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Air Conditioning and Heating

HVAC systems, from refrigerant cycles to occupant comfort

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Solution Overview

Refrigerant Simulation Without Limits

Refrigerant systems play an increasingly important role in modern thermal management, from vehicle HVAC and EV battery cooling to residential and commercial heat pumps, chillers, and data center cooling. GT-SUITE’s best-in-class solver is robust and stable for two-phase circuits in transient conditions, even with zero flow.

GT-SUITE models traditional A/C systems as well as heat pumps, transcritical systems, multi-branch systems, and more. This includes natural refrigerants: CO₂ (R744), ammonia (R717), propane (R290), and other low-GWP fluids, alongside conventional HFCs and HFOs and their blends. Refrigerant circuits integrate easily with coolant or water loops, the conditioned space itself (whether a vehicle cabin, a building zone, or an equipment enclosure), and the surrounding mechanical or powertrain system, enabling complete thermal and energy management from component to full system.

APPLICATION HIGHLIGHTS

Most Advanced Two-Phase Solution

  • Best-in-class, robust Navier-Stokes-based solver handles arbitrary initial conditions and zero flow
  • Faster than real-time calculation speeds enable efficient controls development in MiL, SiL, and HiL environments
  • Spatially resolved condensers and evaporators to capture phase change
  • Automatic calibration of heat exchanger to test data
  • NIST REFPROP fluid properties source code built in and optimized for fast run time
  • Capture humidity handling, frosting
  • Composition shift in zeotropic blends
  • Void fraction models
  • Model effects of oil in the refrigerant
  • Wide range of detail for enclosed-space models (vehicle cabins, building zones, etc.) ranging from 0D to high-fidelity models for occupant comfort with GT-TAITherm

Advanced Features

Highlights of Our Air Conditioning and Heating Simulation Capabilities

Model complex refrigerant circuits, heat pumps, and CO₂ systems with high-fidelity simulation for accurate performance prediction and complete thermal management analysis across automotive, residential, commercial, and industrial platforms.

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Optimum Refrigerant Charge Determination

Determine the optimal refrigerant charge quantity for any system configuration, including automotive, residential, and commercial systems. Shortens development cycles and reduces costly physical testing.

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Full Transient and Steady-State Cycle Simulation

Simulate complete operating cycles from steady-state conditions through demanding transient events such rapid compressor speed or ambient condition variation. Captures real-world system behavior across the full operating envelope including frosting and humidity handling.

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Real-Time Physics-Based and/or ML models

Many models run faster than real-time as-built, but when even greater speed is needed, several options are available to accelerate simulation performance. Dedicated tools make it easy to reduce model run time while preserving the accuracy of a physics-based model. For applications that demand run times orders of magnitude faster than real time, built-in dynamic machine learning capabilities can generate ultra-fast models without sacrificing fidelity.

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Advanced Heat Exchangers

Dedicated, highly flexible templates (tube-fin, microchannel, brazed plate, coil, shell tube, and more) enable prediction of performance from geometry and built-in correlations. If performance data is available, correlation coefficients can be automatically optimized. These fast, high-fidelity models enable accurate extrapolation, scaling, and impact of changing the working fluid. Custom circuiting is easily specified directly in the UI.

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Two-Phase Cooling for Battery and Electronics Thermal Management

Model two-phase refrigerant loops for high-heat-density applications, including battery thermal management in electric vehicles and stationary energy storage systems, as well as chip and electronics cooling in data centers, power electronics, and other compute-intensive systems. Fully integrated with the surrounding powertrain, grid, or HVAC system, GT-SUITE.

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Occupant and Process Comfort Prediction with GT-TAITherm

Connect refrigerant and HVAC circuit models with GT-TAITherm's high-fidelity thermal simulation to evaluate thermal comfort for vehicle occupants, building occupants, or temperature-sensitive equipment and processes. This enables comfort-driven system design and control without requiring physical prototypes.

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Resources

Explore the resources below to learn more about this solution, including technical papers, case studies, and application notes.

Optimize HVACR Performance with GT-SUITE: Advanced System Modeling & Simulation

See how GT-SUITE's integrated system modeling optimizes HVACR design for efficiency, sustainability, and cost-effectiveness.

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Addressing Heat Pump Challenges, from Home to Industry with Simulation

Heat pumps are reshaping HVACR. Discover the key industry challenges and how simulation drives smarter, greener system design.

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Simulation for the HVACR Industry: How to Leverage Machine Learning

Explore how machine learning metamodels speed up HVACR thermal simulations, with a case study on EV battery and cabin systems.

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Meta Model Generation in A Liquid Desiccant Air Conditioner

See how meta model generation in GT-SUITE helps OEMs assess liquid desiccant HMX module performance at any design point.

View Technical Paper

Window Air Conditioner Refrigeration Cycle Balancing Using GT-SUITE

See how GT-SUITE was used to balance the refrigeration cycle of a window air conditioner, achieving strong correlation with physical testing.

View Technical Paper

Enhancing Thermal Comfort and Vehicle Energy Efficiency: A Simulation Study Using GT ISE + Taitherm

A case study on using GT-TAITherm to simulate vehicle cabin thermal comfort and EV energy efficiency, with a use case on optimizing evaporator target temperature.

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Heat Pump Model Development for Cabin Thermal Management using GT-SUITE​

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EV Thermal System Model For HIL Applications

View Technical Paper

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