Abstract
Efforts to improve engine cooling efficiency by usage of heat exchanger as well as research on cooling fluids composition and properties are well described. Studies on heat exchangers are focused mainly on their durability properties, while cooling fluids development is lately concentrating on nanofluids. In this paper physicochemical properties changes of diluted glycol-based cooling fluid in a long-term durability test of vehicle heat exchanger, were investigated. Following parameters were measured: density of coolant, pH value, elements content in coolant, and reserve alkalinity. Above mentioned analyses were performed on samples collected both in the beginning and periodically after every 500 hours of durability test which lasted for 3000 hours in total. The performed study leads to conclusion that interaction of cooling fluid with material of heat exchanger and changes in glycol composition during long-lasting durability test allows to determine aging effect of applied glycol solution on heat exchanger wear.
Highlights
Heat transfer and efficient cooling of vehicle engine is one of the key processes in proper engine work
Heat produced during engine work and fuel combustion needs to be dissipated, and for that reason a heat exchanger is placed in each vehicle
Following physical parameters were selected for monitoring the condition of tested fluid during durability test: density at 20°C, pH value and reserve alkalinity, as this parameters may be the indicators of cooling fluid wear
Summary
Heat transfer and efficient cooling of vehicle engine is one of the key processes in proper engine work. Due to their exposure to high temperatures and temperature changes, have to meet a number of requirements, among them i.e. tightness, thermal efficiency, mechanical durability, corrosion resistance etc. On the other hand, maximizing heat transfer area by i.e. increasing fins quantity, leads to undesirable increase of vehicle weight influencing fuel combustion efficiency [2]. This fact is in the opposite to another trend in automotive industry: downsizing. The main feature of nano-fluids is their high capacity of thermal properties enhancement [8] It was observed, that application of nano-fluids can improve heat transfer by 25% [9] to even 50% [8]. Some physical parameters were observed: changes in reserve alkalinity, pH value and density, which may reflect the aging effect of cooling fluid and material
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