Chapter 9: Cooling Systems
BAE 599 - Lecture 9
Cooling Systems
Exhaust gas temperatures often
exceed the melting point of materials
utilized to make the pistons and
cylinder walls.
Cooling is needed to reduce the
likelihood of cylinder head cracking,
cylinder wall scoring, ring sticking, or
piston seizing.
Engines may either be water- or air-
cooled.
Heat Loads
Heat load can be summed for several
components,
E T E CC E IC E OC E AC
where the subscripts CC, IC, OC and AC
reference heat rejected by combustion
chambers, inter-cooler, oil cooler, and air
conditioner, respectively.
Cooling
First three terms, combined, are
between 60 to 94% of the brake
power.
Air conditioner load (32 C) is 7 kW.
Cylinder temperatures must be kept
below 220 C to inure oil film does
not break down.
Water Cooling
Manufacturer usually selects one
supplier for cooling system – they
are cooling specialists.
Critical values such as water flow,
air flow and heat exchanger
capacity are sized at rated engine
speed and power.
Water Flow
Heat carrying capacity of radiator is
estimated as,
E QW W CW TW
RW
60
where QW is coolant flow rate.
Coolant Flow Rate
Typical coolant flow rates are 1.3 to
2.5 L/min/kW.
Centrifugal pumps are used to move
water.
Discharge of pump is into cylinder
block.
Natural circulation causes water to
rise to top of cylinder head – moves
from head to radaitor.
Typical Radiator
Compact Size - Equipment Design Options
Radiator Design
Typical flow rates of 1.4 kg/min/tube.
These flow rates are at saturation – little or
no additional heat transfer.
Total tube numbers can be determined
using the previous equation for total flow
rate and the rule-of-thumb above.
Tubes are rectangular in cross-section with
1:4 ratio.
Tube spacing in heavy-duty radiators is 1.6
cm.
Rows of tubes are staggered.
Radiator Design
Tubes may be aligned in rows for high
particulate environments.
Fins used to increase heat transfer rate –
more fins/cm is better.
Maximum fin spacing limit is 3.5 fins/cm,
although may be reduced to 1.5 fin/cm
for harvesters.
Frontal area must be large enough to
transfer heat – rule of thumb 20-30 cm2
per kW brake power.
Fig. 9.1: Radiator Cut-Away
Fig. 9.2: Temperature within Radiator
Considerations
Coolant systems are often pressurized
to prevent coolant boiling.
Upper engine temperature must
observed.
Radiator tanks must be able to handle
a 5% increase in volume as coolant
expands upon heating.
Tank volume must be great enough to
permit 200 changes of coolant per
minute.
Coolant Boiling Point
The coolant boiling point can be estimated
as,
p
TBP 100 0.053Cconc 0.00367C 2
conc
4
where Cconc is the concentration of ethylene
glycol.
Comments
Radiators can be pressurized to 100
kPa, although 50 kPa is more
common.
For every 4 kPa change in system
operating pressure, there is a 1 C
change in operating temperature.
Fig. 9.4: Radiator Overflow Tank
Airflow Rate
Sufficient air must flow through the
radiator must be available to transfer heat,
E Ra Qa a C pa Ta
where EAr is the heat transfer rate, and Ta
is the temperature rise across the radiator.
Air Density
Air density, a, can be estimated as,
3.49 pa
a
Ta
for air at ambient conditions.
Comments
A reasonable temperature rise
across the radiator is 15 to 20 C.
Must use fan curves once airflow
rate is determined.
Fan curves are developed for
standard conditions (101.2 kPa and
20 C).
Fig. 9.5: Example Fan Curve
Standard Air Pressure at Other Elevations
Standard air pressure at other elevations
is approximated as,
patm 101.1 0.01116 h
where h is the altitude in m.
Correction of Fan Power
Fan power can be corrected to the new
conditions as,
294.1 po
Pfo Pfc
101.3To
where fo is the non-standard condition
and fc is from the performance curve.
Fan Laws
Fan laws can be utilized to look at other
fan configurations
3 2 2
Q fn N fn D fn p fn N fn D fn
Q fc N fc D fc p fc N fc D
fc
3 5
Pfn N fn D fn
Pfc N fc D
fc
Comments
Shroud should be fitted between
radiator and fan.
Need 10 cm clearance minimum
between fan and radiator.
Peripheral clearance between fan
and shroud should range from 0.6
to 1.25 cm.
Performance curves are generated
for depth of fan penetration into
shroud.
Coolants
Ethylene Glycol (C2H6O2) is the
primary coolant utilized in engines
today.
Typical mixtures are 50% water and
50% ethylene glycol.
Chemical inhibitors, that are
alkaline, are added to the coolant to
eliminate acid formation.
Coolants
Ethylene glycol raises the boiling
point and lower the freezing point.
Additives reduce cavitation – a
major source of cylinder wall
pitting.
Other additive inhibit rust and
corrosion.
Fig. 9.6: Properties of Ethylene
Glycol/Water Mixtures
Specific Heat of Coolant
The specific heat of ethylene glycol is,
CW 4.127 0.0002892TW
For a 50/50 mix with water,
CW 3.409 0.003897TW
where Tw is temperature in C.
Considerations
Ethylene glycol lowers the specific
heat of the coolant, and this must
be considered in the design of the
cooling system.
Fig. 9.7: Engine Therrmostats
Thermostats
Bellows type with short sealed tube
containing ether. Ether expands
when heated causing the
thermostat to open.
Bimetallic strip uncoils when heated
causing the thermostat to open.
Fig. 9.8: Air-Cooled Engine
Comments
For these engines to cool properly a
minimum of 0.04 m3/s of cooling air
must be provided per brake kW of
engine power.
Homework Set No. 8
Do the even problems at the end of
Chapter 9 for next Tuesday.
NHRA diesel rail?
NHRA diesel rail?
Turbo?