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Concept
Radiator (engine cooling)
Summary
Radiators are heat exchangers used for cooling internal combustion engines, mainly in automobiles but also in piston-engined aircraft, railway locomotives, motorcycles, stationary generating plant or any similar use of such an engine.
Internal combustion engines are often cooled by circulating a liquid called engine coolant through the engine block, and cylinder head where it is heated, then through a radiator where it loses heat to the atmosphere, and then returned to the engine. Engine coolant is usually water-based, but may also be oil. It is common to employ a water pump to force the engine coolant to circulate, and also for an axial fan to force air through the radiator.
In automobiles and motorcycles with a liquid-cooled internal combustion engine, a radiator is connected to channels running through the engine and cylinder head, through which a liquid (coolant) is pumped. This liquid may be water (in climates where water is unlikely to freeze), but is more commonly a mixture of water and antifreeze in proportions appropriate to the climate. Antifreeze itself is usually ethylene glycol or propylene glycol (with a small amount of corrosion inhibitor).
A typical automotive cooling system comprises:
a series of galleries cast into the engine block and cylinder head, surrounding the combustion chambers with circulating liquid to carry away heat;
a radiator, consisting of many small tubes equipped with a honeycomb of fins to dissipate heat rapidly, that receives and cools hot liquid from the engine;
a water pump, usually of the centrifugal type, to circulate the coolant through the system;
a thermostat to control temperature by varying the amount of coolant going to the radiator;
a fan to draw cool air through the radiator.
The combustion process produces a large amount of heat. If heat were allowed to increase unchecked, detonation would occur, and components outside the engine would fail due to excessive temperature. To combat this effect, coolant is circulated through the engine where it absorbs heat.
Official source
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