Heat dissipation characteristics of a FSAE racecar radiator

Abstract

In recent times, the rise in performance and power of internal combustion engines has resulted in an increased demand for more efficient cooling systems. Customized engineered coolants, additives, radiator materials, redesigned coolant pumps and radiators help to meet these increased demands. In case of FSAE racecar, designing a radiator is an important part for controlling the engine operating temperature and increasing the effectiveness of the cooling system. In this work, an attempt is made to develop a simple yet reasonably accurate analytical model to calculate the effectiveness of a radiator. The model is then applied to predict the operating temperature of the engine at varying load conditions. Experimental investigations were performed using a customized radiator test rig to replicate the field test conditions. The rate of heat dissipation through the radiator with respect to the inlet temperature is analyzed by changing the surface area of the radiator. The developed model is able to predict the engine operating temperature in close agreement with the experimentation conducted. A marginal increase in surface area of the radiator resulted in significant drop in engine operating temperature. Thereby reduction in engine operating temperature will boost the performance of FSAE race car.