Turbocharger Intercoolers

[Jane-DoH]

Where does the heat from the intercooler get transferred to? I assume the heat is transferred to a radiator of some sort?

[Intruder]

Back into the airstream.

[Tarq57]

An intercooler is just like a big radiator, with large enough tubes to not impede the flow of air. The intercooler is (or should be) positioned in some airflow. The heat is removed to the surrounding air.

[rh200]

An intercooler/ aftercooler (there is a technical difference) is a heat exchanger aka radiator. I would imagine on most if not all aircraft they would be air to air type. Though I could imagine you could have it going into a fluid and another one somewhere else that is more conveinent in the airstream. Though in this case I would imagine the weight penalty would kill the idea.

On more down to earth equipment where weight is not that critical you get air to air and air to water.

[Jane-DoH]

Tarq57

Understood.


Everybody

I remember reading about this unusual jet-engine concept called the L-1000/XJ37, which was conceived by an individual named Nathan C. Price.

He started developing his engine in 1938, and for one reason or another had an over-ambitious desire to produce a gas-turbine with an SFC as close to a piston-engine as possible (maybe he felt that it was just a good idea; maybe he felt USAAC wouldn't be interested in it otherwise; maybe he felt no aircraft manufacturer would be interested in it otherwise). He designed the engine as a multi-staged axial flow compressor feeding a reciprocating compressor through an intercooler.

In 1939, Lockheed began looking into a jet-powered design, and by 1940 began preliminary work on the design began; In 1941, Nathan C. Price was hired by Lockheed, and his engine design was designated the L-1000.

By 1942, the sheer complexity of the engine required a redesign. Evidently motivated by the same desire of producing fuel-efficiency figures similar to a piston-engine; he effectively removed the reciprocating compressor and replaced it with a three-stage centrifugal-flow compressor with a single stage of intercooling between each stage. A variable speed hydraulic clutch was incorporated to (presumably) the low-pressure axial-flow spool to fine-tune the RPM of the engine across the altitude range (probably inspired by turbocharger design). It had a primitive afterburner in that fuel could be sprayed behind the last turbine stage.

Starting in 1943, Wright Field actually asked for a more sophisticated design and Price proceeded to develop a twin-spool axial flow engine. Each spool had 16 stages and two turbines (which featured either air-cooling or liquid-cooling in the form of circulating fuel through the turbine) with a single inter-cooling stage between the high pressure and low pressure compressor shafts. The design retained a hydraulic clutch for the first four compressor stages to fine tune RPM at high altitude.

The design turned out to be undoable and the L-133 was cancelled, with the L-1000, now designated XJ37 subcontracted out to Menasco. By 1946 the engine had been converted into a turboprop called the XT35, though as far as I know testing had continued all the way to 1951 or 1953 before it was finally cancelled for good.

[rh200]

I may have been a bit hasty with my couldn't imagine air to water aftercoolers on aircraft, had an after thought about Merlins and P51's, apparently they used them.

SuperchargersOnline.com :: Aftercooling - Vortech style! (http://www.superchargersonline.com/content.asp?ID=7)

[Big Pistons Forever]

The 310 and 325 hp Continental TSIO 520's have a factory air to air intercooler which is a simple set of cooling fins surrounding the main induction air pipe on the top of the engine. There are after market intercooler mods for the Lycoming TIO 540 series. These are fed by a scoop on the bottom on the cowling.