Measuring Intercooler pressure drop?

[U1ARUNIT]

What's the best way to do this OFF the car? I have some good ideas but wanted to hear how other people have done it.

On the car I just hooked up 2 boost guages, one post turbo(pre IC) and the other post IC and noted the difference.

Any ideas out there for an IC off the car?
Thanks!

 

[REDS HOT AIR]

not really possible since it would depend on how much air your motor is injesting to how much you will be flowing thru the core at a given pressure

 

[U1ARUNIT]

So much for that idea. Thanks Red!

 

[lyonsd]

Originally posted by U1ARUNIT
On the car I just hooked up 2 boost guages, one post turbo(pre IC) and the other post IC and noted the difference.

How much of a difference did you note? Was this a stock intercooler or what?

 

[REEDOG]

Boost pressure is not a factor. Whether there is boost present or not the pressure differential through the core will remain the same for a set airflow rate. To find the differential for your intercooler you would need to place a guage upstream of the intercooler and if you have access to a flowbench create a graph with a range of flow rates. The pressure downstream of the core will be zero so you will not need a guage there as you would on your car. Include the plumbing with a guage nearest the flow source to find the total system loss. But without knowing your engines specific airflow volume you won't know where you place on the graph. But it would be fun to do!!!

 

[U1ARUNIT]

I tried the method that I mentioned and saw a 2.5# boost pressure loss between the CAS V4 IC inlet and outlet. But, I didn't have both boost guages precisely calibrated so the results aren't for crap.

From the looks of it I won't be getting accurate data from my primitive testing so I am going to skip it. I really need to find someone with a flow bench and some spare time.

 

[strikeeagle]

Mark,

Tony DeQuick will have the data you're looking for.

In designing his I/Cs, Tony would have needed detailed pressure drop calculations.

These data can be calculated, for each component in the flow path - nozzle, header, turbulator, primary heat transfer fin, whatever, then verified by standardized flow testing, if Tony chose to do so.

I have designed nominal 4' X 4' X 20' brazed aluminum heat exchangers (> $100K) for cryogenic applications. It's basically the same drill...

Good luck...

 

[REDS HOT AIR]

when you do it with 2 boost gauges on the car make a pull and record readings then switch gauges and do again and take a average