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Diesels & altitude
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[quote]QUOTE: <i>Originally posted by jchnhtfd</i> <br /><br />At the risk of starting another hare -- there is a seemingly unrelated issue involved in high altitude operations, which is one of the major reasons why mudchicken sees units under test: cooling. Without bothering with all the details, suffice it to say that a radiator of a given size can't cool an engine as effectively at high altitude as at sea level, all other things being equal, and most manufacturers worry that maybe, just maybe, at full power things may get too warm... Not usually a problem in automotive applications (automotive/truck radiators are moderately to hilariously oversize, in most applications) but very much a problem with a railway engine. <br />[/quote] <br /> <br />They aint big enough. You will learn this when you try to cross the dead valley to the western areas of Nevada in summer. My problem with older cars and some trucks was actually radiators that were too small and did not contain enough evaporative area to get the heat out. <br /> <br />There are two kinds of cooling. RAM air cooling is helpful when a vehicle is at speed the pressure of the air flowing into the vehicle's front and the "pass thru" <br /> <br />The other form of cooling is simple radiating. This happens when you are in hot traffic stuck idling at gridlock stop and go. All vehicles have a limit. <br /> <br />Some of the aircraft engines such as the Pratt and Whitney are marvelous in not needing radiators other than what air cooling already provides. Although I venture that they operate in atmosphere that is quite freezing and that helps alot.
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