A quantitative investigation of the water condensation inside tubes of compact charge air cooler

To address the need of increasing fuel economy requirements, automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are increasing the number of turbocharged engines in their powertrain line-ups. The turbine-driven technology uses a forced induction device, which increases engine performance by increasing the density of the air charge being drawn into the cylinder. Denser air allows more fuel to be introduced into the combustion chamber, thus increasing engine performance. During the compression process, the air is heated to temperatures that can cause pre-ignition, resulting in reduced engine functionality. The introduction of the charge air cooler (CAC) is therefore, necessary to extract heat from the compresses air. The present research describes the physics and develops the theoretical equations that define the process. It also develops a 3-D computational model of the CAC internal flow with condensate using ANSYS RTM Fluent and validates the predictions of the 3-D model using measurements from Ford experimental data. Finally, the research presents a correlation that provides an approach for designing heat exchangers for practical applications that encounter moisture in the powertrain air intake air stream. The overall benefit identified is an experimentally validated simulation methodology to evaluate and design CACs that function outside the condensate formation zone during vehicle operation modes.