Automotive Technology

ME/MF F484 Dr. Supradeepan K

BITS Pilani Assistant Professor

Mechanical Engineering Department
Hyderabad Campus supradeepan@hyderabad.bits-pilani.ac.in
 BITS Pilani
Hyderabad Campus

Review of last class

Cooling system

BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

●
Peak combustion temperatures 2500 to 3600 K
●
Average of 925 to 1200 K
●
Continued high temperature of this order would
weaken engine parts,
●
If heat is not removed to bring the temperature
of the components within their physical
strength limits.

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 Purpose of the Cooling System
The functions of the automobile cooling system are ;
● To prevent the development of high temperatures in the
combustion chamber thereby saving damage of pistons, cylinders,
valve and other engine parts, and the oil which lubricates them,
● To maintain the operating temperature at a safe level over a wide
range of speeds, loads and ambient temperatures, and
● To help in warming up the engine to the required operating
temperature as rapidly as possible and then maintain that
temperature irrespective of the outside temperature, which may
vary from 238 K to 318 K.
● Proper carburation,
● Provides satisfactory oil viscosity,
● Helps maintain the correct part clearances within the engine.

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 Water is an ideal coolant
●
It is inexpensive,
●
very low viscosity and flows easily,
●
readily accepts and releases heat.
●
boils at too low a temperature,
●
freezes at too high a temperature
●
it can cause corrosion to the metal parts of the engine.
●
Boiling causes a loss of the coolant and develops gas pockets in the water jackets
(localised hot spots).
●
The temperature of parts cannot be controlled if they loose contact with liquid
coolant.
●
Freezing can interfere the circulation of coolant through the radiator, stop operation
of water pump, and even in the extreme case break the water jackets due to
increase in volume.

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● Corrosion can cause pin-holing of aluminium and iron engine parts and
plugging of radiator tubes.
●
Formation of scales due to corrosion reduces thermal conductivity of
the metal surface due to which heat transfer decreases,
● Additionally in some locations water may be unsuitable for use in
cooling system being excessively alkaline or acidic and/or hard.
●
Chemicals are added to water to make it a more ideal coolant
– by raising the boiling point,
– reducing cavitation,
– lowering the freezing point,
– preventing corrosion,
– reducing scale formation,
– normalising acidic or alkaline effects, and
– reducing foaming.

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 High Temperature Operation
● At high oil is decomposes
– producing hard carbons and varnish.
● Continued high temperature may give rise to plugged piston rings
and stuck hydraulic valve lifters.
● At high temperatures oil viscosity is also reduced.
– Causing metal-to-metal contact within the engine producing high friction,
loss of power, and rapid wear.
● Reduced oil viscosity also enhances oil consumption.
● High coolant temperatures may cause detonation and pre-ignition
● The maximum possible temperature on liquid cooled engines is
limited by the coolant’s boiling point and the radiator’s capacity.
● On air cooled engines, it is limited by the air temperature and flow
rate.
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 Low Temperature Operation
● Too low temperatures, cause improper vaporisation,
– excess fuel is required for proper engine performance.
● Cool engine surfaces quench part of the combustion,
– causing partially burned fuel as soot.
– It also cools the burnt by products, and condenses water vapour
produced during combustion.
– The unburned fuel soot, and moisture go past the piston rings as
blow-by gases which wash the oil from the cylinder wall and dilute
the oil in the pan.
– This causes excessive scuffing and wear of cylinder wall and
piston rings.

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● Moisture also combines with unburned hydrocarbons and
additive constituents to form carbonic acid, sulphuric acid, nitric
acid, hydrobromic acid, and hydrochloric acid.
– These acids cause corrosion and rusting within the engine.
● Below 330 K coolant temperature rusting occurs rapidly
● Below 320 K temperature water from the combustion process
accumulates in the oil.
● High rate of cylinder wall wear occur if coolant temperature
becomes below 340 K.
● The minimum normal temperature is controlled by a thermostat
and is gradually increased from 345 K to 360 K.
● Engine operating temperature should be maintained between low
temperature and high temperature limits.

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 Operating Temperatures
Intake air 303 to 333 K
Peak combustion gas 2273 to 2673 K
Exhaust gas 973 to 1173
Cylinder wall near cylinder head 433 to 493 K
Cylinder wall near crankcase 373 to 423 K
Centre of cylinder head 473 to 523 K
Centre of piston crown 523to 573 K
Cylinder-block coolant 353 to 373K

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Types of Engine Cooling System
● Direct Air-cooled Engine System
● Indirect Liquid-cooled Engine System.

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 Direct Air-cooled Engine System
Cool circulating air comes in contact with the exposed and
enlarged external surfaces of the cylinder and head. As a
result their heat is dissipated to the surrounding air
● Advantages.
– Air cooled engines operate satisfactorily in both hot and cold
climates.
– These engines can work at higher operating temperatures than
their equivalent liquid-cooled counterparts.
– The working temperature in these engines is attained rapidly from
cold condition.
– These engines are marginally lighter than liquid-cooled engines of
same capacity.
– These engines do not encounter coolant-leakage or freezing
problems.
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● Disadvantages.
– The cooling fans require a relatively large amount of power to run.
– Due to the large quantities of intake air passing into the cooling system, the
engine may become noisy.
– The cooling fins can vibrate and amplify noise under certain conditions.
– For proper positioning of the fins between cylinders, the pitch between
cylinder centres has to be greater than in liquid-cooled engines.
– Each cylinder is required to be cast individually unlike liquid-cooled engines
where a rigid mono-block construction is used.
– To prevent overheating of the lubricant, the air-cooling is frequently
supplemented by an oil heat exchanger.
– The presence of the guide cowling and baffles around the cylinders may
hinder maintenance.

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 Indirect Liquid-cooled Engine System
A liquid coolant transmits the heat from the cylinders and head to a
heat exchanger, known as the radiator. Movement of air through this
radiator then extracts the unwanted heat and dissipates it to the
surroundings.
● Advantages.
– Greater temperature-uniformity around the cylinders is achieved in liquid-
cooled engines causing less distortion compared with air-cooled engines.
– The power consumption of the coolant pump and the fan together in liquid-
cooled engines is less than that of the fan in air-cooled engines.
– The liquid-cooled engine cylinders are much closer, providing a very rigid and
compact unit unlike the air-cooled engine.
– Both the coolant and the jackets dampen the mechanical noise from the
engine.
– Liquid-cooled units perform heavy-duty work more reliably than air-cooled
engines.
– Hot coolant can readily be circulated for interior heating of the vehicle.

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● Disadvantage
– Liquid-coolant joints may develop leakage.
– Care must be taken to avoid freezing of the coolant.
– Liquid-cooled units require more time to warm up than the air-cooled engines.
– The boiling point of liquid-coolant limits maximum temperature of operation, whereas air-
cooled engines can operate at slightly higher temperatures.
– Formation of scale takes place in the coolant passages, and the hoses and radiator
tubes deteriorate with time.
– large engine coolant passages are used
– For satisfactory heat transfer, the radiator header tank is required to be located at a
higher level than the cylinder head. This is impractical with modern body styles.
– If coolant-circulation control is not provided, the engine has a tendency to be overcooled
and seldom attains the optimum operating temperature, even after long running.
– Since the large quantity of coolant is used in the cooling system, the engine’s warm-up
period is extended.
– The large header tank, used to compensate for the low rate of coolant circulation, has a
tendency to overheat, causing loss of coolant through evaporation.

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Forced Circulation Water Cooling System

Major components
– water jackets,
– circulating pump,
– fan,
– thermostat,
– connecting pipes and hoses,
– radiator and radiator cap

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Radiator

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 Radiators
Mostly made from yellow brass or copper
– Corrosion resistant,
– Good heat transfer ability (better thermal conductivity),
– easily formed,
– have required strength characteristics, and
– easily repaired by soldering.
● Aluminium is used for radiators in special applications where weight
is critical.
● Core tubes
– made from 0.114 mm to 0.3 mm thick brass sheet,
– Are rolled into round tubes
– joints area sealed with a locking seam.
– The tubes are then coated with solder, compressed into an oval shape and
cut to length.
– Fins are formed from 0.075 mm to 0.127 mm thick copper or brass sheet
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● Radiator Heat Transfer
● Radiator Pressure Caps or Filler Caps
● Coolant Recovery Systems
● Thermostats
● Fan and Fan Drives
● Variable-pitch Fans

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 Thank You
Dr. Supradeepan K
Assistant Professor
BITS Pilani Mechanical Engineering Department
supradeepan@hyderabad.bits-pilani.ac.in
Hyderabad Campus