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The car radiator is a technology that has been around almost since automobiles
were invented. Heat dissipation is probably one of the most important
considerations in engine design. An internal combustion engine creates enough
heat to destroy itself. Without an efficient cooling system, we would not have
the vehicles we do today
The original radiators were simple networks of round copper or brass tubes that
had water flowing through them by convection. By the 1920’s some auto
manufacturers, like GM, had switched to oval tubes because they were slightly
more efficient.
Not long after that, as engines grew larger and hotter, companies began
to add fans for a constant flow of air over the radiator cores. These more
efficient cooling systems eventually added a pump to push the water through
the cooling tubes. It was in this era that the auto manufacturers started
adding anti freezing chemicals to their cooling systems to prevent cooling
system damage in cold weather.
The original car radiators only used 1/2 inch tubes. In the 1940’s,
companies, like Ford, started to experiment with larger radiator tubes. A
problem quickly arose where larger radiator tubes required thicker tube
walls to prevent the radiator cores from bending under pressure. This caused
car radiators to become significantly heavier but more efficient.
In the 1970’s and 1980’s auto manufacturers experimented with
multiple core radiators and many variations on radiator tube size and wall
thickness. Some manufacturers even turned to plastic to further lighten
radiator structures.
Eventually, most manufacturers turned away from heavy brass, copper, and
steel and took to creating radiators from aluminum. Light and strong,
aluminum is great for making radiators.
Though it doesn’t quite have the heat dissipating capacity of copper or
the corrosion resistance of brass, aluminum is the material of choice for
most of today’s radiators. Light and intelligently designed, aluminum
radiators are standard on many of today’s new cars and trucks.
All in all, the car radiator is a simple and lasting technology that will
likely be around as long as we use internal combustion engines. |
