THE PROBLEM OF COOLANT CONTAMINATION

THE I.C. engine is a special form of heat engine and, by its very nature, produces excess quantities of heat. Uncontrolled, this heat would soon lead to distortion and damage of mechanical components causing the overall working of the engine to be less efficient and eventually leading to complete breakdown. In the case of small engines, sufficient cooling can be achieved by increasing suitably the external area of the combustion chamber by finning and ensuring a suitable flow of air to these surfaces by ducting and powered fans. These methods are less suitable for larger engines as the extra heat produced would require extensive finning and fans—uneconomical in both power and space. For the majority of i.c. engines the accepted method of cooling is by the transfer of heat through the medium of a suitable fluid.