Simulation, fabrication and optimization of the vehicular intercooler based on field synergy principle

Abstract

Paper presented at the 9th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Malta, 16-18 July, 2012.

Heat exchangers are the core components of cooling system in vehicle. The performance of heat exchanger determines the effect of whole cooling system. The core in heat exchanger is a key section where undertake the most of heat exchange. Yet the structure of inlet pipe and tanks play a decisive role in the distribution of inside flow, which not only affect the internal flow resistance, but also impacts the overall efficiency. The flow and heat transfer of a typical vehicular intercooler are simulated in this paper, and the calculation are validated by wind tunnel experiments. Two different tank models are fabricated and compared with the original one. Considering the practicability and feasibility, an improved model is designed to optimize the flow uniformity. It is found that the improved model significantly reduces the internal resistance while also maintain the proper heat exchange capability. In conclusion we suggest that the improved structures are more powerful than the traditional one.