11/3/23, 9:25 AM Performance evaluation of a radiator in a diesel engine—a case study - ScienceDirect

Applied Thermal Engineering

Volume 19, Issue 6, June 1999, Pages 625-639

Performance evaluation of a radiator in a diesel

engine—a case study
D.Ganga Charyulu a , Gajendra Singh b, J.K. Sharma c

Show more

Share Cite

https://doi.org/10.1016/S1359-4311(98)00064-7
Get rights and content

Abstract

Performance evaluation of a radiator mounted on a turbo-charged diesel engine has been made with and
without fouling factor. Heat transfer estimation indicates that the radiator is over designed. The
characteristics of the radiator have been analyzed for different tube rows with varying air mass velocities to
enable the design engineer to select the size depending upon the requirement and application. The study
also examines the effect of different materials of construction of fins and tubes. It has been observed that
the copper fins with copper, brass and carbon steel tubes offer the same heat transfer and pressure drop
characteristics. However, the designer must look into the mechanical properties of these materials as they
suit the requirements.

Introduction

The recent high power diesel engines with 6, 8 and 12 cylinders are being produced in the category of
naturally aspirated; turbocharged and turbocharged and aftercooled versions having a power range from
188 to 368 kW (160 to 500 H.P.) depending on the application. These are water cooled; water cooled and
turbocharged and water cooled, turbocharged and aftercooled versions. The rpm varies from 1500 to 2500
and the compression ratio varies from 1:16.5 to 1:14.6. These diesel engines1, 2 are associated with three
compact heat exchangers i.e. radiator, oil-cooler and after-cooler to dissipate the generated heat in the
system to the environment. Radiator, oil-cooler and after-cooler are used in turbo-charged diesel engines for
cooling the engine body cooling water, lubricating oil and turbo-charged air, respectively. Air is the cooling
fluid for the radiator and water is the cooling medium for oil-cooler and after-cooler. The layout of the diesel
engine is shown in Fig. 1.

The radiator mounted on the present turbo-charged diesel engine of type TBD 232 V-12 is required to
dissipate 147.06 kW (529.65 MJ/h) heat. It is a cross flow compact heat exchanger with unmixed fluids and
air is being used as coolant. The type of the radiator core is shown in Fig. 2. It consists of 644 tubes with six

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1359431198000647 1/5
11/3/23, 9:25 AM Performance evaluation of a radiator in a diesel engine—a case study - ScienceDirect

tube rows. The tube cross section is rectangular with circular ends. There are 346 fins and these are
continuous fins. The materials of construction for tubes and fins are brass and copper, respectively.

The objective of this study is to assess the performance of the existing radiator under the following
conditions of operation:
1. The characteristics of the radiator core3, 4 for any number of tube rows, water flow rate and air flow rate.
It will help the designer selecting the number of tube rows for a given application.

2. The performance evaluation with varying fouling factors. Performance is evaluated on the basis of
fouling factors given in the literature7, 8 (TEMA standards). Since, the quality of fluids viz. air, water and
oil in India are different from TEMA standards and also varies from region to region, it is, therefore,
thought desirable that the performance of heat exchanger should be evaluated with different fouling
factors.

3. The performance and economic feasibility for various materials in construction of fin and tube. In this
context, it is thought desirable to analyze the radiator for different materials[9] for fins and tubes i.e.
copper–copper, copper–brass, copper–carbon steel, aluminum–aluminum, cupro nickel–cupro nickel,
carbon steel–carbon steel and stainless steel–stainless steel.

Section snippets

Useful relations for surface and core geometry

Certain geometrical relations[3] are necessary in the application of the basic heat transfer and flow friction
data to the design problem. The following geometrical factors are required as a design result for each of the
two sides of the complete exchanger core:

A total heat transfer area, m2;

A0 free flow area of one side of exchanger, m2;

Afr frontal area of one side of the exchanger, m2;

B air flow length in the exchanger, m;

V total volume of the exchanger, m3;

αa ratio of total heat transfer…

Air side calculations

(1) Stream heat capacity rate, Ca (2) Heat transfer coefficient[4], ha

where
(3) Temperature effectiveness of fins (fin efficiency)
where (4) Total surface temperature effectiveness
(5) Pressure drop (neglecting the expansion and contraction loss coefficients)
…

Computer program

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1359431198000647 2/5
11/3/23, 9:25 AM Performance evaluation of a radiator in a diesel engine—a case study - ScienceDirect

For implementing the analysis, a PC based computer program in fortran is developed for the compact heat
exchanger of the turbo-charged diesel engine. This program is useful in estimating the fluid properties at
operating temperatures5, 6, surface core geometry of cross flow heat exchanger, heat transfer coefficients,
pressure drops, overall heat transfer coefficient and heat transfer rate.

The program utilizes a subroutine for evaluating the thermal properties of air based on the operating…

Design specifications

Engine data

Engine type TBD 232 V-12

Engine, kW 368

Bore×stroke, m 0.12×0.13

Rated speed, RPM 2300

Heat dissipation requirement, kW 147.06 (529.65 MJ/h)

Radiator design specifications—see Appendix

.…

Results and discussion

The existing radiator with copper fins and brass tubes is analyzed to compute heat transfer rate from water
to air with no fouling and no tube wall resistance and with fouling and tube wall resistance, and these
computed values are 191.56 kW (689.95 MJ/h) and 184.23 kW (663.54 MJ/h), respectively, whereas the heat
dissipation requirement is 147.06 kW (529.65 MJ/h).

The characteristics of radiator core is analyzed for different tube rows, i.e. for a total of 2 rows, 3 rows and
the like up to 9…

Concluding remarks

A mathematical model and computer software package is developed for the radiator of a turbo-charged
diesel engine. This software is useful for predicting the heat transfer rate and pressure drop. A nomograph is
presented for selecting the number of tube rows suiting the requirement of the radiator. All variables, i.e.
flow rates of fluids, inlet temperature of fluids, fouling factors and materials of construction, that may
influence the performance of a core having a particular fin pitch, are…

Acknowledgements
The authors express their gratitude to Dr M. P. Kapoor, Director, TCRDC, Patiala and M/s Greaves Limited,
Pune for providing the necessary facilities during the conduct of this research work.…

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1359431198000647 3/5
11/3/23, 9:25 AM Performance evaluation of a radiator in a diesel engine—a case study - ScienceDirect

Recommended articles

References (9)

L.R.C. Lilly, Diesel Engine Reference Book. Butterworths, London,...

N. Watson, M.S. Janota, Turbocharging the Internal Combustion Engine. MacMillan Press, London,...

W.M. Kays, A.L. London, Compact Heat Exchangers. 3rd ed, McGraw-Hill, New York,...

D.G. Kröger, Radiator Characterization and Optimization. no. 840380, vol. 93, SAE Transactions, 1984, pp....

There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

Cited by (33)

Experimental investigation of an automobile radiator using carbon based hybrid nano coolant
2023, International Journal of Thermal Sciences

Show abstract

Experimental comparison of heat transfer characteristics of Enhanced Truck Radiators

2022, Case Studies in Thermal Engineering

Show abstract

Enhanced heat transfer performance of an automobile radiator with graphene based

suspensions
2017, Applied Thermal Engineering

Citation Excerpt :
…The photographic view of the experimental test facility with radiator is shown in Fig. 4. Surface characteristics [22] and
dimensions of a compact heat exchanger (radiator) are shown in Table 1. Convective heat transfer characteristics and
pressure drop in an automobile radiator was studied for different test conditions as listed in Table 2.…

Show abstract

Heat transfer enhancement of Al<inf>2</inf>O<inf>3</inf>-EG nanofluid in a car radiator with

wire coil inserts
2017, Applied Thermal Engineering

Citation Excerpt :
…At a given fixed rotational speed, the tolerable cavitation temperature of an engine’s water pump will fall slowly as the
amount of air bubbles increases. Ganga Charyulu et al. [4] presented an experimental study of performance evaluation of
a radiator mounted on a turbo-charged diesel engine with and without fouling factor. The characteristics of the radiator
analyzed for deferent tube rows with varying air mass velocities to enable the design engineer to select the size
depending upon the requirement and application.…

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1359431198000647 4/5
11/3/23, 9:25 AM Performance evaluation of a radiator in a diesel engine—a case study - ScienceDirect

Show abstract

Examination of the electropolishing behaviour of 73 brass in a 70% H

<inf>3</inf>PO<inf>4</inf> solution using a rotating disc electrode
2014, Materials Chemistry and Physics

Citation Excerpt :
…Due to its suitable mechanical properties and corrosion resistance, 73 brass, which has a Zn content of ca. 30 wt. % and
a single α phase with a face-centred cubic structure, has been widely used in many applications, such as in condensation
tubes, radiators, coins, musical instruments, ornaments, etc [1–3]. In industrial applications, mechanical polishing is
widely used for the surface finishing of Cu and Cu alloys [4,5].…

Show abstract

Improvement of bottoming cycle efficiency and heat rejection for HD truck applications by
utilization of EGR and CAC heat
2012, Energy Conversion and Management

Citation Excerpt :
…Studies performed up to date by the authors [17] and other research groups [11–13,18] have demonstrated that when a
Rankine cycle is coupled to an existing truck engine installation the use of a larger radiator, compared to the existing one,
is necessary. The limitations for the dimensions of the radiator installed on a truck are clear and as a consequence the use
of a second radiator appears a feasible solution to cover the increased heat rejection because of the bottoming cycle [19].
The present research group participated in an EU IP project [20] which focused, among other objectives, on the
investigation of various exhaust heat recovery techniques suitable for truck applications and the estimation of the most
promising technologies for further investigation.…

Show abstract

View all citing articles on Scopus

View full text

Copyright © 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

All content on this site: Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V., its licensors, and contributors. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar
technologies. For all open access content, the Creative Commons licensing terms apply.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1359431198000647 5/5