AMTE 235- Engine Cooling,

Exhaust and Reverser System

Engine Cooling Systems
• Excessive heat is always undesirable in both reciprocating and turbine aircraft
engines. Major damage or complete engine failure would occur.
• Majority of reciprocating engines are air cooled.
• In a liquid-cooled engine, around the cylinder are water jackets, in which
liquid coolant is circulated and the coolant takes away the excess heat.
• The excess heat is then dissipated by a heat exchanger or radiator using air
flow. Turbine engines use secondary airflow to cool the inside components
and many of the exterior components.
Reciprocating Engine Cooling Systems
An internal-combustion engine is a heat machine that converts chemical energy
in the fuel into mechanical energy at the crankshaft. Excessive heat is
undesirable in any internal combustion engine for three principal reasons:
1. It affects the behavior of the combustion of the fuel/ air charge.
2. It weakens and shortens the life of engine parts.
3. It impairs lubrication.
The temperature inside the engine cylinder is too great, the fuel-air mixture is preheated.
Effects of preheated fuel air mixture.
• Combustion occurs before the desired time.
• Combustion causes detonation, knocking.
• One-fourth of the heat released is changed into useful power.
• In a typical aircraft powerplant, half of the heat goes out with the exhaust
and the other is absorbed by the engine.
• Circulating oil picks up part of this soaked-in heat and transfers it to the
airstream through the oil cooler.
• Increased by the use of cooling fins
so that it presents a barrel-sized
exterior to the cooling air.
• If too much of the cooling fin area is
broken off, the cylinder cannot cool
properly, and a hotspot develops.
Therefore, cylinders are normally
replaced if a specified number of
square inches of fins are missing.
• A cooling fin is an integral thin cast
strip designed to provide efficient
air circulation and dissipation of
heat away from the engine cylinder
block into the air stream. Fins or
vanes increase the surface area of
the cylinder block contacting
ambient air for cooling efficiency.
Cowling and baffles are designed to force air over the cylinder cooling fins.
• The baffles direct the air close around the cylinders and prevent it from
forming hot pools of stagnant air while the main streams rush by unused.
• Blast tubes are built into the baffles to direct jets of cooling air onto the rear
spark plug elbows of each cylinder to prevent overheating of ignition leads.
• Many engine installations use blast tubes to direct cooling air into
inaccessible areas of an engine compartment.
• A blast tube is basically a small pipe or duct that channels air from the main
cooling airstream onto heat-sensitive components.
• Engine accessories such as magnetos, alternators, and generators are often
cooled using blast tubes.
• Blast tubes, where used, are typically built into the baffles and are an integral
part of the baffle structure.
The aircraft engine has temperature controls that regulate air circulation over the
engine. The most common means of controlling cooling is the use of cowl flaps.
• These flaps are opened and closed by electric motor-driven jackscrews, by
hydraulic actuators, or manually in some light aircraft.

• Cowl flaps are small doors located in the bottom of the engine cowling
that allow for greater cylinder cooling during takeoff and climb.
• During ground operations, the cowl flaps should be opened wide since drag
does not matter and cooling needs to be set at maximum.
• Cowl flaps are used mostly with older aircraft and radial engine installations.
Some aircraft use augmentors to provide additional cooling airflow.
• Augmentor tube is a long, specially shaped stainless steel tube mounted around
the exhaust tail pipe of a reciprocating engine.
• The augmentor tube uses the velocity of the exhaust gases to produce a low
pressure on one side of the engine that helps pull cooling air through it.
• The augmentor produces a venturi effect which increases the flow of air from
the engine nacelle.
Reciprocating Engine Cooling System Maintenance
The engine cooling system of most reciprocating engines usually consists of the
following
• Engine cowling
• Cylinder baffles
• Cylinder fins
• Cowl flaps
There are also some temperature-indicating systems, such as;
• Cylinder head temperature
• Oil temperature
• Exhaust gas temperature
The cowling performs two functions:
• It streamlines the bulky engine to reduce drag.
• It forms an envelope around the engine that forces air to pass around and
between the cylinders, absorbing the heat dissipated by the cylinder fins.
The baffle plate are metal shields, designed and arranged to direct the flow of
air evenly around all cylinders.
The cylinder fins defuse heat from the cylinder walls and heads. As the air
passes over the fins, it absorbs this heat, carries it away from the cylinder.
The controllable cowl flaps provide a means of decreasing or increasing the exit
area at the rear of the engine cowling.
Maintenance of Engine Cowling
• Inspect the cowling panels for scratches, dents, and tears in the panels. This
type of damage causes weakness of the panel structure, increases drag by
disrupting airflow, and contributes to the starting of corrosion.
• The cowling panel latches should be inspected for pulled rivets and loose or
damaged handles.
• The internal construction of the panel should be examined to see that the
reinforcing ribs are not cracked and that the air seal is not damaged.
• The cowl flap hinges, if equipped, and cowl flap hinge bonding's should be
checked for security of mounting and for breaks or cracks.
Cleaning and Inspection of Cowling based on Cessna 150
Service Manual
• Wipe the inner surfaces of the cowling
segments with a cloth saturated with
cleaning solvent.
• If the inside surface of cowling is coated
heavily with oil and dirt, allow solvent to
soak until foreign materials can be
removed.
• Wash painted surfaces of cowling with a
solution of mild soap and water and
rinse carefully.
• Coat of wax applied to painted surfaces
is recommended to prolong paint life.
• Inspect cowling for dents , cracks and
loose rivets.
Engine Cylinder Cooling Fin Inspection
• The cooling fins are of the utmost importance to the cooling system, since they
provide a means of transferring the cylinder heat to the air.
• The fins are inspected at each regular inspection. Fin area is the total area
(both sides of the fin) exposed to the air.
• During the inspection, the fins should be examined for cracks and breaks.
• Generally, cracks in cooling fins which do not extend into the cylinder head
may be repaired.
• A typical repair requires you to remove the damaged portion of the fin with a
die grinder and rotary file.
• After removing the damage, finish file the sharp edges to a smooth contour.
• The percentage of total fin area that is removed must not exceed the limits
established by the manufacturer.
When repairing a damaged fin on a cylinder, you must not remove any of the
primary cylinder casting. In addition, fin loss near spark plug openings or exhaust
ports can cause dangerous local hot spot.
Inspection based on C-85
Overhauling Manual
• Examine steel barrel fins for bending
and aluminum head fins for cracks.
• All steel fins should be straight and
even to permit air flow. Not over 10%
of head fin area may be removed by
cracking or by cutting out to stop
cracks, without reducing cooling
efficiency dangerously.
• Small cracks starting at the edges of
head fins should be marked for repair
by drilling reliefs.
• If cracks extend to the fin roots the
head wall is probably cracked and
should be discarded.
Cylinder Baffle and Deflector System Inspection
• Inspections which reveal defects in cylinder baffles and deflectors must be
followed up with repairs to prevent loss of cooling efficiency.
• Since baffles are subject to constant vibration, work-hardening of the metal
occurs considerably faster than on other components.
• Work-hardening can make engine baffles extremely brittle which increases
the likelihood of fatigue cracking.
• The baffles and deflectors normally are inspected during the regular engine
inspection, but they should be checked whenever the cowling is removed for
any purpose.
• Checks should be made for cracks, dents, or loose hold down studs. Cracks or
dents, if severe enough, would necessitate repair or removal and replacement
of these units.
• Crack that has just started can be stop-drilled, and dents can be straightened,
permitting further service from these baffles and deflectors.
Inspection based on Cessna 150 Service Manual
• Engine baffles should be cleaned with suitable solvent to removed dirt
and oil.
Note: Rubber seal are oil and grease resistance but should not be soaked in solvent for
long period.
Cowl flaps inspection
• Inspect the cowl flaps visually for security of mounting and for signs of
cracking.
• In addition, operate the cowl flaps to verify the condition of the hinges and
operating mechanism.
• If the cowl flaps were removed for maintenance, you must adjust them
properly during reinstallation.
• Proper adjustment helps ensure the correct tolerances for the "open" and
"closed" positions.
• Establishing the correct tolerance in both positions is of the utmost
importance for maintaining correct cylinder head temperatures.
Cylinder Temperature Indicating Systems
• This system usually consists of an indicator, electrical wiring, and a
thermocouple.
• The wiring is between the instrument and the nacelle firewall. At the firewall,
one end of the thermocouple leads connects to the electrical wiring, and the
other end of the thermocouple leads connects to the cylinder.
• The thermocouple consists of two dissimilar metals, generally constantan and
iron, connected by wiring to an indicating system.
• If the temperature of the junction is different from the temperature where the
dissimilar metals are connected to wires, a voltage is produced.
• This voltage sends a current through wires to the indicator, a current-
measuring instrument graduated in degrees
Exhaust Gas Temperature Indicating Systems
• The exhaust gas temperature indicator consists of a thermocouple placed in
the exhaust stream just after the cylinder port.
• It is then connected to the instrument in the instrument panel.
• This allows for the adjustment of the mixture, which has a large effect on
engine temperature.
HELICOPTER COOLING SYSTEMS
• Helicopters present unique problems when it comes to cooling an engine.
• For example, helicopter engines generally operate at a high rpm for prolonged
periods of time and, therefore, produce more heat.
• Furthermore, helicopters typically fly at much slower airspeeds than fixed-wing
aircraft and do not benefit from ram airflow.
• Since the downwash from the main rotor is insufficient to cool an engine an
alternate method of engine cooling is required.
• The most commonly used auxiliary engine cooling system in helicopters is a
large belt-driven cooling fan.
• As an example of a helicopter
cooling fan assembly, consider
the Bell 47 helicopter.
• The cooling fan is mounted on
the front side of the engine and
is driven by the transmission fan
quill assembly through two
matched V-belts.
• The 1.2:1 quill gear ratio turns
the fan at a higher speed than
the engine in order to distribute
an adequate supply of cooling
air to the engine.
The cooling fan assembly on a Bell 47 helicopter is rotated by two V-belts that
are driven by the engine transmission.
• Liquid-cooled aircraft engines are constructed with a metal water jacket
that surrounds the cylinders.
• As coolant circulates in the water jacket, heat passes from the cylinder walls
and heads to the coolant.
• A coolant pump circulates the coolant in a pressurized loop from the water
jacket to a radiator, where heat is transferred from the coolant to the air.
• To allow for higher engine temperatures and a smaller radiator, many liquid-
cooled systems are pressurized.
• Although liquid-cooled engines have been the standard for automotive and industrial
engines for years, they have had limited success in aircraft.
• Early aircraft engine designs used liquid cooling; however, new air-cooled engine
designs became the standard for several reasons.
• The primary reason for this is that the need for a radiator, water jacket, coolant, and
other associated hoses and lines added a substantial amount of weight.
• In addition, air-cooled engines are not hampered by cold-weather operations as
severely as liquid-cooled engines.
•In spite of the disadvantages,
liquid-cooled engines were used
with great success in some
American and British-built WWII
fighter aircraft.
•Two such aircraft were the P-38
Lightning and P-51 Mustang
which flew with liquid-cooled V-
12 engines.
•A recently produced liquid-cooled engine, the Teledyne-Continental Voyager, uses
a mixture of 60 percent ethylene glycol and 40 percent water as a coolant.
•The coolant is circulated at a high velocity and the small radiator is located in an
area which produces the least amount of drag.
AIR COOLING VS LIQUID COOLING
• Airplanes with air-cooled engines don't require coolant or other liquids. As
a result, they weigh less than airplanes with liquid-cooled engines.
• Air-cooled engines are also less likely to fail than their liquid-cooled
counterparts. They only require fins, which are simple pieces of metal that
transfer heat.
• Air-cooled engines are fuel efficient, affordable and require lesser engine
space than that of liquid cooled engines. The Maintenance costs of liquid
cooled ones are higher than air-cooled engines.
• Liquid cooling's major advantage is water is far denser than air. A smaller
volume of water can transfer more heat than the same volume of air, so
more cooling power can be packaged tightly around the engine.
• Although liquid cooling can be 2-10 times more effective than air cooling,
there are still some drawbacks: Cost – Custom liquid cooling will cost you a
lot more than a standard air-cooling system. You are paying for the more
complicated operation and the better performance.