The Development of Liquid Cooling: A Historical Summary of Progress to the Present‐day Methods

Abstract

FOR many years the basic design and construction of aircraft has been closely linked with the cooling system employed for the power plant which it is desired to utilise and as a general rule machines have been produced specifically for either liquid‐ or air‐cooled engines. Conversions of liquid‐cooled engined machines to suit an air‐cooled installation and vice versa have been successfully carried out in the past and to‐day there is a tendency for twin‐engined military aircraft to be constructed so that alternative installations may be employed, but the complications necessitated by such a practice provide good reason for producing the airframe to suit one particular engine. The general recognition of this policy has served to emphasise the importance of deciding the type of engine most suitable for the purpose for which the machine is required and has possibly lent weight to the claims submitted by various engine manufacturers. The merits of one variety of engine as opposed to the other is a subject which has from time to time received much attention, but, as the object of this article is to trace the development of liquid‐cooling systems, a brief outline of what is considered parallel advancement in air‐cooled practice may be of interest.

Citation

Twelvetrees, W.N. (1939), "The Development of Liquid Cooling: A Historical Summary of Progress to the Present‐day Methods", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 11 No. 3, pp. 107-110. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb030453