Conception, Design and Development of a Test Bench for the

Automotive Industry Intercoolers

Nelson Miguel Marques Carvalho

Instituto Superior Tcnico Universidade de Lisboa Portugal

May 2014

nelson.carvalho@ist.utl.pt

Seco de Tecnologia Mecnica, Instituto Superior Tcnico, Avenida Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisboa,
Portugal

Abstract

The objective of the present work, conducted in partnership with J.Deus Corporation, was the
study of the mechanical response of Porsche 997 intercooler. This objective was achieved
following two methodologies; the numerical analysis of the intercooler mechanical response and
the design of a test bench, by adapting an existing press machine, to allow the experimental
analysis.
For the computational analysis it was necessary to perform uniaxial tensile tests in order
to characterize the mechanical behavior of the intercooler materials (polyamide and aluminum).
Polyamide strain rate dependence and the influence of brazing in the aluminum alloys
properties were also analyzed.
For the experimental study, a test bench was developed to experiment the intercooler
under uniaxial traction conditions. This test bench was designed to be performed in a press
machine existent in the company.
The numerical simulations of the intercooler behavior under traction conditions allowed
to study stress and strain distributions, to identify the location of the maximum values and to
obtain the force evolution. Due to the time requirements to manufacture the tool parts for the
test bench, the experimental study was not completed. Therefore, it has not been possible to
compare the numerical and the experimental results.

KEY- WORDS: intercooler, aluminum alloy, thermoplastic, numerical simulation, test bench

loading conditions that promote intercooler

1. Introduction
An intercooler in service suffers mechanical
stresses originated from the oscillation of the
car body that consequently are transmitted to
its components. Aware of the problems,
JDeus Corporation intended to evaluate the
failures, namely finding a way to
experimentally test the components on a test
bench under tensile forces until fracture, with
force and displacement records.
In this context, this paper begins with a
literature review of intercoolers, addressing
its needs, characteristics and working

1
environment. A comprehensive study of the The intercooler is fixed to the chassis of the
mechanical behavior of the intercooler car directly through six pins, three in the
materials is presented. This material outbox and three in the inbox, and indirectly
characterization was executed through through the pipes of indoor air circulation
standard uniaxial tensile tests. The (figure 1.2).
intercooler mechanical response will be then
studied using two different methodologies:
experimentally by designing a tool to perform
a test bench, and numerically by means of
the finite element method (FEM) analysis. At
the end of the study, the results obtained by
both methods will be compared to validate
the use of the numerical model. This
Figure 1.2 Pin fixation of the intercooler.
validation will allow to study the intercooler
behavior under more complex and difficult
loading conditions using the numerical The axis of the fixing pin is not vertically
analysis. oriented with the tubes.
Although an intercooler is subjected to
different loading conditions in service, which
might result in more or less complex 2. Material Analysis
deformation modes, the focus of this work is
essentially based on a simple mode of
Standard tensile tests were carried out to
deformation, traction.
characterize the mechanical properties of
materials and these values were then used
for the numerical analysis. With the aim of
1. Intercooler reproducing the numerical simulation as
accurate as possible, the mechanical
characterization of the polymer was carried
An intercooler, represented in figure 1.1, is
out by analyzing the influence of strain rate
used to cool the air compressed by the
on the mechanical behavior of the polymer.
turbocharger before the cylinder engine. The
During operation the box of the intercooler
materials used in intercooler in study are
also experiences different loading speeds. In
restricted to two large families, the polymers
the case of aluminum, it was studied how the
and nonferrous metals (aluminum). The
material properties are influenced by brazing
aluminum components are: two top plates,
and by the time elapsed after this joining
two sides, tubes and fins, while the polymers
process. To address this effect, specimens
are present in the two boxes and rubber
were tested before, one day after and a
gasket.
month after brazing.

2.1 Thermoplastic

The polymer used in the manufacture of

intercooler boxes is an engineering
thermoplastic known as PA6+PA66,
commonly named polyamide.

The standard used in this study to determine

the mechanical properties of the polymer is
BS EN ISO 527 (Plastics - Determination of

Figure 1.1 Intercooler applied in Porsche 997.

2
tensile proprieties) [1] at four distinct testing
speeds: 2, 10, 50 and 100 mm / min.
The figure 2.1 shows experimental
engineering stress-strain curves obtained in
the uniaxial tensile tests at four testing
speeds.
Figure 2.1 Engineering stress-strain curves.
To analyze the influence of the testing speed
on the polymer mechanical properties the
following parameters were considered: the
elasticity modulus (E), the tensile strength
(R), strain at tensile strength (eR) and the
fracture energy per unit volume (UT). Figure
2.2 summarizes the variation of these
parameters with the strain rate.
3
Figure 2.2 Elasticity modulus and fracture energy of the
polymer at different strain rates.
It can be observed that the modulus of
elasticity, fracture energy and tensile strength
increase with the strain rate. Regarding the
strain at tensile strength the conclusion is not
so obvious, but the curve of evolution of the
strain at tensile strength appears to have an
upward trend with the test speed increase.
2.2 Aluminum
The intercooler has two types of aluminum.
The aluminum Hogal AA4045/3551 which is
present in both top plates and aluminum
AA4343/AA3003 present in the tubes, fins
and sides. Each aluminum sheet has two
types of alloy, core and clad, which allows
the brazing process.
Figure 2.3 Schematic representation of aluminum sheet
for brazing.
Brazing is a metal joining process that
provides a permanent bond between the
pieces to be joined with the help of a filler
metal (clad) [2]. The temperatures involved in
the brazing process are superior to an
annealing treatment for either treatable or
non-treatable alloys. The annealing process
may, if the temperature is high enough,
cause recrystallization of the alloy [3].

The mechanical characterization of the

aluminum was performed according to the
standard ASTM E8-83 (Standard methods of
Tension Testing of Metallic Materials) [4].
The tensile tests were executed in different
aluminum alloy specimens: before brazing,
one day after and one month after brazing.

Figure 2.4 Engineering stress-strain curves obtained for

aluminum specimens in different brazing conditions.

In the same way as for the polymer, to

analyze the influence of the brazing process
on the mechanical properties of the material,
the following characterization parameters
were considered: the elasticity modulus (E),
the tensile strength (R), the strain at tensile
strength (eR), the fracture energy per unit
volume (UT) and the stress at 0,2% of strain.
Figure 2.5 Characterization parameters to the aluminum.
Figure 2.5 shows that the time elapsed after
brazing just seems to influence the modulus
of elasticity in the direction of reducing its
value, since the remaining variables have no
statistically significant variations. However, to
confirm the trend observed for the modulus of
elasticity it is required to perform a new set of
tests with a more meaningful sample.
Moreover, when comparing the results
obtained from the condition of non-brazed
and brazed, it can be concluded that the
brazing process works as a thermal softening
treatment of the alloy, resulting in a
significantly more ductile behavior of the
material.

4
3. Numerical Analysis
The structural analysis of the intercooler was
performed using the commercial finite
element program ANSYS , version 14.5 (in
workbench mode). The type of analysis
chosen was static structural.
3.1 Material proprieties
The mechanical properties of the polymer
were introduced in the numerical simulation
using a pre-defined material model. Thus, to
consider the elastic behavior of the material,
an isotropic elasticity model is used, while the
plastic behavior was defined using a
multilinear isotropic hardening model,
following the methodology used by other
authors for this type of material [5].
Figure 3.1 True stress-strain curve for polymer.
Similarly, the mechanical characteristics of
the two aluminum alloys were made with pre-
defined material models. The elastic behavior
of the material was characterized by an
isotropic elasticity model and plastic behavior
by a multilinear isotropic hardening model.
Figure 3.2 True stress-strain curve for aluminum alloys.
5
3.2 Analysis Model
Due to the size of the numerical model, the
analysis was simplified by excluding one of
the boxes and its top plate, the two sides, all
fins and the rubber gaskets. This
simplification reduced the model size, as well
as the computation time, without
compromising the objectives defined for the
problem. Thus, the model was reduced to a
box, a top plate and all tubes. The three pins
are numbered so that they are easily
identified and individualized (figure 3.3).
Figure 3.3 Analysis model; a) Fixed support, b)
Displacement in pin (direction z).
Concerning the boundary conditions, the
model was fixed using a rigid support on the
faces of the free end of the tubes, simulating
the brazed connection that exists between
them and the top plate. At the other end of
the model, a displacement was applied on
the three pins in the z direction aligned with
the vertical axis of the tubes. The
displacement must be high enough to carry
the model to reach at least one of the three
stresses corresponding to each of three
materials failure.
3.3 Mesh generation
The meshing process was performed
iteratively until a good quality of the elements
in the model was achieved. The process was
carried out first, with the adjustment of global
mesh controls, and then, according to need,
small local changes in the mesh. As the
tubes have a simple shape, a method was
used, allowing them to remain mostly
hexahedral, which is the desired shape for
this element. The model has 885.626
elements and 281.684 nodes, where the
largest number of elements is in the box.
About 90% of elements have good quality
parameters, namely, skewness, orthogonal Figure 3.5 State of deformation in the box for a
quality and aspect ratio. displacement of 0,2 mm; a) Stress b) Strain.

By analyzing the stress and strain, it was

observed that for the displacement of 0.2 mm
none of the pins reached critical deformation
values, so, the analysis proceeded to a new
increment of displacement.

3.4.2 State of Deformation in the Box for

a Displacement of 0,7 mm

At the displacement of 0.7 mm, the most

requested element of the box remains in the
Figure 3.4 Meshed model.
same pin, as identified in the displacement of
0.2 mm. However, it has now a value of true
3.4 Results stress of 195.71 MPa (please refer to figure
3.6 a)). Concerning the maximum true strain,
It was extracted information about the true its value was 0.0277, nearly equal to the
stresses and true strains distribution in the strain at tensile strength of the polymer, as it
model, as well as the loads involved in the can be seen in Figure 3.6 b).
analysis. These results were used as a
baseline for the design of the test bench tool.
Analysing the values of stress and strain,
corresponding to the analysis of materials
one can conclude, given the magnitudes of
values that the polymer is likely to be the first
material to reach failure. Thus, the polymer
will be examined more closely in the first
Figure 3.6 State of deformation in the box for a
displacement increments imposed to the displacement of 0,7 mm; a) Stress b) Strain.
model.

3.4.1 State of Deformation in the Box for
a Displacement of 0,2 mm
Figure 3.5 a) shows the distribution of the
true equivalent stress (von Mises) in the box.
Where, pin 1 appears to be the intercooler
part with the highest value of 127.09 MPa.
Regarding the true strain in the box, the
figure 3.5 b) shows a detail of the distribution
in the surroundings of the critical area. The
most requested element has a maximum
value of 0.0094.
At this step the deformation of the box seems
to approach the critical conditions obtained
for the polymer in the experimental tensile
tests. At this stage become relevant to
analyze the maximum deformation of the
other intercooler elements, in order to check
if the regions that have been analyzed
actually are those that might fracture.

6
3.4.3 State of Deformation in Other
Components for a Displacement of 0,7
mm
The maximum strain in the top plate reaches
a value of 0.04 in an element located on the
inside of the castle and a maximum true
stress of 130.34 MPa. It appears that this
state corresponds to a deformation starting in
plastic deformation zone of the material of
the top plate, but far enough from the critical
values of the failure of the material; R =
0.142 and R = 189.9 MPa. Thus, it can be
concluded that these loading conditions are
far from promoting the destruction of the top
plate in the connection region of the box.
Figure 3.7 State of deformation in the top plate for a
displacement of 0,7 mm; a) Stress b) Strain.
Other component that is interesting to
analyze is the set of tubes constituting the
nest of the intercooler.
Figure 3.8 State of deformation in the tubes for a
displacement of 0,7 mm; a) Stress b) Strain.
In this component, the most requested
element is on the side of the pin 3 (figure 3.8
a) and 3.8 b)) and shows the maximum true
strain with a value of 0.0165 and maximum
true stress of 67.75 MPa. Comparing these
values with the critical values of the material
obtained in the uniaxial tensile test (R =
0.181 and R = 138.7 MPa), it can also be
concluded that in this region the tube is in a
transition zone between the elastic and
7
plastic and are therefore, away from the
fracture conditions.
3.4.4 State of Deformation in All
Components for a Displacement of 1,2
mm
Although the conditions leading to the
fracture of the box were analyzed, it would be
interesting to investigate how the deformation
progresses beyond that point.
Figure 3.9 a) shows the stress distribution in
the box with a maximum stress of 196.11
MPa, while figure 3.9 b) shows a detail of pin
1 with the maximum true strain. It is observed
a strain with a value of 0.0486, far exceeding
the strain limit of the polymer.
Figure 3.9 State of deformation in the box for a
displacement of 1,2 mm; a) Stress b) Strain.
It can be noted that the strain determined by
the finite element software goes far beyond
the strain at tensile strength of the polymer,
while the saturated stress seems to be very
close to the tensile strength. This is due to
the fact that the program, in order to maintain
the value of the tensile strength of the
material, has to do extrapolations for values
greater than the strain at the tensile strength
of the material. This conclusion is visible on
the graph in figure 3.10 for pins 1 to 3, where
there is a saturation stress for a strain
beyond their critical value.
Figure 3.10 Stress and strain evolution in pins 1, 2 and 3
In the top plate, figure 3.11, maximum values
were located on the same elements, as in the
case of 0.7 mm of displacement, with values
of 0.0681 for the true strain and 151.96 MPa
for the true stress, sufficiently distant from the
material fracture values obtained in the
tensile tests.
Figure 3.11 State of deformation in the top plate for a
displacement of 1,2 mm; a) Stress b) Strain.
For the set of tubes, these also maintain the
element that is considered when the
displacement was 0.7 mm. This element now
has a true stress of 84.57 MPa and a value of
the true strain of 0.0317, as it can be seen in
Figures 3.12 a) and 3.12 b), respectively.
Also in this case significantly lower values
than the failure point of the material of the
tubes.
Figure 3.12 State of deformation in the tubes for a
displacement of 1,2 mm; a) Stress b) Strain.
3.4.5 Force - displacement Evolution
The knowledge of the force involved in the
test is of particular importance from the
perspective of the design of the test bench
and the project of the test tool. Thus, and
considering the offset range (0.7 to 1.2 mm),
within which it is expected to occur the
intercooler destruction, the numerical results
suggest that the intercooler failure occur for a
traction force between 10,6 KN and 14 KN.
8
Figure 3.13 Force [N] vs Displacement [mm] evolution in
order of displacement.
4. Test Bench
As a result of the the numerical simulation, it
was found that the intercooler might reaches
failure, when subjected to traction conditions
in its pins, for a displacement of the
numerical model between 0.7 mm and 1.2
mm. These displacement values indicate that
there cannot be gaps of this magnitude in the
press and traction tool. However, this
mechanism, with the modification of a small
number of parts, can be used to perform
other deformation modes involving higher
values, for example in the case of analyzing
de-spiking.
The design of a test bench to test an
intercooler under traction conditions was
made to be performed on a press machine
that exists in JDEUS company. The tool was
designed with the intent to be adaptable, so
that by changing a small number of tool
parts, it could be possible to test other
intercoolers.
The press machine in study is a hydraulic
press KPD50 (Mega) and is in the prototype
section of JDEUS . This press has the
limitation applying force only in the vertical
direction and only downwards. The hydraulic
pump is manually operated by two levers,
being one a fast forward and the other a slow
forward. Figure 4.1 shows tool designed for
the bench test.

Figure 4.1 Tool designed for the bench test.
The assembly steps are the following:
1. Put the intercooler in place.
2. Fix the intercooler with two plates that are
supported on the press table and fixing the
intercooler by the top plate.
3. Pass the rods by the plates placed above
and pin them through eight nuts to a plate
with the load cell (green).
4. Put in place the two bottom plates
previously coupled with the aid of the
bushings and screws.
5. Adjust the bottom plate so that it stands
exactly horizontally through the nuts, the
slope of the other plate is given by the
inclination of the bushings.
6. Pins will fix the sloping plate with the aid of
three brakes, one for each pin.
7. Place the load cell, adjusting for such
cylinder of the press.
8. Load the intercooler.
During the intercooler test displacement and
force must measured and recorded using
specific hardware and software.
5. Conclusions
It was verified that, in the case of the
polymer, its mechanical behavior depends on
the strain rate. The four parameters analyzed
9
(figure 2.2) increase with increased testing
speed.
In what concerns to the aluminum alloy, the
time elapsed after brazing do not influence its
mechanical proprieties, but there is a big
difference between brazed and not brazed
aluminum states in terms of mechanical
proprieties (figure 2.5).
Regarding the numerical simulation, it was
necessary to simplify the model in terms of
components to reduce the computational
resources without compromising the
objectives defined for the problem. It can be
concluded that intercooler failure might occur,
under traction conditions, for a displacement
in model between 0,7 mm and 1,2 mm in the
box pins. The force necessary to get this
failure is between 10,6 e 14 KN.
Regarding the test bench, the objectives
outlined earlier pointed to the conception,
design and manufacturing. However, it was
not possible to meet the manufacture due to
time limits. However, the results obtained in
the numerical simulation, predicting the
destruction of the intercooler for a
significantly reduced displacement (of the
order of 1 mm) indicate that the required
accuracy to the test bench, including
machine tool, has to be significantly
increased. The draft test bench which has
been developed is inevitably associated with
the characteristics of the press machine
available for the project. However, it is
recognized that due to the equipment
stiffness, including gaps and alignment, the
system may not be the most appropriate to
the test the destruction of intercoolers under
traction conditions.
6. References
[1] Plastics Determination of Tensile
Properties (all parts), BS EN ISO 527,
1996.
[2] R. Mundt, Hoogovens, Koblenz,
Introduction to Brazing of Aluminum
Alloys, Lecture 4601, 1994
[3] Mel M. Schwartz, Brazing, ASM
nd
International, 2 edition, 2003.

[4] Standard Methods for Tension Testing of

Metallic Materials, E8-83, ASTM
Standard, 1983.

[5] A. Arriaga, et al., Finite-element analysis

of quasi-static characterization tests in
thermoplastic materials: Experimental and
numerical analysis results, 2006

10