An intercooler is a device within an air compressor that sends compressed air into the engine to help combustion. Compressed air generates a large amount of heat, which can be dangerous for the engine, so intercoolers use heat exchange methods to cool down the air at some point in the process. Intercoolers can use air, liquid or both to cool down the compressing air, but methods and structures vary widely from one manufacturer to another.
Definition
An intercooler is a heat exchange system that lowers the temperature of air or fluids, and is very similar to the terms aftercooler and charge air cooler. Although intercoolers can cool a variety of gases, they are most commonly used to lower the temperature of compressed air. Compressing air generates a large amount of heat that needs to be dissipated when the compressed air is used in engines. The intercooler interacts with the air and draws off its heat.
Process
An engine uses supercharges and turbochargers, devices that compress air and send it into the engine's combustion chamber. This compressed air helps the engine operate more powerfully, but the heat involved in compressing and channeling the air is a problem--the air can become as hot as 300 degrees, which lowers the efficiency of the engine and makes accidents like leaks and overheating more common. An intercooler is a device somewhere along the process that cools down the air, either before or after it is compressed, to help the engine work at peak performance.
Air to Air
In air-to-air intercooler systems, the air being used is passed through the intercooler tubes. The heat in the air is transferred to these tubes, which then channel the heat to fins attached to the tubes. These fins are exposed to outside air (or in aquatic cases, to water), which is cooler than the transferred heat and so absorb the heat from the intercooler. Cooled down, the intercooler can then absorb more heat from the air passing through it, and the cycle continues. There is a wide variety of air-to-air systems, located in different positions and with different structures, depending on the engine.
Air to Liquid
Air-to-liquid intercoolers use water to help cool the air. Water is an efficient heat exchange material, more efficient than the air-to-air system, so it can be used to make smaller intercoolers located in tighter spaces. The water absorbs the heat created by the compressed air and passes it to the intercooler, which absorbs the heat from the water and channels it back outside the engine in a cycle similar to the air-to-air version. Because this system contains water, it is more susceptible to leaks and flaws. Some intercoolers use two fluids to exchange heat even more rapidly.
Uses
Intercoolers are used in a variety of engines but are found most often in vehicles, from cars and tractors to aircraft, and most other engines that use a compressor. Intercooler is a U.K. term applied in most cases to a car or truck.
