Summary
A radiator is a component of the car engine’s cooling system that disperses a mix of antifreeze and water, which releases some of the heat while taking in cool air before returning to the engine.
The core, pressure cap, outlet inlet tanks, and cooler are the major components of a car’s radiator. They all play a crucial role in the effective working of the radiator.
Radiators function to eliminate heat from the engine. The process starts when the thermostat at the front of the engine detects excessive heat. Coolant and water are then released from the radiator and circulated through the engine to absorb the heat.
Now, let’s delve into more detail about an automobile radiator!
Contents
What Is a Car Radiator?
Generally, a radiator is a heat exchanger that is used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for cooling and heating. Radiators consist of a large area of the cooling surface and use the stream of air to take away the surrounding heat.
Modern cars use aluminum radiators, but they are usually made of copper and brass. Radiators are important in automobile engines. One of its primary functions is to allow heat to be blown away from the coolant.
It also functions as a reservoir for coolant before entering the engine. this is why the malfunctioning of the component will cause significant engine damage caused by overheating.
Radiator Diagram:
Parts of Radiators
Below are the major parts of radiators and their functions:
Core:
The core is the major part of a radiator that serves its main purpose. It is a metal block with small metal fins, through which the coolant heat is vented to the air surrounding the radiator. Cores are used to classify radiators, for instance, one-core, two-core, or even three-core radiators.
Pressure Cap:
The coolant in the radiator is always under pressure, which helps to keep the coolant much hotter without boiling. This allows the system to be much more efficient. The function of the pressure cap is to bleed off the hot coolant since it rises at some point. The hot coolant could cause damage to the coolant parts if the pressurized cap not functioning well.
Inlet and Outlet Tanks:
The outlet and the inlet portion of the radiator are where the air flows in and out of the radiator. It’s located in the radiator head, which is made of metal or plastic. From the engine, hot coolant flows through the inlet portion to the radiator and from the outer portion to the engine. The hose is used to make the connections.
Cooler:
Some cars use the same cooler as the engine transmission cooler. In the transmission system, the fluid passes through a steel pipe to ensure coolant circulation. This coolant is also cooled within the radiator because heat is also generated through an automatic transmission.
Read More: Symptoms of a bad radiator fan
Types of Radiator
The various types of radiators are classified according to their cores. Below are the types of radiators used in automotive engines:
Tubular Core Type:
In these types of radiators, the upper and lower tanks are connected by a series of tubes that pass the water within the radiator. There are fins located around the tube for efficient heat transfer.
It absorbs the heat from the coolant through the fans and into the atmosphere. Since water passes through all tubes in this radiator type, a defect in one tube will affect the cooling process.
Cellular Core Type:
In the cellular types of radiators, the coolant flows through the spaces between the tubes. The core is made of a large number of individual air cells surrounded by the coolant.
Air passes through the tubes while the coolant flows in the spaces between them. The cellular core radiator is also known as a honeycomb radiator because of its appearance. Unlike the tubular type, clogging in the tube affects a small part of the total cooling surface.
Working Principle
In a radiator, there is a tank on each side, and the inside contains a transmission cooler. There are inlet and outlet ports, and from the inlet port, coolant flows to the tubes, where they are exposed to cooling. The tubes are in a parallel arrangement, where they come into contact with cooling fins to draw away heat from the core.
As the hot water enters through the inlet port to the tubes, the cooling fan behind the radiator cools down the hot water in the tubes. The coolant then passes through the outlet port back to the engine to cool the hot part again.
Learn More From This Video:
That is all for this article, where I explain the necessary things to know about a car’s radiator. I hope you enjoyed the reading; if so, kindly comment, share, and recommend this site to other technical students. Thanks for reading; see you around!
