Modeling of convective heat flow in radiators for coolant temperature prediction

A computational radiator model which predicts the dynamic temperature distributions in the metal, air and coolant of a crossflow radiator is presented. The upwind-difference and full implicit schemes were applied in the discretization of the basic governing differential equations. Transient temperature distributions in the metal, air and coolant of a low-flow truck radiator, as computed by the radiator model are presented. The model predicts well the steady-state coolant temperature, but only the trend of air temperature (compared to experimental data reported in the literature).