Abstract
As part of the launch of the refrigerant R-1234yf there were a number of studies done regarding the ignition behavior of this new refrigerant in passenger cars. These tests were conducted by a number of automobile manufacturers, component suppliers, and the refrigerant supplier under laboratory conditions at the component and vehicle level. In November 2009 the international automotive industry concluded that the R-1234yf can be used safely in automotive air conditioning systems.
Further tests were conducted by different automobile manufacturers, suppliers, and the refrigerant supplier under various laboratory and vehicle operation conditions means hot surfaces in the engine compartment. A number of vehicle manufactures have conducted full vehicle crash tests.
In this paper, real world accidents are analyzed using the German In-Depth Accident Study (GIDAS) database as well as the thermal parameters for ignition of R-1234yf, i.e. concentration and surface temperature to create a worst-case scenario. These parameters were considered while conducting a frontal impact test with a hot 1.4 liter turbo gasoline engine with a critical overheated exhaust surface temperature and an operating R-1234yf Mobile Air Conditioning (MAC) system. The test was conducted with an ECE R95 deformable moving barrier at a test speed of 50kph.