Radiator Geometry

Radiator Geometry Required Information

Porous Zones are used to simplify the modeling of radiators by removing the need to model all of the individual fins but still create the appropriate pressure change across the system. These zones must be fully enclosed volumes. The property changes are applied to the air as it travels through the porous zone.

In the TS AUTO APP the radiators are special geometry types with porosity characteristics that will simulate how air moves through them. Define a radiator as two geometry co-planar planes that will mimic the front and back face of the radiator fins. If the vehicle has radiator geometry two planes (inlet and outlet) need to be separated from the radiator frame and combined into on part, shown below in images 1.

Image 1: Radiator geometry planes and surrounding geometry (left) and radiator normal vector (right)

Below is a checklist to follow when creating the geometry:

  • Make sure that the front and back surfaces are parallel
  • Both surfaces should have same surface area
  • Surfaces should seal with the walls they are against to ensure the fluid zone can't leak. A leak will cause the porous zone to be omitted or the whole world to be defined as a porous zone.

It is also necessary when adding a radiator geometry type to define a normal vector as shown in Image 1. The normal vector corresponds to the two radiator planes bounding the region. The normal vector is used to report the massflow and velocity through the radiator.

The porosity of the radiator porous zone is automatically calculated inside the TS AUTO APP when the pressure drop information is provided. This data is typically available upon request from the core manufacturer. This data in input into TS AUTO APP by pasting the velocity and corresponding pressure value into the available table. At least 4 data points are required to produce the coefficients. A polynomial trend line is applied to the provided data; the TS AUTO APP will enforce that the trend line passes through (0,0). (Image 2)

The core thickness must also be supplied to correctly calculate the porosity of the radiator core.

To successfully upload radiator internal face geometry the user must provide the downstream direction of the flow along with the pressure drop information.

Image 2: Pressure loss information