Experimental Study on Diesel Engine Fitted with Visco Fan Drive

Abstract

The paper studies the performance increase of a heavy-duty diesel engine when the cooling fan is driven discontinuously. A viscous fan was initially investigated on a dedicated fan bench in terms of airflow rates versus pressure loss, consumed power, and efficiency. The viscous fan was tested further, being mounted on a turbocharged diesel engine with two types of coolant heat exchangers. The thermal behavior was analyzed using as an indicator the engine thermal constant. The experiments confirmed the requirements for the controlled drive of the cooling fan in heavy-duty vehicles.