How does the car radiator work?

Answer 1

An internal combustion engine develops a lot of heat in the engine cylinders on the power stroke as the fuel ignites and expands. This moves the piston down and causes the crankshaft to turn the flywheel. Unless the heat is removed from the engine block, it could cause the metal parts to expand too much and the engine will stop turning suddenly.

The cylinder walls and other areas of the motor are cooled by the cooling system as water is pumped continuously through the engine block. The water then is pumped into the radiator, where it passes through a series of narrow passages inside the radiator before being pumped through the system once again. As the water passes through the inside of the passages, air is pulled across the outside of the radiator by the cooling fan and the movement of the vehicle. This air absorbs the heat that is being transferred by conduction through the metal of the radiator and is then drawn off to the surrounding atmosphere.

Answer 2

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Radiator
A radiator is a type of heat exchanger. It is designed to transfer heat from the hot coolant that flows through it to the air blown through it by the fan.
Most modern cars use aluminum radiators. These radiators are made by brazing thin aluminum fins to flattened aluminum tubes. The coolant flows from the inlet to the outlet through many tubes mounted in a parallel arrangement. The fins conduct the heat from the tubes and transfer it to the air flowing through the radiator.

The tubes sometimes have a type of fin inserted into them called a turbulator, which increases the turbulence of the fluid flowing through the tubes. If the fluid flowed very smoothly through the tubes, only the fluid actually touching the tubes would be cooled directly. The amount of heat transferred to the tubes from the fluid running through them depends on the difference in temperature between the tube and the fluid touching it. So if the fluid that is in contact with the tube cools down quickly, less heat will be transferred. By creating turbulence inside the tube, all of the fluid mixes together, keeping the temperature of the fluid touching the tubes up so that more heat can be extracted, and all of the fluid inside the tube is used effectively.

Radiators usually have a tank on each side, and inside the tank is a transmission cooler. In the picture above, you can see the inlet and outlet where the oil from the transmission enters the cooler. The transmission cooler is like a radiator within a radiator, except instead of exchanging heat with the air, the oil exchanges heat with the coolant in the radiator.

Answer 3

There's a good explanation here: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/cooling-system6.htm

Basically, the coolant flows through a bunch of thin tubes in the radiator and air flowing by those tubes cools it. That's why it's a good idea to clear ice and snow off the front of your car - so the air can get in to the radiator. It's also why you have more problems with the engine overheating in hot weather when you're stuck in traffic...because you're not moving much so there's not as much air flowing by,

Answer 4

This is a great site for stuff like this...

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/cooling-system6.htm