Oil Coolers
Oil coolers are heat exchangers that are specifically designed for the transfer of heat, or thermal energy, by carrying the oil through cooling units in order to cool. Particularly useful for automotive applications, oil is an electrical insulator enabling use inside of or in direct contact with electrical components. In addition, oil can be used to cool items 100°C or higher; unlike water which has a much lower boiling point. Common applications for oil coolers include torque converter, hydraulic and transmission oil cooling in addition to engine oil and compressor oil cooling. For engine oils in particular, if the oils get too hot the horsepower will drop, vanish form and the oil will begin to break down. Additional oils that are typically cooled in oil cooler processes include lubricating oils, transformer oils, quenching oils. Oil coolers are used in wide-ranging industries such as machine tool, automotive, aerospace, construction, industrial, commercial, chemical processing and electronics.
There are two main types of oil coolers: hydraulic oil coolers and oil air coolers. Hydraulic oil coolers are typically a shell and tube design in which metal wall partitions, known as a tube wall or plate, act as conductors between the two fluids. Hot oil flows on one side of the barrier and transfers its heat to cooler oils flowing on the other side. Thermal energy only flows from the hotter to the cooler in an attempt to reach equilibrium. The surface area of these partitions affect speed and efficiency: the larger a partition's surface area, the faster and more efficient the heat transfer. Oil air coolers are typically a plate, plate and frame or flat plate design in which heat is transferred continuously from heated oil to air without adding energy to the process. The basic concept of an oil air cooler is that the heated oil flows on one side of a thin corrugated metal plate while the comparatively cooler air is on the other; the plate enables the easy transference of heat between the oil to the air. Oil air coolers require less floor space compared to other types of oil cooler equipment and is lighter-weight.