Subject:
Radiator:
The radiator’s task is to transfer the high temperature of the coolant to the (cooler) passing air. The engine then receives the cooled coolant back, preventing it from overheating.
The radiator is mounted behind the car’s front bumper. Often, a condenser (for the air conditioning), a heat exchanger (for the automatic transmission oil), and an intercooler (in cars with a turbo / supercharger) are also mounted in front of the radiator.
The coolant flows through the engine’s coolant channels via flexible hoses to the top of the radiator. The coolant then takes a zigzagging horizontal path from the top to the bottom of the radiator. This is known as a “crossflow radiator.” If the coolant were to flow from top to bottom through the radiator, it would be referred to as a “downflow radiator.”
Between the coolant tubes of both the crossflow and downflow radiators, there are small fins. Both the coolant tubes and fins are heated by the hot coolant. The radiator is made of thin aluminum, which has the advantage of heating up and cooling down very quickly.
When the car is driving on the road, the airstream flows through the fins. The heat from the coolant is transferred to the cooler air, which can cause the coolant to cool down by several tens of degrees.
If the car is stationary and there is no passing airstream, the electric or viscous fan provides airflow through the radiator. In some cars, the electric cooling fan is mounted in front of the radiator (between the front bumper and radiator and pushes the air through the radiator towards the engine compartment), and in other cars, the electric fan or viscous fan is mounted between the radiator and the engine block, pulling the air through the radiator.
