Airflow Distribution through the Radiator of a Typical Australian Passenger Car

Abstract

The airflow distribution and non-uniformity across the radiator of a full-size, Australian made Ford falcon was tested at the RMIT Industrial Wind Tunnel. The cooling air intakes of the vehicle were shielded by a quarter, one-half and three-quarters and fully blocked. Four different possibilities of shielding methods were investigated with the aim of determining the best method of shielding to be employed. Results from these tests have shown the optimum method for shielding the front-end of the vehicle in terms of airflow uniformity to b the horizontal method followed by the vertical method. These shielding methods also produced the higher average airflow velocity across the radiator which is analogous to better cooling.