic components cooling have been analyzed and their performance are obtained in terms of cooling performance ratio (CPR). The value of CPR should always be less than one and based on criteria, we have achieved the optimum cooling performance of radiators for stack and electronic components. Aerodynamic performance is evaluated in terms of drag coefficient, improved through underbody modification using air devices.