Let us examine the difference between air-cooled, liquid-cooled, and oil-cooled engines in detail. Of course, every vehicle on the road requires vehicle insurance:
In a combustion engine, a mixture of air and almond fuel is burnt. As a result, there are two types of energies being generated.
- Mechanical energy: this energy required to propel a vehicle and is transferred to the wheel of the vehicle through the transmission system.
- Thermal (Heat) energy: Huge amount of thermal or heat energy is generated by the burning of air-fuel mixture. This energy is harmful to the parts. Hence the engine has to be cooled down.
There are three methods to cool an engine as explained below.
- Air-cooled engine: In this type of engine, the heat generated in the engine is dissipated to the surrounding air, and the engine is cooled by this surrounding air. Hence this type of engine is called an air-cooled engine.
To cool this type of engine, fins are provided around the engine. These fins increase the area that comes in contact with atmospheric air. When air passes through these fins the engine is cooled.
Air-cooled engines are used in bikes with less than 150cc engine capacity as less heat is generated as compared to higher capacity engines.
Advantages:
- Simple design and manufacturing
- Easy maintenance
- Less Cost
- Light in weight
Disadvantages:
- Less cooling efficiency.
- Oil cooled engines: During the combustion of fuel in the engine, the temperature of the engine increase, and when engine oil is used to lubricate the moving parts of an engine, the temperature of engine oil also increases.
In oil-cooled engines, engine oil is also cooled along with the engine hence it is called an oil-cooled engine. The engine is provided with the fins and atmospheric air passed through these fins to cool the engine. Along with that additional system is used to cool the engine oil.
An oil cooler is used outside the engine to cool the engine oil. It looks like a radiator and it contains capillary tubes and fins. Engine oil circulates through the oil cooler which cools the engine oil.
Oil cool engine is used in Pulser 220, Apache 200, etc.
- Liquid-cooled engine: In liquid-cooled engines, liquid coolant is used to cool the engine. The coolant used has anti-freezing properties. Anti-corrosion additives are added in the coolant to prevent the freezing of coolant and corrosion of the engine. In this type of engine, a radiator is used to cool the coolant and this coolant is then passed through the water jackets used outside the engine cylinder. This coolant cools the engine and the radiator cools the coolant. This process is continued till the vehicle engine is working. The cooling efficiency of this type of engine is high and so it is used in high-end bikes.
Advantages:
- High cooling efficiency
- Less noise in the engine
- The thermal efficiency of the engine increases.
- No overheating of the engine
- Suitable for all climate condition
Disadvantage:
- Design and manufacturing is complex
- The cost of the engine is high.
- The maintenance cost is high.
