Charge Air Cooler for Passenger Cars

The charge air cooler must be considered not only as a means of decreasing the temperature of the charge air, but also as a means of increasing the density of the air into the intake manifold.

The density increase can be evaluated from a thermodynamic point of view.

Using this information, the persformances of different cooling configurations are compared: air to air and air to water coolers.

These can then be compared in terms of location and cost.

Finally, we will see how recent evolutions in compressor design and engine bay geometry influence the conception of a charge air cooler.