JOURNAL OF THERMAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING APPLICATIONS, cilt.14, sa.5, ss.1-11, 2021 (SCI-Expanded)
Automobile
radiator which is one of the vital components used for engine cooling in
vehicles, is expected to provide higher thermal performance without changing
the exterior dimensions of the radiator with the development of engine
technology. This situation necessitates changes in both design and operating
parameters in the currently used radiator. In the present study, all
fundamental parameters affecting the thermal and hydraulic performance of an
automobile radiator are evaluated and optimized with statistical methods.
Optimization study is carried out using Taguchi and ANOVA methods for two
specified objective functions (heat transfer and pressure drop). The order of
importance and impact rates for each design and operating parameter, the best
and worst working conditions in terms of both target functions are determined.
Air velocity, air inlet temperature, coolant inlet temperature and fin pitch
are found to be the most effective parameters on the heat transfer with a
contribution ratio of 88%. The best and worst working conditions are obtained
for the heat transfer and under these working conditions, they are calculated
as 43.68 kW and 1.63 kW, respectively. When the system is examined in terms of
the pressure drop, the results show that the coolant flow rate and tube height
have a great impact with a contribution ratio of 67.04% and 32.06%,
respectively. Lastly, the maximum and minimum pressure drop within the studied
operating condition range, are determined as 20.68 kPa and 0.12 kPa,
respectively.