Overlapping Radiators for Vehicle Cooling and Drag Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing road vehicles experience high aerodynamic losses and low efficiency due to oversized radiators at high forward speeds, leading to inefficient cooling and increased drag.
Innovation Solution
A movable radiator system with overlapping radiators that adjust their exchange surface based on speed, minimizing aerodynamic loss at high speeds and maximizing cooling at low speeds through a mechanism involving racks, an electric motor, and a hydraulic circuit.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If the radiator exchange surface is increased to ensure proper cooling at low speeds, then cooling performance is improved, but aerodynamic loss increases and aerodynamic efficiency decreases at high speeds
Solution Approach 1:
The radiator system transitions from a static configuration to a dynamic one where the second radiator can move between an initial position (overlapping with the first radiator) and a final position (offset to maximize exchange surface). This dynamic adjustment allows the system to optimize between cooling performance and aerodynamic efficiency based on operating conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The radiator exchange surface is divided into two separate radiators instead of using one large radiator. The first radiator has a smaller exchange surface and the second radiator can be positioned to either overlap with or offset from the first, effectively segmenting the total cooling surface area that can be dynamically adjusted.
2Temperature
If the radiator exchange surface is increased to ensure proper cooling at low speeds, then cooling performance is improved, but aerodynamic efficiency decreases at high speeds
Solution Approach 1:
The radiator system transitions from a static configuration to a dynamic one where the second radiator can move between an initial position (overlapping with the first radiator) and a final position (offset to maximize exchange surface). This dynamic adjustment allows the system to optimize between cooling performance and aerodynamic efficiency based on operating conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The radiator exchange surface is divided into two separate radiators instead of using one large radiator. The first radiator has a smaller exchange surface and the second radiator can be positioned to either overlap with or offset from the first, effectively segmenting the total cooling surface area that can be dynamically adjusted.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system maintains efficient cooling while reducing aerodynamic drag at high speeds and ensuring adequate cooling at low speeds, enhancing overall vehicle performance.
Implementation Method 1
The cooling unit comprises at least one radiator mounted inside the pneumatic duct transverse to a flowing direction of the air flow along the pneumatic duct
Implementation Method 2
a positioning mechanism, which comprises a movable second radiator and a pair of rectilinear guides
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
A road vehicle has a support frame (2); a passenger compartment (4); an outer body (5); and a pneumatic duct (8), which opens outwards through the outer body (5), and houses, on the inside, a cooling unit (12) provided with at least two radiators (13, 14) movable relative to one another between a first operating position, in which the radiators (13, 14) substantially overlap one another and the cooling unit (12) has a minimum exchange surface, and a second operating position, in which the radiators (13, 14) are substantially offset relative to one another and the cooling unit (12) has a maximum exchange surface.