International Journal of Mechanical and Production

Engineering Research and Development (IJMPERD)

ISSN 2249-6890
Vol. 3, Issue 2, Jun 2013, 137-146
TJPRC Pvt. Ltd.

STUDY, ANALYSIS AND DESIGN OF AUTOMOBILE RADIATOR (HEAT EXCHANGER)

PROPOSED WITH CAD DRAWINGS AND GEOMETRICAL MODEL OF THE FAN

CHAVAN D. K1 & TASGAONKAR G. S2

1
Ph.D Scholar, JJTU Rajasthan, Professor Mechanical Engineering MMCOE, Pune, Maharashtra, India
2
Professor Navasahyadri Group of Institutions Pune, Maharashtra, India

ABSTRACT

The heat exchanger, used in refrigeration unit, air conditioning unit, radiator used with IC engine automobiles is
either rectangular or square in shape. But the air blown/sucked by the fan is in circular area developing low velocity zones
or high temperature regions are created in the corners.

Different heat exchangers/radiators are studied; Radiator is designed, Calculations are done, CAD drawings of
radiator and geometrical model are developed. Also power consumed by fan is studied. Experimentally it is found that the
power consumed by fan is 2 to 5% of power produced by engine.

It is proposed to have circular heat exchanger for refrigeration, air conditioning unit and for car radiators for
maximum efficiency. Till now no significant work has been carried out on circular heat exchanger and radiators.

KEYWORDS: Heat Exchanger, Radiator, Cad Model of Radiator, Geometrical Model of Fan, Power etc

INTRODUCTION

The proposed work relates to an improved heat exchanger (Radiator) design for either heating or cooling of a
fluid. Also, it deals with the work particularly which relates to an improved fan assisted air-cooled heat exchanger used in
Automobiles, Internal Combustion (IC) engines, Refrigeration system, and Power plants.

Different types of heat exchangers are known, in which air is used as heat transfer medium as it is freely and
abundantly available, without any disposal issues. In known heat exchangers, flow of air is induced naturally or is aided by
the use of one or more fans. The use of fan reduces the size and the cost of the equipment, which makes it more compact.
Hence, fan assisted air cooled heat exchangers are more popular than others. In known air-cooled heat exchangers, the fan
either forces or draws the air through the heat exchanger, some of which are described herein below by way of examples.

In present system, the fans are placed behind the heat exchangers to force/ draw the atmospheric air. These
exchangers use a shroud. This directs the air over the entire area of the heat exchanger. A study was undertaken to find out
the distribution of airflow and variation of its temperature [1].

Generally, all conventional heat exchangers are either square or rectangular in shape and the fans with circular
blades are used to create the flow of air through them. For the present heat exchangers, there are several drawbacks or
disadvantages which can be classified as follows

Fans with circular blades deliver air in a circular area even when the heat exchangers are square in shape.

The velocity of the air flow generated by the fan is not constant or uniform along its entire axial direction. It is
almost zero at the centre and gradually increases at the rate of square of the radius.
138 Chavan D. K. & Tasgaonkar G. S

When the thickness of the heat exchanger is constant, there has been no attempt to increase the heat transfer area
at the periphery of such heat exchanger. The heat transfer area near the hub of the fan should be zero. Since this is
not the case with present heat exchangers, they do not offer optimum utilization of material and air velocity.

A square or rectangular shrouds were provided for the fan to convert the circular flow of air into the required
shape.

Further the known equipments consume more power, more material and are therefore not cost effective [3].

Therefore it has been proposed to develop a new heat exchanger, which would avoid all the disadvantages of the
known equipments [2].

POWER CONSUMED BY FAN

The automobile radiator sometimes needs additional airflow through it to prevent the engine from overheating.
This usually occurs at idle and slow speed. At higher vehicle speeds, the air flows through the radiator by the forward
motion of vehicle provide all the cooling that is needed. An engine fan or cooling fan pulls the additional air through the
radiator. The fan may be either a mechanical fan or an electric fan.

Engines mounted longitudinally in rear- drive vehicles usually have a mechanical fan that mounts to the water
pump shaft. The fan is made of sheet steel or moulded plastic. It has four to seven blades and turns with the water pump
impeller. A fan shroud around the fan directs the airflow. This increases the efficiency of the fan.

Transverse engines in front-drive vehicles usually have an electric fan. An electric motor turns the blades. A
thermostatic switch turns on the fan only when needed. Generally, the switch turns on the fan when the coolant reaches 70 0
800 C. It turns off the fan if the coolant drops below this temperature.

On the experimental trial setup of Petrol Engine and Diesel Engine, trials are conducted in the college laboratory
with fan and without fan. It is observed that power consumed by the fan is of considerable magnitude and is about 2% to
5% of total power developed by the engine [4]. Any saving in the fan power is directly the saving of precious fuel.

Also BHP of the engine will be mentioned by the manufacturer or it can be calculated.

Also it is observed from following examples that,

Cummins engine make,

1645 BHP required 42 HP for fan i.e. 2.55% of engine power.

Cummins engine make,

600 BHP required 17 HP for fan i.e. 2.83% of engine power.

COST OF RADIATORS

Smaller radiators may cost less but will consume more power; hence we have to optimize the design. Cost of
radiators, heat transferred per unit area by radiator varies according to size, capacity and materials used for radiator and
fins. Standard materials generally used are aluminum, copper, steel, alloys etc. as per the cost and capacity.

EXISTING RECTANGULAR / SQUARE AND OTHER RADIATOR

Rectangular Radiator
Study, Analysis and Design of Automobile Radiator (Heat Exchanger) 139
Proposed with Cad Drawings and Geometrical Model of the Fan

Figure 2: Rectangular Radiator

This existing design is most popularly used in the current applications. As shown in figure 2 hot water is allowed
o flow through the inlet port, to upper tank where the hot water is distributed through a system of tubing. These tubes are
surrounded and connected by a number of fins along the entire length of said tubes as shown. A fan is mounted on a shaft
which causes a circulation or draught of air through the radiator and the fins. A shroud is adopted to regulate the flow of air
from the fan so that it minimizes the quantity of air flow to escape. The atmospheric air collects the heat from the hot water
as it flows over said system of tubes. The fins provided over the tubes increases the heat transfer area. The water entering
through the inlet is allowed to flow the system of tubing before it gets cooled by the air and ultimately it comes out through
an outlet port, after passing through the lower tank as shown.

Heat exchanger for air conditioner

Figure 3: Heat Exchanger for Air Conditioner

Figure 3 shows a heat exchanger used in air conditioner, where the refrigerant enters the heat exchanger through
an inlet port and it passes through a system of tubing. The flow of refrigerant takes place through the tubing. The tubing
transfer heat to the air through a series of fins attached to the tubings. The refrigerant ultimately escapes out through an
outlet port. As shown figure 3, in this case also a fan is provided to facilitate the air flow for enhancing the cooling /
heating of refrigerant.

Square Shaped Heat Exchanger

This also is one of the constructional types of radiator existing in current market [5]

Figure 4: Air-Cooled Square Shaped Heat Exchanger

140 Chavan D. K. & Tasgaonkar G. S

Figure 4 shows a square-shaped heat exchanger with a fan provided to deliver air in a circular area. If the length
and breadth of the heat exchanger is equal to D, the effective area of such heat exchanger will be equal to D 2. While the
flow of air from the fan (without shroud) will be of area (/4) D2 = O.76 D2. The difference in the area of the square and
the circle would be {D2 - (/4) D2} = 0.24 D2.

OBJECTIVES OF PRESENT WORK

To optimize the fan assisted heat exchanger (radiator) by improvement in design.

To provide a heat exchanger that will be more efficient and compact.

To provide a heat exchanger that will work with minimum power consumption for the fan and with maximum
utilization of air flow.

To have a heat exchanger with minimum material and will thus be less costly.

Excluding the central hub area, the material saving is @ 24%, saving in the cost of production on mass scale
basis once the dies are manufactured will be about 20 %.

Considering the number of vehicles, refrigerators and air conditioners used at national and international levels,
slight improvement in efficiency and reduction in cost will add to the economy to a great extent.

CAD MODEL OF RADIATOR

Material of tubes: Aluminium

Number of tubes: 20

Inner Diameter of Tube: 10mm

Outer diameter of tube: 11.25 mm

Material of fin: Aluminium

Thickness of fin: 0.16 mm

Figure 5: Radiator CAD Drawing

GEOMERIC MODELING OF FAN

For CFD analysis of the radiator, it is necessary to create a geometric model of the system. A model of the
radiator and the fan was made in CATIA V5 and then exported to CFD analysis software.
Study, Analysis and Design of Automobile Radiator (Heat Exchanger) 141
Proposed with Cad Drawings and Geometrical Model of the Fan

Figure 7: Fan Model Figure 8: Radiator Model

PROPOSED HEAT EXCHANGER

To overcome the drawbacks of this current and conventional design, a new design with geometrical modifications
is proposed to obtain efficient working of the radiator.

Figure 9: Proposed Circular Heat Exchanger (Radiator)

In the existing design, there is no heat transfer area at the centre where the flow of air is almost zero.

In the proposed design the tubes and the fins are so arranged that the outlet air has nearly constant velocity [6].

Heat exchanger for the refrigeration air conditioning system

Figure 11: Heat Exchanger for the Refrigeration Air Conditioning

The Heat exchanger for the refrigeration air conditioning system as shown in figure 11 is provided with a number
of fins of varying depth, maximum depth at the outer periphery and the reducing depth along the inner periphery. It is
142 Chavan D. K. & Tasgaonkar G. S

found that the new heat exchanger as described herein above has better performance level in its application. Further it
consumes less power and it is thus more economical.

DESIGN CALCULATIONS FOR RADIATOR

Available Data
Table 3: Observations of Air and Water

Sr. No. Observations Air (Cold) Water (Hot)

1 Inlet Temperature (C) 28 52
2 Outlet Temperature (C) 34.376 44
3 m i.e mass flow rate (kg/hr) 525.35 100
4 Cp. Specific Heat (kJ/kg C) 1 4.187
5 K Thermal Conductivity (W/mK) 0.024 0.66
6 Density (kg/m3) 1.1 1000

Assume: For this air cooled heat exchanger we use aluminum tubes of following dimension,

Outer Diameter = 11.25 mm

Inner Diameter = 10.00 mm

1.25
3. Thickness = = 0.0625 mm
2

From the chart of typical values of overall heat transfer coefficient, we know that for air cooled heat exchanger

value of overall heat transfer coefficient (U) ranges from 300-450 W/m2K. So here we assume it to be equal to 350

W/m2K[42].

U=350 W/m2K

Using Energy balana equation,

(mCp)h (Thi Tu) = (m Cp)c (Tce Tci)

100 4.187 (52 44) = 525.35 1 (Tce 28)

Tce = 34.376 C

So outlet temperature of air is = 34.746 C.

We know that, q = mw Cpw Tw

q = 100 4.187 (52 44)

q = 3349.6 Watt

Assuming the Heat Exchanger (Radiator) to be counter flow we get,

Study, Analysis and Design of Automobile Radiator (Heat Exchanger) 143
Proposed with Cad Drawings and Geometrical Model of the Fan

1=17.624C

2 = (44 28)

2=16C

Substituting these values in equation (5.10) we get,

1 2
m =
1
ln
2

(17.624 16)
m =
ln (17.624 / 16)

m = 16.8C i.e. 289.8K

i.e. LMTD=16.8C

Now, using the average velocity of water in tubes and its flow rate the total flow area is given as,

m
Af =
V

Where, Af = Total flow area

V = Average velocity of water

= Density of water

Here, we have average velocity of water = 65 m/hr

V=65 m/hr

100
So we get, Af =
65 1000

Af = 1.538 103 m2

2
But we know that, Af = n di
4

Where, n = Number of tubes

di = Inlet diameter of tube

144 Chavan D. K. & Tasgaonkar G. S

Substituting respective values, we get

1.538 103 = n (10 103)2
4

After solving the above equation we get,

n = 19.582 approximate = 20

n=20

For correction factor required dimension parameters are,

(Tce Tci)
P =
(Thi Tci)

34.376 28
P = = 0.3985
52 28

(Thi The)
R =
(Tce Tci)

52 44
R = = 1.26
34.376 28

So referring the chart 5.14, we get value of correction factor as 0.96,

F=0.96

That area of the heat transfer after considering correction factor is given as,

q
A =
U F m(counterflow)

3349.6
A =
350 0.96 16.8

A=0.5934 m2

Final Acceptable Design Parameters are as Under

Number of tubes per pass = 20

Number of passes = 1

Length of tube per pass = 0.284 m

Effectiveness of Heat Exchanger

(I) Ch = (m Cp)water

(100 4.18 1000)

Ch =
3600

Ch =116.306 W/K
Study, Analysis and Design of Automobile Radiator (Heat Exchanger) 145
Proposed with Cad Drawings and Geometrical Model of the Fan

(II) Cc = (m Cp)air

(525.35 1 1000)
Cc =
3600

Cc = 145.931 W/K

i.e Cmin = 116.306 W/K

Cmax = 145.931 W/K

Now

(a) Capacity ratio (C):

Cmin
C =
Cmax

116.306
C =
145.931

C = 0.797

UA
(b) NTU : NTU =
Cmin

350 0.5934
NTU =
116.306

NTU = 1.786

Using NTU- correlation for cross flow HE with both fluids unmixed, we have

=1 exp (NTU)0.22 {exp [C (NTU)0.78] 1}

1

C

=1 exp
1 0.22 {exp [ 0.797 (1.786)0.78] 1}

0.797 (1.786)

=0.6388

So we get effectiveness equal to 0.6388

LIMITATIONS

Bending of tubes in circular shape.

Inserting of fins in the tubes.

Dies are to be manufactured for circular radiators which are exorbitantly costly.
CONCLUSIONS
Low velocity zones and high temperature regions (low heat transfer regions) are identified in corners we observe
that velocity increases with the increase in rpm of radiator fan.

For optimum efficiency eliminate corners and develop radiator of Circular shape.
146 Chavan D. K. & Tasgaonkar G. S

Design is compact

Less material requirement

Less power consumption for fan.

More efficient.

Since material saving is about 24%, cost saving on mass scale production will be about 20% , once the dies are
manufactured

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