Charge Air Cooler
| ITEM | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
| 1 | Charge air inlet - From electric supercharger |
| 2 | Pressure and temperature sensor - Charge air cooler |
| 3 | Compressor Recirculation Valve (CRV) pipe connection |
| 4 | Charge air outlet - To electric throttle |
| 5 | Evaporative emission pipe |
| 6 | Compressor Recirculation Valve (CRV) connection |
| 7 | Engine coolant inlet - From charge air coolant pump |
| 8 | Engine coolant outlet - To cylinder head |
| 9 | Engine coolant outlet - To charge air radiator |
| 10 | Engine coolant inlet - From cylinder block |
| 11 | Charge air inlet - From turbocharger |
The charge air cooler is an air-to-liquid heat exchanger, providing charge air cooling in combination with an electrical coolant pump. The charge air cooler is located on the top of the engine.
The turbocharger is designed to force more air mass into the engine intake manifold and combustion chambers. As the hot exhaust gases pass through the turbine, part of the heat is transmitted to the compressor thus the clean air heats up.
To counteract this, the charge air cooler is used to reduce the intake air temperature. The cooled intake air increases the density of the air, allowing more air molecules to be delivered to the combustion chamber.
The charge air cooler cools the charge air in 2 stages.
The first stage is cooling the high temperature charge air on the air intake side. This circuit using the radiator to cool the coolant and is driven by the variable coolant pump.
When the charge air arrives the second part of the charge air cooler, the charge air temperature already decreased. This is why the next circuit can named as Low temperature circuit.
In the second stage the charge air temperature decreasing further by the Low temperature circuit. The Low temperature circuit using the auxiliary radiator to cool the coolant which is driven by the charge air coolant pump.
Within the charge air cooler, the hot air and the coolant flow in the opposite direction. This is makes a more effective heat exchange.