4.9.5 Oil radiator
Having learned that during operation all engine parts get very hot, you could assume that the oil that lubricates these very parts also heats up, reaching decent temperatures. In case of severe overheating, the engine oil starts rapidly losing its properties. This can have quite disastrous consequences for the engine.
Note
When the engine is running, the temperature of the engine oil should not rise too much to avoid a drop in its viscosity.
Oil cooler is installed, which is sometimes similar to the radiator of the cooling system (see figure 4.33), in order to maintain the temperature of the engine oil within the most efficient range.
In case of air cooling, a tubular-type oil cooler, which is included in the oil line, shall be placed in front of the radiator of the engine water cooling system. If there is no oil cooler, the oil is cooled in the oil sump. The sump itself, in this case, may have additional ribs for increasing the area of contact between the oil and the sump.
Note
In case if the design assumes liquid cooling of the oil, then it is called a heat exchanger, not a radiator (schematically, such a heat exchanger can be seen in Figure 4.32).
Note
Water-cooled radiator provides not only cooling of the oil during operation in severe conditions, but also its rapid warming up when the engine is started.
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