Corrugated Fin and Flat Fin Design Options

Taking long drives with your automobile can take a toll on its engine. Over time, your engine could overheat, causing the car to stall in the middle of the road. This is why automobile manufacturers decided to put a cooling system in the engine compartment to prevent it from ever overheating. They called it the radiator.

Two design options that Roberts AIPMC offers are corrugated fin and straight fin radiators. We’ll explain what those two are in a few moments.

The radiator is a kind of temperature exchanger. It cools the radiator fluid that absorbed the heat generated by the engine as the car is functional. Radiators have become a staple for devices that generate heat, from computers, laptops, automobiles, and even generators to heavy machinery. Without them, machines such as these would suffer a meltdown due to the immense heat generated and cease to function.

Here is how a car’s radiator functions: Before the car starts, radiator fluid (also called antifreeze or coolant) is already inside the engine. The coolant is already placed strategically in the engine so that when the car warms up, it can begin its work to regulate the temperature of the engine. A car’s engine can produce so much heat that the coolant inside can reach temperatures of up to 235 Fahrenheit.

Once the coolant has become hot, a temperature-sensitive valve opens, redirecting the solution straight to the radiator, where it begins the cooling process. The first area it passes are a series of intricate pipes filled with aluminum fins. These fins absorb the heat from the coolant as it makes its way through the tubes. The fins then release the heat into the air. There are two kinds of fin designs you can input within your tubes: straight fin or corrugated.

Sometimes, radiators do not have the first passage of tubes to cool the radiator fluid. When that happens, the coolant goes straight to the fan area where a temperature-activated sensor powers the fan, lowering the temperature of the hot solution as the car moves along the road.

When sufficiently cooled, the fan stops. The coolant then flows to the water pump where it is sent back into to the engine, ready to normalize the temperature yet again. This cooling cycle continues as long as the car’s engine is fully functional.

Fin design options

While the fan is also an important part of the heat exchanger, it is the radiator fins that do the bulk of the cooling process. There are two design choices you can make for the tubes of your radiator: corrugated or straight.

Corrugated fins

Inserted into the radiator tube, corrugated fins look like beehives from afar, with the small spaces visible to the eyes bearing a resemblance to honey storage spaces. These spaces are actually tube passageways. The curves occupying the tubes are the ridged fins.

Corrugated fin radiators are perfect for light vehicles such as compact cars, sedans, passenger vans and trucks. The application of the fins in all tube pathways guarantee a steady and consistent cooling process, contributing to the smooth, worry-free ride of your automobile.

Straight fins

For heavy-duty vehicles or equipment set in the toughest working conditions and need instant cooling, straight fins are highly recommended for your radiators.

Unlike corrugated fins, the tubes are inserted into the fins, which are laid out in a straight pattern, hence the name “straight fin”. The spacing of the fins is more even than that of its corrugated counterpart. Also, cooling tubes are inserted in to the cooling fins, making them more durable to higher pressures and vibrations.

This design feature allows the straight fin radiator to cool radiator fluid much faster than its predecessor, making it perfect for generators, construction equipment, cargo trucks, and vans.

Depending on the specifications of the client, Roberts AIPMC can install either fin option design in your radiator, thus maximizing performance and guaranteeing optimal cooling so that your engine, and car, stay in excellent shape in the midst of the harshest driving conditions the road has to offer.

Corrugated Fin and Flat Fin Design Options:

For the commonly encountered condition by vehicles on the road such as those experienced by buses, trucks, pickups and cars, we have the corrugated fin radiator assembly.

For the extremely harsh working condition where a higher cooling system working pressure, excessive vibrations and dusts are encountered during operation such as those with generator sets and heavy equipment, we have the flat fin radiator assembly.

This capability to withstand extreme condition much better than the corrugated fin assembly is brought about by two design features that are unique to a flat fin radiator assembly.

1. A regular spacing in between fins is present due to its flat nature.
2. Cooling tubes are inserted into the cooling fins to withstand higher pressure and vibrations than the corrugated fins.