| DESIGN & R&D
A key aspect of PWR’s R&D programme is the state of the art in-house wind tunnel test facility that is used for unremitting product development and improvement. A thorough core analysis of a V8 Supercar radiator takes 1-2 days to complete where a number of different variables are tested. The Wind tunnel is capable of measuring air, oil and water mass flows. Mass flow is a measurement of the amount of fluid passing through the test core per unit time. Pressure drop is continually measured as testing parameters change resulting in changes in pressure depending on flow conditions. Temperature drop is also measured across the test piece. Using measured data and theoretical values for the test fluid properties PWR research and development personal are able to determine a heat exchangers thermal efficiency, pressure drop and outright performance and compare graphically against other core configurations. PWR is working closely with a number of V8 Supercar teams and by utilising the use of the wind tunnel race teams are able to better understand the benefit that a PWR heat exchanger will have on their race car. Paul Weel, PWR owner and former V8 Supercar driver, states “PWR can definitely give race teams a distinct competitive advantage by having access to its own in-house wind tunnel. By varying air velocity and coolant flow rate we can provide the customer with real world results in terms of heat transfer, coolant pressure drop and airside pressure drop that is specific to customers requirements.”
MANUFACTURE
At PWR the tanks are cut on the Amada CNC Turret Punch and folded from premium quality aircraft grade aluminium. The specified number of tubes are manually cut to length and sent to the stacking table where PWR’s tradesmen individually stack the radiator core to the desired dimensions. PWR recognises the radiator as more than just a heat exchanger when in a race car environment. In many formulas of racing the heat exchanger’s weight and aerodynamic characteristics have a huge impact on the performance of the vehicle. PWR takes all of these factors into consideration when working with their customers in the design process. By engineering different tube styles with multiple fin styles and densities PWR’s engineers are able to fine tune the performance characteristics of its heat exchangers. This allows them to Maximise the downforce, drag or pressure drops to the customer’s requirements as well as providing the necessary cooling. The radiator core is assembled once all of the correct variables have been considered. Once the radiator core has been assembled it then goes through the atmospherically controlled braze furnace taking approximately 2 hours, the brazed unit is then tested. It is now time for the fabrication stage where PWR’s world class Tig welders weld the tanks and CNC turned fittings, that are also produced in-house, onto the core ready for delivery. Once fabrication is complete the radiator is again tested to ensure that the radiator doesn’t fail under the extreme operating conditions that race teams require.
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Currently 83% of the V8 Supercar field are running PWR radiators with 63% of the V8 Supercar field running PWR oil coolers. PWR will continue to work in close partnership with V8 Supercar teams in order to continually supply Australian made world leading cooling products to assist in their race success.
Q&A
Constant vibrations from circle track cars can cause tubes to collapse in time, how often do teams actually rotate radiators in a race season?
Many teams will run quite a few races on one radiator. The PWR designed radiators have a unique feature where the tubes protrude past the fin material minimising the chance of the fin material being damaged by debris, allowing a team to run more races on one radiator (pending front end damage). Every team’s usage will vary however depending on budgets and the schedule of races (sprint races / endurance races). Usually an average rotation would be anywhere between 3 and 6 races per radiator rotation. In regards to tube collapse PWR radiators have never suffered from this problem.
Given that the radiator is important to the performance and longevity of your racing engine, what does PWR do to maintain this?
At PWR we adhere to stringent quality guidelines throughout the manufacturing processes which is complemented by stringent product testing on every complete unit. Further to this the units are designed to be strong whilst minimising weight which considerably decreases the chance of core failure. Through continuous on-track testing over the years PWR has designed a product that works and it suited to the high demands of racing.
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