Evaluation of windshield defogging process in an automobile

Abstract

The defogging process on a windshield is one of the important concerns in the automotive industry for driver safety and certification. Therefore, the simulation of the windshield defogging process provides a very effective and useful tool for the designers to obtain a more efficient and rapid defogging process. In this paper, an experimental and numerical study is presented for the windshield defogging process of an automobile. A computational fluid dynamics (CFDs) tool was used to perform the relevant three dimensional (3-D) transient simulations. Both droplet and wall film models are employed for comparison of the demisted area on a windshield in the numerical calculations. The 3-D fluid flow, temperature distribution and heat transfer characteristics of the interior surfaces of the automobile cabin are also considered. It is shown that the results of the simulations are in a good agreement with the experimental data presented in this study.