RECIPROCATING

ENGINE

COOLING SYSTEMS
 INTRODUCTION

 Reciprocating engine – convert heat energy into

mechanical energy.
 Heat is generated by an internal combustion engine.
> 30% converted into useful work.
> 40-45% expelled through exhaust.
> 25-30% absorbed by oil and metal mass.

Heat if not removed,

 Engine performance suffers due to a decrease in
volumetric efficiency and the adverse effect has on
the fuel/air mixture.
 Excessive heat shorten engine life.
 Reduce the ability of oil to lubricate.
The two most commonly
used methods of cooling
an engine:
 Air cooling
 Liquid cooling
 AIR COOLING
 Modern aircraft engines are air cooled.
 Engine must have a large surface area that
readily gives up heat.
 Air cooled engine utilize cooling fins that either
cast or machined into the exterior surface of the
cylinder barrels and heads.
 The fins provide large surface areas for
transfer heat to the surrounding airflow.
 Additional cooling, provided by fins cast into
underside of the piston to transferred heat to the
engine oil.
Cylinder – cooling fin
 Air cooling conts.
 Cylinder fins on early engines were relatively
thick and shallow and less surface area for
cooling.
 Improve casting and machining, produce deeper
and thinner fins.
 Today, a/c engine use steel cylinder barrels that
have fins machined directly onto their surface.
 Barrels are screwed into aluminum cylinder heads
with fins that are cast with the head.
 Exhaust valve, the hottest part of the cylinder,
more fin area is provided around the exhaust
port.
 Intake port, less cooling fins because the
fuel/air mixture cools this area.
 COWLING
 An undesired side effect of air
cooling is the penalty imposed by
increased drag.
 Drag has little effect on the low
speed a/c but unacceptable for high
speed a/c.
 Such as a/c speed over 120 m.p.h.
 RADIAL ENGINE COWLING
> To help reduced drag on radial engine, the
Townend ring or speed ring was developed.
> An airfoil shaped ring that installed around the
circumference of a radial engine.
> Airfoil produces an aerodynamic force that
smooth the airflow around the engine.
 Improve the uniformity of air flowing around each
cylinder.
 Townend ring can reduce drag as much as 11%
on some a/c.
> New a/c and engine need more efficient cooling
and less drag to produce higher cruising speed.
Townend Ring
 Engine cowling known as NACA (National Advisory
Committee Aeronautics) was developed.
This cowling covers all portion of the radial engine and
extends all the way to the fuselage.
All NACA cowlings have an airfoil shape that actually
produce thrust by converting the incoming air into solid jet
blast as it leaves the cowling.
Radial engine cowling
 OPPOSED ENGINE COWLING
 Cylinders directly each other, a thin sheet metal hood had to be
installed on each side of the engine to force air down between
the cylinders fins.
 The cowling on modern engine encloses the entire engine.
 Cooling air enters through two forward facing opening.
 Exist out one or more opening at the bottom rear of the cowl.
 The cowling is sealed with rubberized strips to prevent
excessive air leak.
 Cooling air enters a cowling by ram effect produced by forward
motion and propwash at pressure above ambient, known as
pressure cooling.
 To facilitate the pressure cooling process, the outlet on lower
cowls is flared so that outside air flows past the opening, an
area of low pressure is created in the bottom of the cowling.
 This low pressure area draws inlet air down through the
cylinder and into lower cowl to exist.
 BAFFLES AND DEFLECTORS
 Only 15-30% of the ram airflow actually enters the cowling
to provide engine cooling.
 Additional baffles and deflectors are installed to maximize
the effectiveness of the airflow.
 They are basically sheet metal panels which block and
redirect airflow to provide effective cooling.
 Installed between engine and cowling, as well as between
the engine cylinder.
 When air enters the upper cowl, it has no choice but to flow
around cylinders and into the lower cowl.
 Primary purpose of the baffles is to cooling air into contact
with all parts of a cylinder.
 These baffles referred to as inter-cylinder baffles or
pressure baffles.
Baffles and deflectors
Baffles and deflectors
 COWLS FLAPS
 Cowl flaps are hinged doors that
are installed at the bottom rear of
the cowling where the cooling air
exists and controlled amount of
air passing it.
 The position of the cowls flaps is
controlled from the cockpit.
 Open position, low pressure is
created and more air passing
through the cylinders.
 Closed position, low pressure
area become weaker and less
cooling air is drawn between the
cylinders.
 All ground operation cowl flaps
are in open position. Air flow
through the cowling is greatly
reduced.
 In flight, more air is forced into
the cowling, this allows cowl flaps
to be closed to reduce drag.
Cowl flap
 AUGMENTOR SYSTEM
 Augmenter tubes maybe used on
some aircraft to augment, or
increase, the airflow through the
cylinders.
 Like cowl flaps, augmenter tubes
create low pressure ay the lower rear
of the cowling in order to increase
the air flow through the cylinder
cooling fins.
Augmenter system
 BLAST TUBES
 Blast tubes to direct cooling air into
inaccessible area of an engine
compartment.
 Blast tube is a small tube or pipe or duct
that channel air from main cooling
airstreams onto heat-sensitive
components.
 Engine accessories such as magnetos,
alternators, and generators are cooled
using blast tubes.
 Blast tubes are typically built into the
baffles and part of baffles structure.
 HELICOPTER COLING SYSTEMS
 Helicopter present unique problem when it comes to
cooling an engine.
 Engines operate at high rpm for per-longed periods of
time and produce more heat.
 Flying at slower than fixed-wing a/c and did not benefit
from ram air.
 Rotor downwash insufficient to cool an engine, an
alternate cooling method is required.
 Cooling system commonly used on helicopter is a large
belt-driven cooling fan.
 Bell 47 helicopter cooling fan mounted on the front side
of the engine and is driven by the transmission fan quill
assembly through two matched V-belts.
 The 1.2:1 quill gear ratio turns fan at higher speed than
the engine to supply adequate cooling air to the engine.
Helicopter cooling
 LIQUID COOLING
 A/c engines are constructed with a metal jacket that
surround the cylinders.
 Coolant circulate in the water jacket, heat passes from
the cylinder walls and head to the coolant.
 Pump circulates the coolant in a pressurized loop from
the water jacket to a radiator, where heat is transferred
from coolant to the air.
 Standard for automotive and industrial engines. Due to
weight and extra component, make a/c engine limited
success.
 Advantage air-cooled engine than liquid engine, not
hampered by cool weather operation.
 In spite the disadvantages, it’s a great success on a/c P-
38 Lightning and P-51 mustang with V-12 engine.
 Teledyne-Continental Voyager liquid-cooled engine uses a
mixture of 60% ethylene glycol and 40% water as coolant.
 TEMPERATURE INDICATING SYSTEMS

 The engine temperature can have dramatic

impact on engine performance.
 Therefore, most a/c equipped with cylinder
head temperature (CHT) gauge to monitor
engine temperature (min. & max.)
 CHT gauges are galvanometer indicating in
degree Fahrenheit.
 It measures the amount of electrical current
produced by a thermocouples.
 A thermocouple consist of two dissimilar
metal wires connected together at two
junctions to form a loop.
 Anytime a temperature difference exits
between the two junction, a small current is
generated that is proportional to the
temperature difference and measurable by the
galvanometer.
 Temp. Indicating Systems Cont.
 The two junctions of a thermocouple circuit are commonly referred as a
hot junction and cold junction.
 The hot junction is installed in the cylinder head.
- wires may be joined inside a bayonet probe then inserted into a special
well in the rear of the hottest cylinder.
- or wires may be imbedded in a special copper spark plug gasket.
 Cold junction or reference junction located in the instrument panel
 Thermocouples instrument systems are polarized and extremely
sensitive to resistance changes.
 Precaution to be observed when replacing and repairing:
- observe all color coding and polarity marking.
- connections are clean and torque.
- wire leads come in matched pair and secured by braided wire.
- specified in length to provide accurate temp. indication.
- in some cases, wiring leads permanently attached to a thermocouples, if
wire breaks or damaged changed the entire wiring harness.
 INSPECTION AND MAINTENANCE

 All cooling system components

should be inspected during 100hrs or
annual inspection.
 Repairs and replacements as
required after the inspection.
 Inspection included the cowling,
cylinder fins, baffles and cowl flaps.
 Cowling
 15 to 30% of total ram air airflow enters the cowling.
Cowling must be clean and smooth to reduce drag and
energy loss.
 Inspected for dents, tears and cracks.
 Damage causes weakness in the panel structure and
increases drag by disrupting airflow.
 Accumulation of dents and tear could lead to corrosion and
cracking.
 Internal construction of cowl panels should be check to
ensure reinforce ribs is not cracked and air seal is not
damage.
 Cowl panels latches should be check for missing rivets,
damaged handles and security.
 Any repair IAW the manufacture’s instruction.
 CYLINDER COOLING FINS

 Cooling fins to provide effective and adequate cylinder cooling.

 Must be checked during each regular inspection.
 Designed with precise surface area to dissipate certain amount of
heat.
 Excessive amount of fin area is missing, the formation of hot
sports can occur on the cylinder.
 Fin damage permitted on a given cylinder is based on a
percentage of the total area and established by the manufacturer.
- refer to eng. manufacture’s service or overhaul manual to ensure
the repair is within limits.
 Generally, crack and sharp or rough edges may be filed to smooth
to contour as long as not exceed limitation.
 Bent with no crack on the fin should be left alone. Do not attempt
to straighten it.
Cylinder cooling fins
 Baffles and Deflectors
 Baffles are subjected to constant vibration, work-hardening of
metal occurs much faster than on other components.
 This make engine baffles extremely brittle and prone to fatigue
cracking.
 Check the baffles, deflector and shrouds for cracks, bend, dent
and loose attachment hardware.
 Small crack can be stop drilled and small bend/dent can be
straightened.
 Repairs extend the life of the baffles by slowing their
deterioration.
 Installing cowling, avoid damaging the air seals on the inter-
cylinder baffles and aft vertical baffles.
 Air seals are made of plastic, rubber or leather strips and point in
the direction shown in the service manual.
 Damaged, loose or improperly installed baffles can cause cylinder
hot spot to develop.
 Burned paint on the cylinder could be evidence of a local hot spot.
 Cowl Flaps
 Inspect the cowl flaps visually for security of mounting and
any signs of crack and also verify the condition of the
hinges and operating mechanism.
 If removed for servicing, make sure adjust it properly
during reinstallation.
 Proper adjustment helps to ensure the correct tolerance for
the “open” and “close”. This will help to maintain correct
cylinder head temperature.

 Example:
 Open too far will allow too much cooling air pass
through the engine and resulting in insufficient engine
temperature.
 Do not open far enough can cause cylinder head
temperature to exceed the limit.