Demystifying How Radiators Work in Automobiles: An Easy-to-Understand Guide
How Does a Radiator Work ? A Radiator has a number of flat and thin pipes arranged horizontally one below the other. Water flows through these pipes along their length. But how does the water flowing through these pipes gets cool so fast? So to increase the heat exchange from water to air, we have fins brazed between the flat surfaces of these pipes. These fins between the pipes look like a dense sine wave (trigonometric function). Thus increasing the surface area that comes in contact with air and increasing the heat exchange. Is it all We Have in a Radiator to Exchange Heat? Then No, We are Not Done Yet. High end car radiators are a bit more sophisticated, we have fins like structures inside the radiator pipes. These are added to create turbulence in the water flowing through them. The water flowing through pipes without internal fins is streamline. Thus the heat exchange will be between the outer layer of water and the air. As the o...