Any discussion on alternative liquid for liquid-to-air intercooling?
#1
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Any discussion on alternative liquid for liquid-to-air intercooling?
Considering what type of systems one could come up with for a liquid-to-air intercooler that used a different fluid that cooled better than water. Possibly a pressurized refrigerant system that actually cooled the intercooler rather than just carrying heat away by surface contact?
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I too am in for some info on the subject. Has any one tried Evans waterless coolant instead of water? I have also seen some systems advertised that tap into your A/C, but no one seems to be running them.
#4
You have to understand how an air to water intercooler actually works. If you are running a small, or even no, heat exchange then you are not relying on the HE to dissipate the heat to the atmosphere. So what you are actually doing is using the water to absorb the energy so it can then be put back into the intake when at closed throttle.
In the above case you need a liquid with the highest specific heat capacity you can as you need the system to store as much heat as you can. Oh look at that water is GREAT for that. That’s why water is used, oh and its cheap and goes through a phase change at a reasonable temperature (turn to ice) so you can use this phase change to absorb even more heat.
If you are working on a constant duty cycle system (ie road race setup) then you are better off with an air to air intercooler as they are more efficient in this cases (less materials to transfer through) as you can’t ice down the system.
You could use a AC type heat pump system to remove more heat from the system than you can with the ambient air alone. These do work but require prolonged periods of time not WOT to allow the AC system to pull the heat out.
In the above case you need a liquid with the highest specific heat capacity you can as you need the system to store as much heat as you can. Oh look at that water is GREAT for that. That’s why water is used, oh and its cheap and goes through a phase change at a reasonable temperature (turn to ice) so you can use this phase change to absorb even more heat.
If you are working on a constant duty cycle system (ie road race setup) then you are better off with an air to air intercooler as they are more efficient in this cases (less materials to transfer through) as you can’t ice down the system.
You could use a AC type heat pump system to remove more heat from the system than you can with the ambient air alone. These do work but require prolonged periods of time not WOT to allow the AC system to pull the heat out.
#6
Super Chiller from Active Interchiller is available as a bolt on kit for many GMs. This uses AC to refrigerate the coolant and is available with track mode and several different sizes.
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#8
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Water is used because its available, cheap, and has a HUGE specific heat meaning it can absorb serious amounts of heat before its own temperature changes. This makes it excellent for everyday street use.
Aluminum is used because it has a super high thermal conductivity (Over 200, where-as water has a thermal conductivity of .058). Copper has a thermal conductivity twice as high as aluminum but corrodes too easily.
Fill your reservoir about halfway with dry ice and top it off with a gallon of methanol. It'll drop to -190 degrees F. All of the humidity in the air will freeze to your intercooler and piping. I can't be responsible for what it does to your pump and lines. I would personally put the dry ice in some sort of mesh sack to keep it from getting into your lines. It isn't going to last forever, so only do this at the track.
Aluminum is used because it has a super high thermal conductivity (Over 200, where-as water has a thermal conductivity of .058). Copper has a thermal conductivity twice as high as aluminum but corrodes too easily.
Fill your reservoir about halfway with dry ice and top it off with a gallon of methanol. It'll drop to -190 degrees F. All of the humidity in the air will freeze to your intercooler and piping. I can't be responsible for what it does to your pump and lines. I would personally put the dry ice in some sort of mesh sack to keep it from getting into your lines. It isn't going to last forever, so only do this at the track.