Heavy Duty - Radiators
What is a Radiator?
A radiator is the part of the engine cooling system that excess combustion heat is lost to atmosphere by means of forced convection using a circulating liquid such as water or water/glycol to affect heat transfer.
Function of the Radiator
The primary function of the radiator is to transfer waste heat energy to the cooling air at a rate that will maintain the safe operating engine coolant temperatures. The processes that accomplish this are convection, conduction and radiation. These processes are dependent upon 3 variables:
- The existence of temperature differences between liquid and air
- The existence of temperature differences between coolant and air flow
- The design of the heat transfer surfaces to maximize their potential
Radiator Core
The radiator core is the heat exchanger portion of the radiator assembly. It consists of 3 parts:
- Tubes
- Fins (flat fin or tubular) or serpentine
- Header sheet bonded together mechanically or metallurgically
Types of cores
- Downflow
- Crossflow
- Low Flow
- Split Flow
- Folded
