Design of Insulation Packages for Cylindrical Components

The push to meet or exceed the requirements for fuel efficiency and emissions over the past two decades has forced automotive manufacturers to build lighter and hotter running vehicles. The addition of emissions packages and the trend to lower ground clearances have compounded the problem of overheating critical components.

Higher temperatures may adversely affect critical components of the automobile such as fuel lines and speedometer cables. These are often routed in close proximity to heat sources. The goal of GMI's heat transfer team was to develop an innovative insulation package to minimize the temperature of critical cylindrical components.

The team designed and tested six different samples and evaluated them on the following criteria: thermal resistance, temperature rise, manufacturability, ease of installation, reliability, size and cost. This paper will show that both convective barrier and composite tube insulators offer potential solutions to the problem of today's fuel efficient vehicles.