New designs of brazed all-aluminium radiators and combined Monoblock® heat exchangers

The development of components for automotive vehicles has to meet the key requirements: size reduction, weight reduction, cost reduction and the protection of the environment. These are the impact and issue for a new generation of brazed all-aluminum radiators, which can be fully and easily returned into the recycling process. Two new designs were developed and successfully tested: a radiator with an one-piece round tube tank for thin cores and deeper cores (>20 mm) without any header with expanded tube ends and therefore tanks and core in line. The total depth of the radiator can be reduced by up to 20 mm compared with the conventional design with plastic tanks. On this basis an assembly of a combined Monoblock(R) is built, consisting of the radiator and condenser with joint fins. The Monoblock is brazed in "one shot" and can be manufactured at lower cost than cooling modules assembled from individual components. There is an additional benefit for the car maker by lower logistic and assembling cost. The function and comparative performance were proved in bench tests and vehicle tests.