Mahle is presenting a world first at the IAA Transportation 2024 in Hanover: a bionic high-performance fan that makes commercial vehicles significantly quieter. It was developed for particularly demanding fuel cell and battery-electric vehicles. When optimizing the ventilation blades using AI, Mahle engineers were inspired by the feathers of an owl, one of the quietest birds. The owl’s plumage is said to have a sound-reducing effect. The bionic fan blades can reduce the fan noise of a truck by up to 4 dB(A) – that’s more than halving the sound output. This significant reduction solves another challenge of e-mobility: loud fan noise, which can be annoying under full load and when charging the vehicle at night in residential areas or at rest stops. In addition, the fan is significantly more efficient than conventional designs – thanks to a 10 percent improvement in efficiency and a 10 percent weight saving. Mahle is also enabling the use of its new bionic fan in passenger cars. The company is presenting the product to the public for the first time at the IAA Transportation. The commercial vehicle trade fair will take place from September 17 to 22 in Hanover.
“We learn from nature, it inspires us in many areas! We were already successful with our bionic battery cooling plate, and this has now helped us a lot in optimizing our fan,” said Dr. Uli Christian Blessing, Head of Thermal Management Development at Mahle. “With the help of AI, we analyzed the special features of bats, swordfish and many other sources of inspiration from nature and finally landed on the owl, the silent hunter, as the main model for our new fan.”
The design of the fan blades is based on owl wings and feathers. This minimizes noise turbulence, making the fan much quieter and more efficient. “Reducing the sound output of our fan can be thought of as turning off a speaker on a stereo system,” said Blessing.
The new bionic high-performance fan is particularly effective in noise-sensitive areas. Reduced noise emissions, for example when quickly charging electric vehicles, increase comfort for drivers and residents alike. Mahle offers the fan in a wide range of power outputs from 300 watts to 35 kW. This enables it to be used in everything from small electric cars to large, particularly temperature-sensitive fuel cell trucks. The first prototypes are already being tested by various car and commercial vehicle manufacturers.
“With this new product, Mahle is making a further contribution to making the electrification of mobility more attractive for customers and making decisive progress,” said Blessing.
To save even more weight, Mahle has also developed the fan cover and support according to the bionic principle. Both components are now more than 10 percent lighter and have greater structural strength.
Electrification and thermal management, i.e. heating and cooling, are closely intertwined. Without efficient thermal management, there can be no efficient electrification. Mahle is one of the few global suppliers that is active in both fields with excellent know-how and develops technical solutions for all drives.
Mahle at the IAA Transportation 2024
Visitors to the IAA Transportation in Hanover in September can take a close look at the fan. It is part of an exhibit ensemble that represents Mahle’s systemic approach to a fuel cell truck. Together with a fully functional fuel cell, it consists of fuel cell peripherals, thermal management (fan and battery cooling) and a heavy-duty e-axle. The e-axle is a technology demonstrator in which Mahle has compactly integrated two of its SCT e-motors with a total output of 520 kW as well as the complete liquid management. All products have been developed, tested and are ready for series application. The technology group is thus demonstrating its system expertise and the suitability of its innovations for series production.
As another premiere, Mahle is showing its new evaporative cooling system for fuel cell vehicles. It generates up to 50 kW more cooling power in the same installation space. This makes it possible to reduce the fan power and thus reduce hydrogen consumption by up to 1.5 percent. Mahle has developed a power cell unit (H 2 -PCU) for hydrogen engines that ensures the robust and trouble-free operation of this climate-neutral drive.
This year, the Mahle appearance in Hall 12 of the Hanover exhibition center is under the motto “Technological diversity”.
SOURCE: Mahle
