Disclaimer

The study provided in this paper has not be plagiarized from here. Direct quotations and indirect research

abstracts, if any, taken from the works of others have been properly cited in the text and have been referred

in the reference section. The work is in accordance with the academic integrity policies of the institution.

1
 Abstract

The investigation of a typical car radiator was carried out in the paper. The exchange and transfer of heat

was studied. The radiator, as we know it, was a cross-flow heat exchanger. All the parameters related to the

phenomenon like exchange of fluids like water, coolant and air were explained efficiently. It is hoped that

the readers, after going through the paper in detail, will be able to under typical radiators both linguistically

and mathematically.

2
Contents
Disclaimer....................................................................................................................................................................... 1
Abstract........................................................................................................................................................................... 2
List of Figures................................................................................................................................................................. 3
List of Graphs..................................................................................................................................................................3
Introduction/Background.................................................................................................................................................4
Heat Transfer Calculations for A Car Heat Exchanger....................................................................................................5
Discussion..................................................................................................................................................................... 24
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................................... 24
Bibliography.................................................................................................................................................................. 25

List of Figures
Fig 1: Schematic diagram of the experimental arrangement conducted to draw a comparison between ordinary and
nano coolants (Saeed Zeinali Herris, 2013).....................................................................................................................4
Fig 2: Experimental results of the comparison (Saeed Zeinali Herris, 2013)...................................................................5
Figure 3. Fin efficiency (Incropera, 2007).......................................................................................................................6
Figure 4. Cutaway of the Radiator in the Thermo-Fluids Lab.........................................................................................7
Figure 5. Air side Channels...........................................................................................................................................13

List of Graphs

Graph 1: Surface Heat Transfer Coefficient vs Reynolds Number................................................................................21

Graph 2: Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient vs Car Speed.............................................................................................21
Graph 3: Heat Loss Rates vs Car Speed........................................................................................................................22
Graph 4: Heat Loss Rates vs Car Speed Neglecting Wall and Fin Effect......................................................................22
Graph 7: Comparison of Percentage Heat Loss from the Radiator to The Fuel Input and Power Output......................23

3
Introduction/Background

A typical vehicular radiator is basically a cross flow heat exchanger. This type of heat exchanger lowers the

temperature (or cools) the appliance at hand by the exchange of heat to the ambient air. A radiator cools the

temperature of the engine by means of a coolant liquid (which is water in most of the cases). The heat obtained

from the engine is taken up the coolant and is transferred to the atmosphere of the air. The coolant in the radiator,

as mentioned previously is water, but a mixture of alcohol and water may be used in extreme temperatures and

climates to prevent the freezing phenomenon. The heat from the high temperature fluid is extracted and released

into the atmosphere by means of air generated by the fan. Heat exchange or transfer is done by means of

convection using coolant fluids like ethylene glycol and water. It is a worth mentioning fact that the efficiency of heat

is quite low which can be improved by making use of nano-fluids are coolant. When nano-particles are dispersed into

the base fluid, nano-fluids are produced. A comparison was performed between ordinary and nano coolants in order

to evaluate their heat exchanging rate. This was done at different flow rates (4-8 lit/min). The experimental results

along with the experimental setup visually presented in the paper (Saeed Zeinali Herris, 2013). It is represented by

two separate figures or diagrams. These two diagrams are given the designation of fig 1 and 2. Under optimum

circumstances, the maximum improvement brought about in heat transfer coefficient is about 55%.

Fig 1: Schematic diagram of the experimental arrangement conducted to draw a comparison between ordinary and nano coolants

(Saeed Zeinali Herris, 2013)

4
 Fig 2: Experimental results of the comparison (Saeed Zeinali Herris, 2013)

Heat Transfer Calculations for A Car Heat Exchanger

Method

The heat transfer is computed step by step. The overall thermal resistance is given by Eq.1 (THERMAL

RESISTANCE, 2012)

Rtotal=Rconv1+Rwall+Rconv2 Eq.1

Cold side heat resistance and wall resistance are the two componenet of total resistance. The fin efficiency

needs to be considered on the air side as well. The wall resistance calculated from Eq.2 (Incropera, 2007)

The fin efficiency determined from the Figure 3 (Incropera, 2007)

5
 Figure 3. Fin efficiency (Incropera, 2007)

The overall heat transfer coefficient is calculated from Eq.3 (Incropera, 2007)

Eq.3

As a matter of fact, both the air and coolant used are free from impurities, hence the fouling factor can be

neglected, R” f=0.

In order to calculate the heat transfer, the dimensions must be determined.

6
 Figure 4. Cutaway of the Radiator in the Thermo-Fluids Lab

Space between channels is 10mm

Length of Channel=330mm

The number of channels=66

Total area of the water flow is

Number of channels * channel area = 66 * 1*13 = 858 mm2

It is again stated that water and anti-freezing liquids water+Ethylene glycol (EG) are the most common type

of coolants used in the radiators of cars. However, in the study at hand, pure water has been considered and

its properties have been obtained from thermo-texts. Air and water properties have been given table 1 and 2.

7
 Table 1: water properties (Incropera, 2007)

The ambient temperatures are known to be 15 and 40 whereas the water flow temperatures are given as 80-

100. Due to higher temperature of the surface and higher coefficient of heat exchange, both the temperatures

of water and surface are nearly the same. The bulk temperature is taken as 80 C or 350 K, density as 974

kg/s, viscosity is 365*10^-6, Pr =2.29 and k=.668 W/m. K

8
 Table 2. Air properties (Kalogirou, 2009)

For the two cases for air studied at 15 C and 40 C.

For 15 C, the film temperature is

(Incropera, 2007)

Tf = (15 + 80)/2 = 47.5 = 320 K

With interpolation the properties are determined in Table 3.

TABLE-3

AIR PROPERTIES

9
 Temperatur Temperatur
Thermal
e e Density of Viscosity of Nusselt Prandtl
Conductivity of
of film in of film in Air Air Number Number
Air
Centigrade Kelvin

Tf Tf ρ µ k(10^3) Nu(10^6) Pr

(C) (K) (kg/m3) (N.s/m2) (W/m. K) - -

47.5 320.5 1.096 192 27.78 17.89 0.7

60 333 1.0544 197.2 28.742 19.19 0.7

The material is aluminum. The properties of pure aluminum as given in Table 4

Table 4. properties of aluminum (Incropera, 2007)

Water side results are given in table 5. The flow is considered to be laminar as the Reynolds number is less

than 2300. 858 mm is the area on the flow is distributed. Eq.4 gives Nu for laminar flow.
2

Eq.4 (Subramanian)

For Water side

The hydraulic diameter is given as

(Subramanian)

10
Substituting the values in the above equation yields

Dh=1.86mm

The velocity is given as

V=Q/A

The Q in the minimum case is 3 L/min and 10 L/min in maximum case.

The corresponding velocities are computed as

Vmin = (3 1/60 1/1000)/(66*.013) = .058 m/s

in maximum flow rate, it is

Vmax = 0.19 m/s

Re_min = 289

Re_max =964

The flow is laminar; the Nu is determined from Eq.4

Nu_min = 3.66+ 0.068*(1.86/330) *289*2.29/ (1+ 0.04(1.86/330) *289*2.29) ^2/3 = 3.9

Also, Nu is given by the expression

(Subramanian)

Substituting the values in the above equation yields

h= (3.9 × 0.68)/ 0.00186

h=1396 W/(m2•K)

The detailed calculations are shown in Table 5

TABLE-5

11
 Water Side Heat Transfer

Flow Rate Heat

Flow Rate
in liters Velocity of Reynold Nusselt Transfer
in cubic meters
per Water Flow Number Number Coefficient
per seconds
minute of Water

Q Q V Re Nu hwater

(L/min) (m^3/sec) (m/s) - - W/(m2•K)

3 0.00005 0.058275058 289.242266 3.88748781 1396.15153

4 6.66667E-05 0.077700078 385.654 3.95779 1421.399

5 8.33333E-05 0.097125097 482.074 4.02613 1445.934

6 0.0001 0.116550117 578.485 4.09269 1469.87

7 0.000116667 0.135975136 674.896 4.15763 1493.17

8 0.000133333 0.155400155 771.317 4.22114 1515.984

9 0.00015 0.174825175 867.728 4.28334 1538.319

10 0.000166667 0.194250194 964.149 4.34428 1560.21

Air velocities representing a stationary car (fan off), car moving at 20km/hr,60km/hr and

100km/hr. Ignore effect of radiator fan.

Figure 7 shows the air flow through the channels. Car speed was used to calculate the velocity. Eq.5 was

used to determine Nu as the flow was laminar. Turbulent flow was observed in the other two cases and

hence Eq.6 was used. For ambient air temperature of 40 C and 15 C, results are given in table 6.

12
 Eq.5 (Subramanian)

For heating n=0.4

Grashof number (GrL) is given as

Eq.6 (Incropera, 2007)

Substituting the values of g, β, Ts, T∞, L and ν For T=40C in Eq6 gives

GrL=136448542

The detailed calculations are performed in Table.6

Figure 5. Air side Channels

For Air side

The hydraulic diameter is computed as

(Subramanian)

Substituting the values gives

13
Dh= (4 × 10 × 2.5)/ (2 × 10 + 2 × 2.5)

Dh=4mm

For car speed of 20 km/h

V = 20 × (1000/3600)

Substituting the values yields

Re= (1.1 × 5.5 × 0.004)/ (192 × 10-7)

Re=1273

The value of Reynolds number shows that the flow is laminar

Heat transfer coefficient

Substituting the values in Eq.4

Nu_air= 3.66+ 0.06*(4/130)*1273*0.7/(1+ 0.04(4/130)*1273*0.7)^2/3 = 5

h_air=5*0.028/0.004 = 347 W/m2.K

The detailed calculations are performed in Table.6 and Table.7

TABLE-6

Forced Air Results

Parameter Symbol Units

Ambient Air Temperature of Ambient Air Temperature of
14
 15°C 40°C

Veolicty of Air Vair (m/s) 5.55556 11.1111 27.77777778 5.55556 11.1111 27.77777778

Reynold Number Re - 1240.84 2481.67 6204.173717 1273.15 2546.3 6365.740741

Nusselt Number Nu - 4.97506 10.3648 21.57318221 5.0032 10.5802 22.02146511

Heat Transfer

Coefficient of hair W/(m2•K) 356.961 743.677 1547.875824 347.722 735.325 1530.491825

Air

TABLE-7

Stationary Car Results

Parameter Symbol Units Ambient Air Temperature of 15°C Ambient Air Temperature of 40°C

Grashof
Gr - 1.86E+08 136448542
number

Prandtl
Pr - 130200000 95513979.4
Number

Heat Transfer

Coefficient of hair W/(m2•K) 5.319713 4.711669912

Air

For both cases the flow is laminar, the heat transfer coefficient is calculated from Eq. 7.

The heat transfer efficiency is defined in Eq. 8

Eq.7 (Incropera, 2007)

15
 Eq.8 (Liu Shui-Chang, 2014)

Where Tina and Touta are the air temperatures at inlet and outlet of the radiator. Tinh is the water

temperature at inlet.

According to (S. Zeinali Heris, 2014), water flow rate is 3L/min to 10L/min and the temperature ranged

between 80 and 100 C. Velocity and Reynolds number of the flow inside the channel were calculated.

Velocity. As the flow was laminar, the equation of laminar flow was used. Car speeds of 20 km/h, 60 km/h

and 100km/h were used to determine velocity on the air side. It was assumed to the same as car velocity

since fins did not affect the speed.

Using the above parameters,the heat transfer between the radiator and air was determined

Total heat transfers for the minimum water flow rate, 3 L/min, is reported in Table 8 for air temperature of

40 C and 15 C respectively. The governing factor is the air side heat transfer since it has the lowest

value.Table 9 show the results for maximum water flow rate, 10 L/min for air temperature of 40 C. higher

water flow rate improves the heat transfer, but the difference is insignificant.

Wall resistance

The thickness assumed to be 1 mm

R_w=Log (2.8/1.8)/(2*3.14*237*0.33) = 0.0009 (m2.K/W)

Water side area channels = =66*0.028*0.33 = 0.6 m2

Airside area fins = 2*(0.33/0.0025)*0.013*0.01*66= 2.26 m2

Airside area channels = =66*0.028*0.33 = 0.6 m2

Total air side area = 2.86 m2.

16
Dividing a fin between two adjacent channels, Lc = 5 mm, and assuming the fin thickness is 1 mm, Ap

= 5 mm

(Incropera, 2007)

Substituting the values in the above equation gives

= 0.19

The above value implies that

ηfin= 0.95

Fin Effectiveness is given by

(Incropera, 2007)

ηo= 0.96

U = 111.6 W/m2.K

Q=U*A*ΔT =111.6 × 2.68 × (80 - 40) = 12839W

Mass flow of the air is

(Incropera, 2007)

Substituting the values gives

17
m=5.5 × 0.33 × 0.665 × 1.1

(Incropera, 2007)

Substituting the values gives

Qmax = 5.5 × 0.33 × 0.665 × 1.1 × 1007 × (80 - 40) = 53600W

(Incropera, 2007)

Substituting the values gives

Epsilon= (12839/ 53600)

Epsilon=24%

The detailed calculations are performed in Table 8 and Table 9

18
 TABLE-8

Heat Transfer From Radiator

Symb
Parameter Units Ambient Air Temperature of 15°C Ambient Air Temperature of 40°C
ol

Stationer
Efficiency of Rectangular Fin as a 100
- - y 20 km/h 60 km/h 100 km/h Stationery 20 km/h 60 km/h
function of Lc^(3/2)(h/kAp)^(1/2) km/h
(0km/h)

Fin Efficiency ηf - 1 0.95 0.9 0.85 1 0.95 0.9 0.85

0.8818181 0.96060 0.92121 0.881818

Fin Effectiveness ηo - 1 0.960606 0.921212 1
8 6 2 2

(m2.K/ 0.0008995
Wall Resistance Rw 0.0009 - - - - - -
W) 7

(W/ 5.15615 4.5829127 111.648 134.424

Overall Heat transfer coefficient U 112.6231 134.7248 149.3542 149.1688
m2.K) 6 9 8 5

Heat Loss Rate 963.556 27910.566 527.03497 12839.6 15458.8 17154.41

Q (W) 21046.44 25176.7
(U*A*ΔT) 6 1 1 1 2 3

0.241578 0.144493 0.0640733 0.23948 0.14417 0.063993

Heat Transfer Efficiency ϵ - - -
2 4 98 8 1 9

19
 TABLE-9

Heat Transfer From Radiator, Maximum Water Flow Rate

Symbo
Parameter Units Ambient Air Temperature of 15°C Ambient Air Temperature of 40°C
l

Stationery 20 20 100
Speed V (km/h) 60 km/h 100 km/h Stationery 60 km/h
(0km/h) km/h km/h km/h

Overall Heat
(W/ 117.31 116.25 157.51
transfer U 5.165613 141.4931 157.717884 4.590382257 141.162
m2.K) 4 7 1
coefficient

Heat Transfer
21923. 13369. 18113.
Rate Q (W) 965.3239001 26441.5319 29473.5296 527.8939596 16233.63
1 6 8
(U*A*ΔT)

20
Graphs of the results:

Surface Heat Transfer Coefficient vs Reynolds Number

10000

1000
hair (W/(m2.K)

Air 40°C
100 Air 15°C

10

1
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Car Speed (km/h)

Graph 1: Surface Heat Transfer Coefficient vs Reynolds Number

Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient vs Car Speed

160

140

120

100
U (W/m2.K)

Air 40°C
80 Air 15°C
60

40

20

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Car Speed (km/h)

Graph 2: Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient vs Car Speed

21
 Heat Loss Rates vs Car Speed
30000

25000

20000
Air 40°C
Q (W)

15000 Air 15°C

10000

5000

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Car Speed (km/h)

Graph 3: Heat Loss Rates vs Car Speed

Heat Loss Rates vs Car Speed Neglecting Wall and

Fin Effect
60000

50000

40000

Air 40°C
h (W/(m2.K)

Air 15°C
30000

20000

10000

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120

Car Speed (km/h)

Graph 4: Heat Loss Rates vs Car Speed Neglecting Wall and Fin Effect

22
 Heat Exchanger Effectiveness vs Car Speed
0.3

0.25

0.2

Air 40°C
Epsilon

0.15 Air 15°C

0.1

0.05

0
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110
Car Speed (km/h)

Graph 6: Heat Exchanger Effectiveness vs Car Speed

Comparison of Percentage Heat Loss from the Radiator

to The Fuel Input and Power Output
0.5

0.45

0.4

0.35

0.3
Air 40°C
Epsilon

0.25 Chang et al. 2014

0.2

0.15

0.1

0.05

0
0 50 100 150

Car Speed (km/h)

Graph 7: Comparison of Percentage Heat Loss from the Radiator to The Fuel Input and Power Output

23
Discussion

Radiators, as we know it, are an integral component or every type of modern vehicle. Some vehicle manufacturers

like Volkswagen do not use coolant radiators in their products. Rather the engine is cooled by means of air fans. Such

engines have different approach to the laws of thermodynamics. But most of the classic and modern vehicles use

radiators to perform heat exchange between the atmosphere and the engine. The principle of radiators is that the

exchange of heat task place in the cross-flow fashion. In order words, radiators are more or less cross flow heat

exchangers. The major type of cooling liquid or coolant used is water. In extreme temperatures, glycol water can also

be used to preventing freezing of water within the radiator when the engine is running. Without radiators, the

temperature of engines would rise to extremely high temperature cause a malfunction in the engine. The engine

may seize as well.

Conclusion

In the paper at hand, a verbal and mathematical explanation of radiator has been provided. The amount of heat

exchanged by a typical radiator was determined, studied and explained mathematically. Efficiency of the radiator, as

we know it is not very high. This fact can be the basis of new research. The topics of the new research can be like

“how to improve the efficiency of a radiator” or “determining the methods to improve the efficiency of the radiator.”

The calculations presented in the report are liable to human error. Overall, an efficient attempt has been made to

explain the various parameters and phenomenon associated with typical radiators. Any detail missing out in the

report can be extracted from references presented in the bibliography section.

24
Bibliography
[1] Incropera, D. B. (2007). Fundamentals of heat and mass transfer, 6th edition. Wiley.
[2] Kalogirou, S. (2009). Solar Energy Engineering: Processes and Systems. Academic Press.
[3] Liu Shui-Chang, L. L.-F. (2014). Vehicle Radiators’ Performance Calculation and Improvement
Based on the Coupling of Multi-scale Models Simulations. The Open Mechanical Engineering
Journal, 636-642.
[4] S. Zeinali Heris, M. S. (2014). Experimental Study of Heat Transfer of a Car Radiator with
CuO/Ethylene Glycol-Water as a Coolent. Journal of Dispersion Science and Technology, 35(5),
Pages 677-684.
[5] Saeed Zeinali Herris, S. P. (2013). Experimental Study of Heat Transfer of a Car Radiator with
CuO/Ethylene Glycol Water as a Coolant. Journal of Dispersion Science and Technology.
[6] Subramanian, R. S. (n.d.). Numerical evaluation of heat transfer in corrugated heat exchangers.
Clarkson University, Omaha, Nebraska, United States: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular
Engineering.
[7] THERMAL RESISTANCE. (2012, June 11). Retrieved from Neutrium:
https://neutrium.net/heat_transfer/thermal-resistance/

25