Cooling
- radiator designs/form factors
- radiator placements
- other cooling applications: oil or intercooler
Theory
Cooling systems are designed to dissipate the unwanted thermal energy. Systems are often designed around heat exchangers (HEXs), allowing for efficient exchange of heat from a hot fluid to a cooler one. There are three main methods of heat transfer;
- Conduction: Heat transfer over a temperature differential without motion between the materials
- Convection: Heat transfer over a temperature differential with fluid motion between the materials
- Radiation: Heat transfer due to by energy emitted from the unstable nature of a hot material (shitty definition, but the best I have)
HEXs are normally designed to optimize the heat transfer between two fluids using conduction and convection. The most common HEX is an water to air cooler, meaning it transfers heat between the hot water and the cooler air. These HEXs have a few distinct characteristics, full metal construction, thin metal fins in the streamwise direction, water inlets on top and bottom, with air inlets on the front and back. The metal construction is due to a low conductive heat transfer coefficient within the metal in addition to a low specific heat. These factors allow the metal rapidly conduct heat from the hotter internal water channels to the cooler metal fin tips. The fin structure is to maximize convection heat transfer by increasing the surface area the air flows over. The convection heat transfer coefficient is also a function of the airspeed passing the fin, allowing for 'forced convection' where a fan and or vehicle speed is used to impart an inlet speed to the system.Characteristics of radiators vary heavily based upon water channel sizes, fin spacing, and a plethora of other characteristics.
Radiator types
cross flow radiator and why we all use it
Radiator Placement
- side
- rear
- multiple
System design
- hosing
- type
- sizing
- routing
- filling and bleeding
- Data and Data collection
Other applications
- why you would want to cool oil
- If it boils or denatures bad things happen - Novotny
- thanks, lol, just a placeholder, isnt meant to be a question, poor phrasing on my end - simon