PERFORMANCE STUDY ON AUTOMOTIVE RADIATOR BY THE MODIFICATION OF FIN GEOMETRY AND COOLANT

The present work is the study of a conventional radiator for the improvement of thermal performance through modification of fin design. In the automotive industry all the radiators are designed by conventional Fins because of their ease of manufacturing and brazing to the tubes. Heat dissipation in such Fins takes place by convection between the ambient air and fins, but the conduction is neglected between tube panel and fins. In this study, it introduces conduction heat transfer by the addition of the conduction fin element to the panel. The additional fin element is in direct contact with the panel, thereby enhancing conduction heat transfer. Further, the heat dissipation rate improved by change of coolant using Water (35%) -Ethylene Glycol (65%) mixture as a liquid coolant in the radiator. In this paper ε-NTU method is described to do heat transfer calculations. Modelling and simulation of the conventional as well as trapezoidal fins are performed by CATIA and CFD Tools. The outlet temperature of the liquid coolant is evaluated and compared for both conventional and the modified design. The modified fin design improves thermal performance by increase in heat dissipation rate.