See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/320469363

Performance Estimation of Charge Air Cooler for Passenger Car

Article  in  International Review of Mechanical Engineering (IREME) · June 2017

DOI: 10.15866/ireme.v11i6.13135

CITATIONS READS

0 6,266

3 authors:

Sachin Gadewar Shravan H. Gawande

Modern Education Society's College of Engineering M.E.Societys College of Engineering, Pune-411001
3 PUBLICATIONS   41 CITATIONS    77 PUBLICATIONS   597 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

s. A. Barhate
Modern Education Society's College of Engineering
1 PUBLICATION   0 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Balancing of CI Engines View project

Adavances in Planetory Gear Trains View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Shravan H. Gawande on 06 March 2018.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 International Review of Mechanical Engineering (IREME), Vol. 11, N. 6
ISSN 1970-8734 June 2017
Special Issue on “ICMESCoE-2017”

Performance Estimation of Charge Air Cooler for Passenger Car

S. P. Gadewar1, S. H. Gawande2, S. A. Barhate3

Abstract – This charge air cooler is extensively used in diesel engine mostly for marine
applications. The main purpose of a charge air cooler is to cool the engine air, ensuring efficient
performance. The main objective of the charge air cooler is to increase the heat dissipation
capacity and to reduce the outlet temperature. In this paper, the charge air cooler was designed,
simulated and developed in MAHLE Behr India Private Limited, Pune. Based on the simulation
results it is observed that heat rejection and outlet temperature were matched with the
requirement and tested values. Copyright © 2017 Praise Worthy Prize S.r.l. - All rights reserved.

Keywords: Charge Air Cooler (CAC), Heat Dissipation, Outlet Temperature, Simulation

Nomenclature Stephenson, et al. [4] has optimized problem by using

Cp Specific heat capacity (kJ/kg°C)
m Mass flow rate (kg/hr)
Q Heat Rejection (kW)
∆T Temperature difference (°C)
I. Introduction
A device which is used in turbo-charged and super-
charged (forced induction) I. C. Engines (internal
combustion engines) to improve their volumetric
efficiency by increasing intake air-charge density through
isochoric cooling is called as charge air cooler. A denser
intake charge to the engine is obtained by decreasing
intake air temperature which provides and allows more
air and fuel to be combusted per engine cycle, increasing
the output of the engine.
Inadequate amount of research has been conceded out
by many investigators working in the area of the charge
air cooler. Their work has been reported by performing
comprehensive literature review through earlier
published research work, journal papers and technical
reports. This section focuses on the work done by many
researchers working in the area of the charge air cooler.
Kolb, et al. [1] pronounces a air-to-air charge air cooler
(CAC) partaking long life, heavy duty, which has
particular application in heavy duty trucks etc, in which
through structural modeling and fatigue analysis is
carried to meet minimum reliability requirements,
whereas for automotive application Mannoni, et al. [2]
performed experimental study on an all-nylon charge air
cooler. with comparison between metal and nylon
Charge air Coolers. Brief summary of the Behr reliability
management system, including, as an integral element
and the validation process is given by Knaus, et al. [3] in
which the application of test methods is described with
the help of simulation tools and associated coupling
strategies.
high end package CATIA and CFD with four conflicting
objectives as, to reduce the pressure loss in the system, to
increase the uniformity of flow in the tubes, to minimize
the tank material and to conform to the package volume.
A matching design of hot side and cold side flow
channels in CAC was carried by Xiao, et al. [5], where
based on numerical analysis, the fluid flow and heat
transfer performances of 9 matched CAC were broadly
assessed and the optimum structure was resolute. Mohd,
et al. [6] observed that the commercially available
automotive intercooler used to cool the dense hot air
from turbo compressor fails, when the summers are very
hot and the speed of the vehicle is lowered which result
in reduction in the density of air and consequently the
mass flow rate delivered, whereas Parniya, et al. [7] has
made an attempt to summarize the results of an analysis
of the air-side performance of spiral fin-and-tube heat
exchangers. Xiang, et al. [8] has observed the
improvement in heat exchangers from two streams and
one working condition to multi-stream and multiple
functional conditions, channel organization becomes a
key problem in design of heat exchanger.
From literature review it is seen that a lot of work is
performed on a charge air cooler and tower [9] but very
less amount of research work is reported for different
tank material of a charge air cooler and its performance.
Hence, from this case and as discussion with expert at
Bher India Pvt Ltd, an idea came in our mind to design a
charge air cooler tank for the given materials with
objective to increase the heat dissipation capacity and to
reduce the outlet temperature to enhance performance.
This paper is organized as follows: Sections 1 focus
on literature review and recent development in the
subject, problem formulation and objective of work is
stated in Section 2, design and simulation of charge air
cooler is explained in Section 3; Section 4 and Section 5
focus on thermal analysis and design of charge air cooler,
the results and discussion is explained in section7,

Copyright © 2017 Praise Worthy Prize S.r.l. - All rights reserved https://doi.org/10.15866/ireme.v11i6.13135

414
 S. P. Gadewar, S. H. Gawande, S. A. Barhate
concluding remark is given in Section 8.
II. Problem Statement and Objective
As per industrial and literature survey, it is observed
that a lot of work is carried out on a charge air cooler, but
very little amount of research work is reported for
different tank material of a charge air cooler and its
performance. Finally, the scope of this paper is to design
and develop a charge air cooler with the objective to
increase the heat dissipation capacity and to reduce outlet
temperature. The solution achieves a major a design goal
of developing a charge air cooler with different tank
material.
III. Working Principle of Charge
Air Cooler
In diesel engine, charge air cooler is positioned
between the turbocharger and the engine. Turbocharger
is a device which delivers a grander supply of
combustion air by compression. The hot air coming out
of the engine is passed through the turbocharger for
compression. Increase in the density of the combustion
air will increase combustion efficiency. Thus, the
compressed air is passed through the charge air cooler to
increase density of the air which indirectly lowers the
temperature of the air. This cooled air, then further
supplied to engine. Also, increase in density of the
cooling air will lead to an increase in weight of the
charge air of the system, which in turn leads to an
increase in engine efficiency. The schematic layout of
experimental test set-up developed at MAHLE Behr
India Private Limited, Pune for measurement of outlet
temperature of charge air cooler was as shown in Fig. 1.
The experimental setup consists of temperature
sensors (TS) to sense the temperature and pass the signal
further for processing. The experimental work was
carried out to measure the outlet temperature with the
help of the temperature sensors (TS).
Fig. 1. Test set-up for outlet temperature measurement
IV. Thermal Analysis
In order to accomplish the objective as, to increase the
heat dissipation capacity and to reduce the outlet
Copyright © 2017 Praise Worthy Prize S.r.l. - All rights reserved
415
temperature, it was necessary to perform thermal analysis
to determine the required heat dissipation capacity of
propose charge air cooler. Thermal analysis is a tool,
which is often used as a mean for the study of heat
transfer through structures. Hence in this study thermal
analysis is performed to calculate heat rejection from a
charge air cooler. Eq. (1) is used to determine the
required heat dissipation capacity. In Eq. (1) specific heat
capacity of the air at 150°C used was 1.02 kJ/kg0C:
Q  m  CP  T (1)
where:
Q – Heat Rejection (kW)
m – Mass flow rate (kg/hr)
Cp – Specific heat capacity (kJ/kg°C)
∆T – Temperature difference (°C)
Q = (509/3600) × 1.02 × (150 - 53) = 13.9 kW
Hence, the required heat dissipation capacity of charge
air cooler under consideration was calculated to be
13.9kW. As per the requirement to accomplish the
objective it was necessary design charge air cooler as
shown in Fig. 2. The charge air cooler was design as per
Behr standards. Table I shows major dimensional
parameters of designed charge air cooler. In this section
complete design of charge air cooler and solid modeling
performed by using CATIA V5 software is presented.
The charge air cooler contains parts like Header, Inlet
Tank, Outlet Tank, Side Plate, Tube and Fin. Charge air
cooler was designed by considering some factors like
cost, weight and the performance. In design more
emphasis has given to the simplicity, rigidity and the
outer appearance.
Fig. 2. Charge Air Cooler
TABLE I
DIMENSIONS OF CHARGE AIR COOLER
Parameters Dimensions
Core Size 277×259×40
Fin Density – External 65 fpdm
Fin Density – Internal 65 fpdm
Number of tubes 18
Tube Pitch 15 mm
International Review of Mechanical Engineering, Vol. 11, N. 6
Special Issue on “ICMESCoE-2017”
 S. P. Gadewar, S. H. Gawande, S. A. Barhate

IV.1. Design of Header

Header is the portion of the core that connects the inlet
and outlet tank to the core matrix. It is designed with
core depth t = 40mm and pitch of tube 15mm as shown
in Fig. 3. Also, header consists of header ferrules which
are 18 in number and 19 numbers of crimping slots. In all
there are two header fixed between inlet tank and core,
and outlet tank and core. The headers are made as simple Fig. 5. Outlet Tank
as possible for ease of manufacturing. Material used for
the headers is aluminum. Properties of materials used are TABLE III
given in Table II. DIMENSION ON INLET AND OUTLET TANK
Parameters Dimensions
Length of the inlet and outlet tank 299.8 mm
Width of inlet and outlet tank 55 mm
Wall thickness 2.5 mm
Height of inlet tank 60.3 mm
Height of outlet tank 88.66 mm

IV.3. Core Plate

Core cover is designed with the core depth of 40mm
as shown in Fig. 6. They are two in numbers. Both the
core covers are fixed on both the sides of the core width.
Material used for core covers is aluminum. Dimension of
core plate are given in Table IV.
Fig. 3. Header

TABLE II
MATERIAL PROPERTIES
Material Polypropylene Glass
Aluminum
fiber (PP66 GF30)
Header, Tubes, Inlet and Outlet Tank
Parts
Core Plate, Fin
Young’s Modulus E 63000-67000 6000-15000
(MPa)
Poisson’s Ratio ν 0.33 0.38 Fig. 6. Core Plate
Mass Density ρ 2.7 1.36
(ton/mm3) TABLE IV
Thermal Expansion 2.4 5.25 DIMENSION OF CORE PLATE
Co. α (mm/K) Parameters Dimension
Core Plate width 40 mm
Length of core plate 280 mm
IV.2. Design of Inlet and Outlet Tank Thickness of core plate 1.5 mm

Tank is made of plastic material to decrease the

weight of the charge air cooler. Material properties for IV.4. Design of Tube
plastic are given in Table II. It is fitted on both side of
Tubes were made with the dimension 40×8 mm as
the core. Height of the outlet tank is more than the inlet
shown in Fig. 7. There are 18 tubes in number placed
tank to reduce the pressure drop. Dimensions of inlet and
alternately with the combination of tube and fin. Material
outlet tank are given in Table III. Inlet and outlet tank is
used for tubes is aluminum.
shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 respectively.

Fig. 7. Tube

IV.5. Design of Fin

Fins are 19 in numbers placed alternately with the
Fig. 4 Inlet Tank combination of tube and fin. Fins and tubes together
form core of dimension 277× 259×40 mm. Material used

Copyright © 2017 Praise Worthy Prize S.r.l. - All rights reserved International Review of Mechanical Engineering, Vol. 11, N. 6
Special Issue on “ICMESCoE-2017”

416
 S. P. Gadewar, S. H. Gawande, S. A. Barhate

for fin is aluminum. Fin is shown in Fig. 8. TABLE VI

RESULT FOR HEAT REJECTION
Inlet Parameters Outlet Parameters
Ambient Charge Charge Cooling Required Simulated Calculated
Temp Air Air Air Heat Heat Heat
(°C) Inlet Mass Speed Rejection Rejection Rejection
Temp Flow (m/s) (kW) (kW) (kW)
(°C) Rate
Fig. 8. Fin (kg/hr)
25 150 509 6 14.2 14 13.9

V. Simulation Fig. 10 shows the comparison of required (i.e. tested),

simulated & calculated values of heat rejection with
Simulation of charge air cooler has been carried out cooling air speed.
by using Behr Integrated System Simulation (BISS).
BISS means Behr Integrated System Simulation, is an
east to use software package for the simulation of the
products manufactured in Behr. It is the simulation of the
operation of a real-world process or system overtime.
The act of simulating something first requires that a
model be developed; this model represents the key
characteristics or behavior/functions of the selected
physical or abstract system or process. The model
represents the system itself, whereas the simulation
represents the operation of the system overtime. Fig. 9
shows BISS screen in which simulated model of charge
air cooler with boundary condition. Boundary conditions Fig. 10. Deviation of heat rejection with
applied are given in Table V. cooling air speed

From Fig. 10 it is seen that the values of heat rejection

obtained by two approaches are in good agreement as the
percentage deviation of heat rejection with the cooling
air speed is very less varying from 0.2kW to 0.3kW,
when compared with required heat rejection. Table VII
shows the results for outlet temperature obtained from
experimental setup as shown in Fig. 1, with the required
and simulated values.
TABLE VII
RESULT FOR OUTLET TEMPERATURE
Inlet Parameters Outlet Parameters
Charge Tested
Charge Air Required Simulated
Ambient Air Inlet Outlet
Mass Flow Outlet Outlet
Temp (°C) Temp Temp
Fig. 9. BISS screen Rate (kg/hr) Temp (°C) Temp (°C)
(°C) (°C)
25 150 509 55 51.4 53
TABLE V
BOUNDARY CONDITIONS
Parameters Constraint Fig. 11 shows the comparison of required, simulated
Ambient temperature (°C) 25 and tested value as shown in Fig. 1 of outlet temperature
Charge air flow rate (kg/hr) 509 with cooling air speed.
Charge air inlet temperature (°C) 150
Cooling air speed (m/s) 6

VI. Result and Discussions

Simulation by using BISS software was carried out for
determination of the results for heat rejection and outlet
temperature of charge air cooler. Input parameters
required for simulation are given in Table VI. As per the
requirement of the customer the results of heat rejection
and outlet temperature obtained by simulation are
compared with actual testing results. Results of heat
rejection obtained by three approaches are given in Table
VI. Fig. 11. Deviation of outlet temperature with cooling air speed

Copyright © 2017 Praise Worthy Prize S.r.l. - All rights reserved International Review of Mechanical Engineering, Vol. 11, N. 6
Special Issue on “ICMESCoE-2017”

417
 S. P. Gadewar, S. H. Gawande, S. A. Barhate
From Fig. 11 it is seen that the values of outlet
temperature obtained by two approaches are in good
agreement as the percentage deviation of outlet
temperature with the cooling air speed is negligible i.e.
varying from 20C to 3.60C.
VII. Conclusion
The primary objective of this paper was to design and
develop a charge air cooler with the objective to increase
the heat dissipation capacity and to reduce the outlet
temperature. This objective was achieved with the help
of extensive analytical work, computer aided simulation
tools, commercially available software’s, and
experimental investigations. The design of the charge air
cooler was carried out using company standards both
manually and by using software. Finally it is concluded
that results of heat rejection obtained by three approaches
are in good agreement as the percentage of deviation of
heat rejection with the cooling air speed is very minute.
Again the values of outlet temperature obtained by three
approaches are in good agreement as the percentage of
deviation of outlet temperature is negligible. Lastly it can
be concluded that the solution achieves a major design
goal of developing a charge air cooler with different tank
material.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank MAHLE Behr India Private
Limited, Pune for giving me an opportunity to work in
this field.
References
[1] J. Kolb, M. Zhao, M. Lambert, and J. Juber, "Long Life, Heavy
Duty, Air-to-Air Charge Air Cooler," SAE Technical Paper
981974, 1998.
[2] A. Mannoni andD.Vitali, "Development of All-Nylon Charge Air
Cooler for Automotive Applications," SAE Technical Paper
2001-01-1736, 2001.
[3] H. Knaus, S.Weise, W.KühnelandU.Krüger, "Overall Approach
to the Validation of Charge Air Coolers," SAE Technical Paper
2005-01-2064, 2005.
[4] P.Stephenson, Y.Chen, N. Fateh and S.Parashar et al., "Multi-
objective Optimization of a Charge Air Cooler using mode
FRONTIER," SAE Technical Paper 2008-01-0886, 2008.
[5] B. L. Xiao, W. M. Wu, X. L. Yu, G. D. Lu, "Optimal Design
Method of Automotive Charged Air Cooler Based on the
Matching of Hot-Side and Cold-Side Flow Channels", Advanced
Materials Research, Vols 479-481, pp. 2485-2488, Feb. 2012
[6] M. Muqueem, Dr. M. Kumar, “Design of an intercooler of a
turbocharger unit to enhance the volumetric efficiency of diesel
engine”, International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and
Technology”, vol.4, 01-10, 2012.
[7] P. Pongsoi, S. Pikulkajorn, S. Wogwises, “Heat transfer and flow
characteristics of spiral fin and tube heat exchangers: A review”,
International journal of Heat and Mass transfer, vol.79, 417-431,
2014.
[8] Peng, Z. Liu, C. Qiu, J. Tan, “Passage arrangement design for
multi-stream plate fin heat exchanger under multiple operating
conditions”, International journal of Heat and Mass transfer,
vol.77, 1055-1062, 2014.
[9] N. A. Rawabawale, S.N. Sapali, N. Sonawane Performance
Copyright © 2017 Praise Worthy Prize S.r.l. - All rights reserved
418
View publication stats
Prediction and Validation of a Cross-Flow Wet Cooling Tower,
International Journal on Heat and Mass Transfer - Theory and
Applications, Vol.4, n.3, pp.66-71, 2016.
Authors’ information
1,2
Department of Mechanical Engineering, M. E. Society’s College of
Engineering, Pune, Maharashtra, India
E-mail: spgadewar@mescoepune.org
shgawande@yahoo.co.in
S. P. Gadewar is working as Assistant
Professor at M.E.S. College of Engineering,
Pune, India. He obtained B.E. (Mechanical
Engg.) from SRTM University in 1999. LLB.
from 2006 SRTM University. M.E.
(Mechanical-Mfg.Processes) in 2010 from
SRTM University. His research areas are
Material science and welding technology. He
has more than 11 years of teaching experience in various subjects of
Mechanical Engineering.
Dr. S. H. Gawande was born in small village
Deori, Tq. Akot, Dist. Akola in Maharashtra
state of India. He completed bachelors degree in
mechanical engineering from Amravati
University, Amravati in May 2001 & masters
degree in Mechanical Engineering with design
engineering as specialization in December 2002
from University of Pune. He completed PhD in
Mechanical Engineering from Government College of Engineering,
Pune, (COEP) under University of Pune in September 2012. Now he is
working as professor in mechanical engineering at M. E. Society’s
College of Engineering Pune-411001, India from 2004. He published
more than 50 research papers in international journals and conferences.
He is recognized PhD guide in mechanical engineering of Pune
University, Under his guidance 5 PhD scholars are working. He has
more than 14 years of teaching and industrial experience. His area of
interest is internal combustion engines, design engineering, tribology
and vibration control. He is permanent member of Indian society ISTE
from 2005, IACSIT Singapore from 2009,ACSE and SAE from 2008.
S. A. Barhate was born in small village Savda,
Dist. Jalgaon in Maharashtra state of India. She
completed Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical
Engineering from Pune University, Pune in
2013 & Master of Engineering in Design
Engineering as specialization from Savitribai
Pune University, Pune in 2015. Her area of
interest is design and analysis of various
mechanical components, design engineering, etc.
E-mail: sayalibarhate27@gmail.com
International Review of Mechanical Engineering, Vol. 11, N. 6
Special Issue on “ICMESCoE-2017”