Vehicle Thermal Management
Know-how in Theory, Measurement Techniques and Testing
22 - 24 July 2026
Table of content
Lecturer:
Dr.-Ing. Timo Kuthada, FKFS
Dr.-Ing. Peter Ambros, TheSys GmbH
More information about Dr. Kuthada and Dr. Ambros
Co-lecturers:
- Daniel Gehringer, FKFS, Center for Climate Comfort
- Roozbeh Razzaghi, IFS University of Stuttgart
In cooperation with
Target Group
This course is targeted to professionals who work or who are interested in the area of vehicle thermal management and cabin comfort. The professionals can be technicians or engineers who either are newcomers or who simply wish to learn more about these topics. For young professionals the course provides an overview over thermal components and system solutions for the whole range of vehicle thermal management as well as guidelines for implementation of modern testing and simulation tools into the development process.
The course focuses on the fundamentals of thermodynamics, covering measurement techniques as well as computational approaches. The various facets of the course content are presented as both, theoretical lectures and practical training especially in the climatic wind tunnel
Course Objectives
The course is designed to provide a detailed understanding of vehicle thermal management in simulation and experiment. The participants will be trained to be able to carry out respective development work at car manufacturers and suppliers under consideration of the various interfaces to other disciplines.
Objective 1:
Understand basic physics and relationships for vehicle thermal management; apply fundamental aerodynamic equations on standard flow situations; assess aerodynamic coefficients and aerodynamic results; influences on vehicle drag and lift as well as vehicle dynamics.
Objective 2:
Gain an overview over the wide range of thermal components and thermal system solutions in modern series vehicles.
Objective 3:
Understand the mode of operation of different components and systems of a vehicle thermal management.
Objective 4:
Learn to conduct thermal management investigations under experimental conditions in our modern wind tunnel facilities as well as to evaluate the measured data.
Modules
Module 1: Basics of Vehicle Thermodynamics and Vehicle Cooling
- Tasks of vehicle engine cooling system and HVAC
- Cooling loops and thermal fluids
- Underhood cooling air flow
- Heat transfer by conduction, convection, radiation
- Principal heat exchanger designs
- Heat exchanger designs (Fluid/Air, Air/Air, Fluid/Fluid) - Exponates
- Heat exchanger parts (fins, tubes, turbulators) – Exponates
- Thermal components (pumps, valves, fans, …)
Module 2: Basics of Aero- & Thermo-Testing/Measurement equipment
- Cooling air flow and cooling air flow ducting
- Measurement techniques
Module 3: Climatic wind tunnel testing and road load simulation
- Cooling air flow and cooling air flow ducting
- Measurement techniques for thermal systems
Module 4: Development Process - Digital Tools
- Industry development process for thermal systems and components
- Thermal simulation tools for performance prediction (0d, 1d, 3d-CFD) and project examples
- FE-simulation tools for stress and lifetime prediction and project examples
- Demonstration of development process and project results based on the innovation project „InnoTherms“
Module 5: Vehicle Thermalmanagement – Power Train Cooling
- Overview over different vehicle powertrains as ICE, Hybrid, BEV, Fuelcell, H2-ICE and the design of powertrain cooling system
- Different thermal requirements and correlating cooling system architectures
- Thermal components, modules, subsystems and systems
- Examples of thermal components and thermal systems in series vehicles
Module 6: Cabin Comfort and Human Comfort Models
- Heating, HVAC, heat pumps
- Legal requirements
- Human comfort models
Module 7: Simulation Tutorials: Cooling System Simulation
- Life demonstration of 1d-simulation-models with GT-Suite
- Component level: battery cooler
- Module level: cooling module
- System level: heat pump
- Possibility for participants to define and run case-simulations
Module 8: Hot Climatic Testing incl. Influence of Solar Load (Climatic Wind Tunnel)
- Dyno operation including vehicle fixture
- Cooling system performance testing
- Solar load simulation
Module 9:Cold Thermal Testing incl. Passenger Comfort (Climatic Chamber)
- Heat up test / De-Icing test
- Passenger comfort with FKFS TCM
Goals
After having completed this course, the participants will have a fundamental knowledge about vehicle thermal management. They will be able to use development tools like climatic wind tunnels and system simulation and will be able to effectively perform effectively development work on cars under consideration of the interfaces to other disciplines.