The intercooler is a heat exchanger, but what type of heat exchanger is an intercooler? Answer: intercooler is a finned tube heat exchanger. It can also be called air cooled heat exchanger.
In my air compressor, my intercooler is attached to the radiator. It is as if the radiator is divided into two parts.
The same fan that cooled the radiator also cooled the intercooler. The truth is that they share a similar type of heat exchanger.
They are both finned tube heat exchangers.
You may be interested in more details about this subject, and please read below.
Intercooler- What Types Of Heat Exchanger It Is
There are 3 major types of heat exchangers, and they are ;
1. Finned tube heat exchanger
2. Shell and tube heat exchanger
3. Plate heat exchanger.
These are the most common types of heat exchangers. In this article, I will talk about finned heat exchangers. The intercooler is a type of finned heat exchanger. And it can also be referred to as air cool heat exchanger.
Let us dissect how finned-type heat exchanger work.
Finned tube heat exchangers are often called air/water heat exchangers or gas/water heat exchangers. With air/water heat exchangers, the temperature is exchanged between air and a liquid.
To improve the transferrable heat or cooling capacity from the gas to the liquid medium in the tubes, ribs made of material with good thermal conductivity are applied to the tubes.
Air/water heat exchangers are often used as exhaust or flue gas heat exchangers to recover energy from warm or hot exhaust gases.
Finned tube heat exchangers can be used as air heaters, coolers, or condensers.
It was very common in internal combustion engines to control the temperature of the air. When the turbo compresses the air, the air temperature becomes high.
To control the temperature, the air goes to the intercooler, where it gets cooled by the air produced by the radiator fan.
The compressed air cools in the intercooler before entering the cylinder through the intake valve.
So with the help of an intercooler, the heat of the compressed air is reduced so that the engine can use it.
It will be dangerous for the engine to run with high-temperature air to avoid overheating.
Is A Heat Exchanger The Same As A Intercooler
The answer is no. Rather an intercooler is a type of heat exchanger.
The phrase heat exchanger is very broad; it is a medium in which heat is transferred from one medium to another.
The two elements do not come into direct contact with each other but are guided past each other. That works with both liquid and gaseous substances
While the intercooler is to cool the hotness of the air from the turbo to the normal atmospheric air temperature, the engine can make good use of the air without getting damaged.
So from the above explanation, the intercooler usage is very narrow compared to the heat exchanger usage, which can be used in different applications.
So the phrases heat exchanger and intercooler cannot be used interchangeably, so they are not the same.
What Is Intercooler Also Known As
Another name for an intercooler is charged air cooler. At the same time, some prefer to shorten it and call it air cooler.
It is called an air cooler because of the function it performs. It ensures that the air that goes into the engine is cooled.
Since the air produced by the turbo is hot, the intercooler cooled it, which is why it has been called an air cooler.
However, the air cooler cooled the air with the help of the radiator fan. The radiator fan blows cooled air to the intercooler to reduce the air temperature in the air cooler.
Is Intercooler the Same As Turbo
Turbo and intercooler are different engine components. And they perform different roles in the engine.
Although, they are different but very complementary. What do I mean?
The function of the turbocharger is to compress the combustion air fed to the engine cylinder.
Compared to naturally aspirated engines, turbo helps the engine to gain more power. That results in higher engine performance combined with lower consumption and better emissions.
A turbocharger compresses the fresh air fed to the engine for combustion.
The task of the intercooler is to lower the heated air temperature during the compression process.
From the definition, so can see there is a relationship between them, but they are not the same.
Why Is It Called An Intercooler
It is called an intercooler because it stands between the two components, the turbo and the engine.
The word “inter” became relevant in this subject because the intercooler’s role is to cool the air that goes out from the turbo before it gets to the engine.
The word “cooler” refers to the ability of the intercooler to reduce the temperature of the air that goes to the engine.
In summary, inter means in-between the turbo and the engine, while cooler means cooling the hot air from the turbo to the engine.
What Are The Two Types Of Intercoolers
Here I will mention two significant types of intercoolers. They are air-to-air and air-to-water.
There are two types of intercoolers; some use air as a coolant, and others use water from the cooling circuit.
Let’s discuss it one after the other.
1. Air-to-air intercooler: This type of intercooler air is used to cool air. For example, in the truck, the turbo compresses the air and makes the temperature high, but with air from the fan, the air in the intercooler is controlled before sending it to the engine.
2. Air-to-water: In this type of intercooler, water is coming in and out of the intercooler.
The water takes away the heat of the charged air before going to the engine.
Unlike air-to-air, this type of intercooler can be fixed anywhere around the engine, as much as water can access the intercooler.
Is Intercooler The Same As Radiator
The answer is no. They may look alike, but they are different components performing different engine roles.
The radiator is a type of heat exchanger that cooled the coolant temperature.
The coolant goes around the engine to absorb the heat generated by combustion.
The radiator fan helps to cool the hot coolant in the radiator before the coolant goes back to the engine.
Since the coolant is recycled within the engine, and at some point, it will become hot, a heat exchanger is needed to exchange the heat with another medium, a radiator.
Meanwhile, the intercooler received charged air from the turbo and ensured that the charged air temperature was reduced to the point where the engine would not be harmed when the air returned to the engine.
Can I Use A Radiator As An Intercooler
The answer is no. The passages in the radiator and intercooler are not the same.
The intercooler requires a lot of pressure from the turbo to push through the air in the intercooler. At the same time, the radiator needs little pressure before the coolant circulates the engine.
So we can establish that the pressure needed for the two components to function is way different.
However, a test may be conducted to see if a radiator can be used as an intercooler.
Install a gauge at the radiator’s intake and another gauge at the outlet of the radiator.
Then pump in the air in the radiator and compare the air intake and output. It can be used if the output pressure is the same as the intake air.
Do You Still Need A Radiator If You Have A Intercooler
The answer depends on the application where the two are to work. If you are talking about a water-cooled engine with a turbo, you still need an intercooler.
But if the engine is air-cooled with a turbo, only an intercooler is needed.
In an air-cooled engine, a radiator is unnecessary, so an intercooler is necessary. So if you have an intercooler, you don’t need a radiator.
But if the engine is water-cooled with a turbo, a radiator, and an intercooler are needed.
But if the engine does not have a turbo, you don’t need an intercooler; you only need a radiator.
What Are The Disadvantages Of Intercooler
1. A clogged intercooler caused turbo damage: If the intercooler is clogged, the compressed air will not pass through the intercooler and cause back pressure to the turbo, eventually leading to injury.
2. In the truck, the intercooler depends on the truck’s speed so that the air can cool the charged atmosphere.
3. An oil-clogged intercooler sometimes sends oil to the engine intake, which causes lubricant shortage and increases incomplete combustion due to a shortage of air supply to the cylinder due to the intercooler clogged.
4. A clogged intercooler causes black smoke: When the intercooler becomes clogged, the cylinder does receive enough air to burn the fuel, which will be caused black smoke.
5. It affects engine efficiency: A clogged intercooler affects the engine efficiency because more air is needed to burn more fuel; more fuel burning means more engine power.
Do You Need An Intercooler
Yes, you do, especially when your engine is using turbo. Some light-duty engines can work without a turbo, and they only use atmospheric air without a turbo.
But if your engine uses a turbo, you need an intercooler. It is necessary so that the temperature of the charged air will not become too high to cause damage to the engine
Summary
You must have known a lot about intercoolers after reading this article. You should be able to understand the type of heat exchanger intercooler.
The article also answers a series of questions about intercoolers; for example, is an intercooler the same as a radiator?
Reading this article will also help you know if you need an intercooler.
From today, you should understand the two types of intercoolers and their usage.
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