>Since heat exchange occurs over time, and since a thermostat is also
>regulating how much time each molecule of water is exposed to either gaining
>or losing heat(energy), then it would seem that there is an ideal rate of
>flow in a cooling system, and removal of the thermostat would result in a
>rate of flow that under normal conditions is outside the limits of ideal heat
>exchange.
Don't forget it's a closed system. Higher flow means it makes
more trips through the radiator.
Re-read my message. Higher flow than a certain amount will cause the
outlet temperature to rise, but it will also cause the inlet temperature to
fall, because more heat will be transferred to the air.
The heat transferred to the air depends on the temperature of the
radiator, and note that the temperature from inlet to outlet across the
radiator varies. This doesn't directly depend on the flow; the flow
indirectly changes it, since higher slow will cause more of the radiator to
be hot.
Look at the total heat transferred to the air; ignore individual
particles of water. If more heat is transferred to the air, then the system
will stabilize at a cooler level. Since an engine is most efficient at
a specific temperature, the thermostat reduces flow to keep the engine at
the optimum temp.
Caveat: as I stated, this is for a theoretical radiator hooked
up to model heat source. There are many limits to higher flow in a real engine
(caviation, flow patterns, hot spots, etc), and removing a thermostat is
NOT a good idea except maybe for race-cars (and even then you might gut
it or install a sleeve instead).
--
Randell Jesup, Scala US R&D, Ex-Commodore-Amiga Engineer class of '94
Randell.Jesup@scala.com
#include <std/disclaimer>
Exon food: <offensive words no longer censored - thank you ACLU, EFF, etc>
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