Air-cooled

Air-cooled

Air-cooled refers to a system or engine design where the heat generated by the engine is dissipated by the flow of air passing directly over the engine cylinders and cylinder heads. This is achieved through the use of fins on the engine, which allow heat to be wicked away as air flows through them. Compared to water-cooled engines, air-cooled engines are generally lighter due to the absence of a separate cooling system.From: Automotive Technician Training: Theory [2019], Modelling and thermal analysis of air-cooling system with fin pitch in IC engines [2020], A Practical Approach to Motor Vehicle Engineering and Maintenance [2019]

Force-System Resultants and Equilibrium

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Purchase Book

Published in Richard C. Dorf, The Engineering Handbook, 2018

Russell C. Hibbeler

Air-cooled engines have finned external surfaces on their pistons and heads to improve heat transfer and fans to circulate air over the engine. The larger passages needed for air require that the cylinders be more widely spaced than for liquid-cooled engines. While most air-cooled engines are small, many large aircraft engines have been air cooled.

Modelling and thermal analysis of air-cooling system with fin pitch in IC engines

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Journal Information

Published in International Journal of Ambient Energy, 2020

I. Vinoth Kanna

An air-cooled engine’s fins allow heat to be wicked as air flows through them. Internal combustion engines come in many shapes and forms that rely on a liquid-filled jacket or the surrounding air to prevent the engine from overheating. While liquid-cooled engines are smooth in appearance, air-cooled engines are distinguishable by their heavily-finned cylinder heads. These fins provide more than just an aesthetic function; they are necessary to help the engine cool (Murthy and Patankar 1983).

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Force-System Resultants and Equilibrium

Modelling and thermal analysis of air-cooling system with fin pitch in IC engines