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CAC Functions Heat stress (most common) Charge-Air Cooler Construction Charge-Air-Coolers come in many different sizes and configurations depending on the vehicle application they are used. No matter what application, the basic components of the unit are the same. These components consist of: Inlet and Outlet tanks, or manifolds as they are sometimes called. Please refer to the diagram below to see how these components are combined to produce the complete charge-air-cooler. Although same model coolers may look the same, there can be many differences in the quality of the materials used, the brazing processes to attach each component, and the type of core construction used. We will discuss these differences in detail in the next section. 
Chosing the Best Core
There are two types of tube designs - extruded tube and the folded/weld seam design. The walls of the tube should be thicker to withstand burning out from excessive heat, especially the top and bottom tubes. In addition, the thicker walls will protect the tube better against corrosion. Due to the fact of having no potential seam failure and the ability to use higher quality alloys in the production stage, we find the extruded tubes to be stronger and more efficient. The inner fins of the tube are critical to air flow and cooling. The number of fins per inch, position and spacing of these fins will determine the most efficient flow of air through the cooler. Brazing Process:  How well the tubes are brazed (joined) to the header plate will affect air leakage, and impact overall performance of the unit. Some manufacturers will use a temporary red sealant called RTV to seal leaks that are caused in the brazing process. This sealant will usually break down in time due to heat conditions. When this occurs, tube to header leaks will begin. An example of this method is shown at the right. Materials: Fleets are ordering trucks with higher horsepower engines. As the horsepower goes up, the charge-air-coolers are forced to take higher heat loads. However, the OEM coolers being put on the higher horsepower trucks were designed for those with much lower horsepower. The quality and strength of the materials used to produce the core are critical in the cores ability to stand up against these increased pressures and operating temperatures generated by those engines. The header plate may crack when lightweight materials are used, top and bottom tubes with thin walls may burn out from excessive heat. In addition, thin walled tubes are much more susceptible to damage from corrosion. Picture A is that of a standard OEM core. Picture B shows a heavier duty core that we use for our Turbo-Max coolers. If you look at the header plate and the tube walls, you will see a noticeable difference in the materials used.  The Final Test We recently had some tests performed on the cores we use versus others. We wanted to test the cores to see how much pressure they took before failure. Here are the results: Standard OEM Core A We are showing you three pictures of the test on this core because it shows failures in three critical areas:
There are only two types of tanks used in CAC construction.
Sand Cast Tanks  Characteristics Sand Cast tanks are usually imported from China, and are sold only as an aftermarket item. They are reversed engineered using 99% recycled aluminum materials. This results in a much greater risk of leaks due to high porosity, lower quality weld because of excessive contamination, and improper bracket alignment due to low-grade materials and inconsistent pour.
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998 Railroad St. NW |
