ME 414 Group E

Effects of Engine Coolants on Heat Transfer from Different Heated Engine and Cooling System Materials.

Sponsor:  Texaco

Contact:  Dr. Paul Fritz - Texaco Fuels and Lubricants Technology Department.   Beacon, NY

                Phone:  845 838-7656        Fax:  845 838-7100        Email:  FRITZPO@texaco.com

Overview and Motivation:

Engine coolants must provide and efficient heat transfer medium and corrosion protection for all materials used in engine and cooling system construction.  Corrosion of materials that are used in engine and cooling system manufacture causes heat transfer from these surfaces to be reduced due to the corrosion protection layer provided by the coolants and also by the corrosion layer itself.  It is important to know how much the original heat transfer rates are impaired by this process.  During the Fall 1997, Fall 1998, and Spring 2000 several groups of students worked on designing a test system.  Although many advances were made in the final test system design there was not enough time to run the tests due to problems with test coupons.  The main objective of the work this semester was to improve the test section design using many features of previous designs and get data on heat transfer rates.

Objectives and Deliverables:

Objectives of this project will be to continue and improve the design of the test system in which heat transfer impairment from different engine and cooling system materials such as aluminum, magnesium, and cast iron can be evaluated.  After the design of the testing system, these materials will be tested and heat transfer will be recorded over time under different flow rates of coolant.  The coolant will be supplied by Texaco corporation.  Corroded material will also be analyzed by Texaco to evaluate the extent of corrosion and the protective layer.

Group E Members:  Jason Adamek

                               Nate Bordick

                               Moses Lipshaw

                               Jay Sudhakaran

                               Ben Weber

System Schematic

Testing System:  Front View

The system is designed to pump a 50/50 mixture of engine coolant and water over a metal coupon.  The conditions of a real engine are simulated through resistance heating of the metal coupon, which transfers heat to the coolant.  Input power is set at 792 Watts, which maintains a steady state coolant temperature of 190F.  A 75 hour test was completed using Prestone antifreeze and an aluminum coupon.  The steady state results of the coupon surface temperature are plotted below.  As the graph indicates, the coupon temperature continued to rise after the system had reached steady state.  This rise in temperature is due to the silicate based corrosion protection layer that built up over the coupon surface, which impedes the heat transfer to the coolant.  These same conditions are currently being tested using Texaco Extended Life antifreeze which uses carboxylic acid to form a protection layer.  Results are expected to show that the heat transfer from the coupon will be significantly less affected by the corrosion protection layer formed by this coolant.

Current Results: