With the aim of accomplishing pollutant emissions policies, EGR-cooler has acquired an important role inside the whole EGR system in diesel engines. This paper presents a methodology to design and size EGR-coolers based on the integration of fluid-dynamic tools (CFD), specifically developed codes, experimental tools and a knowledge bank with previous experiences.
Each different geometry of EGR-coolers (cooler family) requires an initial study through CFD, which allows the characterization of different thermo-fluid-dynamic variables. After that, correlations, related to heat exchange and pressure drop for the cooler family, are obtained from the CFD results and implemented in a fast-running one-dimensional code. This code lets size EGR-coolers with specific design characteristics and performance requirements of this family. An experimental tool carries out efficiency and pressure drop tests on EGR-cooler prototypes in order to validate the theoretical results. In each step, generated data feed the knowledge bank to be used as base in future EGR-Coolers designs.
Finally, an application example for a family of coolers with a determinate morphology of corrugate tubes is presented to illustrate the methodology.