Radiators are heat exchange devices we use at many places. In cars they are used to cool the components down, and in houses to heat them in cold weathers.

Radiators are heat exchange devices we use at many places. In cars they are used to cool the components down, and in houses to heat them in cold weathers.

The liquid cooled engines use radiators to cool the liquid. This liquid was plain water in the old radiators.The new ones though use coolants and additives to water for effective cooling. Water boils at 100⁰C and freezes at 0⁰C. By addition of ethylene glycol in various percentages, these limits are stretched to allow more heat intake. In some cases this is insufficient and the pressure on the coolant is increased by the pump to stretch the boiling point further.

In a radiator the low temperature coolant flows through tubes around the engine or the gearbox to be cooled. The liquid absorbs the heat and comes back into radiator. Here the tubes are attached to metal flanks to increase the area for heat exchange. The fan increases the air flow around these tubs to cool the liquid down. In new models the flanks and tubes are made up of aluminum for even better heat exchange.

Almost all of the radiators like Chevy radiators are placed in front of the bonnet. It allows an uninterrupted flow of air to cool the tubes.

Sometime turbulence is created in these tubes. The problem with a smooth flowing liquid is that only the liquid in contact with the heated tube can absorb the heat and the rest flows in vain.

Engines work best around 95⁰C, 200F. to maintain this temperature radiators are fixed with thermostats. If the radiator breaks engine can not run, thus auto radiator repair is an essential service, and is available along all the major freeways and highways. The repairs include leaking coolant lines, broken pump or the rare blockages in the liquid tube.

When you have driven for too long in hot weather and then the car shows overheated engine and you have to stop, NEVER open the radiator cap soon. Open the hood and wait at least a few minutes. Let the coolant cool down a bit. Note that the heated coolant creates pressure inside the tank. If you open the hot tank, the hot contents might burst out and harm you.

Sometimes even the radiator cap will be thrown violently when it is just loosened. Opening the cap is thus best done when the coolant is cool itself.

In automatic transmission, cooling is required and thus radiators are essential there too. The applicability of radiators can be well understood from this example. The supercar Veyron from Bugatti uses ten radiators to cool components from its two 4.0L engines to the spoiler!

Radiators are even used for cooling in industry. Most of the machines that require cooling will either have an inbuilt radiator or a slot for some readily available one. Other times you have to go for custom radiators. There are many advantages of these radiators. You can easily adjust its construction according to your requirements and thus achieve maximum possible efficiency. To get more tips please visit automotix.net