Method of operating a cooling system having dual independent refrigerant loops for providing cooling to a vehicle cabin and vehicle battery

A method of operating a cooling system for a vehicle comprising:

• providing the cooling system including a coolant loop configured to exchange heat with a battery;
• a first refrigerant loop comprising a first compressor, an evaporator configured to exchange heat with a cabin of said vehicle, an evaporator shutoff valve, a first chiller configured to exchange heat with the coolant loop, and a first chiller shutoff valve;
• and a second refrigerant loop comprising a second compressor and a second chiller configured to exchange heat with the coolant loop, wherein the coolant loop comprises a coolant valve for selectively directing or preventing the flow of a coolant between the battery and each of the first chiller and the second chiller;
• providing a cooling system controller operably coupled to the first compressor, the second compressor, the coolant valve, the evaporator shutoff valve, and the first chiller shutoff valve;
• determining cabin cooling needs and battery cooling needs;
• operating the cooling system in one of a second chiller only mode, a first chiller only mode, an air conditioning (AC) only mode, a first refrigerant loop only mode, and a dual refrigerant loop mode;
• modifying a speed of at least one of the first compressor and the second compressor to satisfy the cabin cooling needs and the battery cooling needs;
• and
• determining a combined coefficient of performance (COP) optimization for the first compressor and the second compressor and modifying the speed of the first compressor and the second compressor according to the combined COP optimization.

A method of operating a cooling system for a vehicle comprising:

• providing the cooling system including a coolant loop configured to exchange heat with a battery;
• a first refrigerant loop comprising a first compressor, an evaporator configured to exchange heat with a cabin of said vehicle, and a first chiller configured to exchange heat with the coolant loop;
• and a second refrigerant loop comprising a second compressor and a second chiller configured to exchange heat with the coolant loop, wherein the coolant loop comprises a coolant valve for selectively directing or preventing the flow of a coolant between the battery and each of the first chiller and the second chiller;
• providing a cooling system controller operably coupled to the first compressor, the second compressor, and the coolant valve;
• determining cabin cooling needs and battery cooling needs;
• operating the cooling system in a dual refrigerant loop mode;
• modifying a speed of at least one of the first compressor and the second compressor to satisfy the cabin cooling needs and the battery cooling needs;
• determining if additional cooling is needed for at least one of the cabin and the battery;
• and
• determining if the additional cooling is for a cabin cooling request or for a battery cooling request;
• determining the speed of the second compressor corresponding to an optimal coefficient of performance (COP);
• determining if the second compressor is operating at or above the speed corresponding to the optimal COP;
• and
• adjusting the speed of the second compressor up to the speed corresponding to the optimal COP when the additional cooling is for a battery cooling request and the second compressor is operating below the speed corresponding to the optimal COP.