Numerical analysis of the influence of radiator structure on the flow characteristics of coolant fluid
In order to enhance the flow performance of the coolant within the automotive radiator,a combination of Computational Fluid Dynamics(CFD)methods and experimental validation was used to study the impact of the positions and diameters of the inlet and outlet pipes of a new energy vehicle's radiator on the pressure drop and flow uniformity of the coolant.The results show that the relative error between the numerical simulation results and the experimental results was within 7%,when the inlet flow rates are 8 L/min and 16 L/min,respectively,the closer the positions of the inlet and outlet pipes are to the horizontal central axis of the radiator,and the larger the diameters of the pipes,the smaller the pressure drop and flow distribution uniformity coefficient of the radiator,indicating better flow performance of the coolant within the radiator.