Thickness of fins in a car radiator.

[r4m0n0]

Hello everyone!

I'm working on heat transfer calculations in a car radiator, but I forgot to measure the thickness of the fins, and I need it to calculate the fin efficiency. Does anyone know the order of magnitude of the fin thickness?

Thanks!

 

[ornerynorsk]

I've seen brass in the 0.0015 inch range and aluminum running about 0.004 to 0.005 inch.

It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at all.

 

[MikeHalloran]

The most recent brass radiators I have seen have micro-louvers in the fins, maybe 1mm pitch x 0.5mm overall thickness x 6..8 mm slot length. Should be interesting to model.

I don't recall seeing such micro-louvers on aluminum radiators, but I wasn't looking closely.



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[tbuelna]

The sample of louvered aluminum radiator fin stock I have measures .004" thick. The height of this formed fin stock (crest-to-crest) is approximately .30", and the pitch spacing of the fins looks to be around .20". The pitch spacing of the louvers is approximately .025" and they are .016" above the adjacent fin surface.

 

[r4m0n0]

@tbuelna which application has the fin stock you have? could you tell me who provided it to you?

 

[tbuelna]

It's a sample I got many years ago from a vendor that made custom aluminum race radiators. Take a look at this company's products.