Drag on a radiator

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tyranno
tyranno
0
Joined: 31 Mar 2014, 01:50

Drag on a radiator

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Hey

Currently I am working on a project to know what is the best angle for a radiator to be fitted in a car that will reduce the drag and increase the heat exchange also.
The thing that is bothering me is that most motor sport cars including F1 angles the radiator and it is because of
- Lowering the COG
- Increasing the traction

I want to know what is the angle used for the radiator for the cars? Are the fins angled or just the radiator?
if the radiator is at angle of 135 or 45 will the drag and heat exchange be the same?

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WillerZ
11
Joined: 22 May 2011, 09:46

Re: Drag on a radiator

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F1 doesn't care about radiator drag optimisation; or at least it's so far down the list that it will never be the primary driver of where they locate and orient the radiators.

xpensive
xpensive
214
Joined: 22 Nov 2008, 18:06
Location: Somewhere in Scandinavia

Re: Drag on a radiator

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Many attempts has been made to ditch the radiator for "surface cooling" to reduce drag, where a memorable xample was
Gordon Murray's Brabham BT46, see below. But Murray later admitted it was a hoax, just a decoy for the BT46B fan-car.

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