Lesson plan
Coolpower
A coolpower setup in a truck engine can use an intercooler mounted on top of the engine with a tip turbine fan, or an air-to-air cooler in front of the radiator. In either case, the goal is to cool the hot, compressed air going from the turbocharger into the engine. With the tip turbine, a small quantity of compressed air is bled off to spin a small fan that draws air through the intercooler tubes. In some later models, a water cooler was also used, in addition to the tip turbine setup. Mack called the tip-turbine setup an intercooler and used a pyrometer to alert the operator if the exhaust gas exceeded a limit. The tip turbine setup was compact and the shorter plumbing runs allowed boost to build faster. Later models with the front mounted air-to-air cooler required a larger turbocharger to fill the tubes faster but with the benefit of additional power. Modern trucks use the air-to-air cooler in nearly all cases. Large Mack trucks from the 1970s such as the Mack R-600 used coolpower systems. Some coolpower systems used vertical bar shutters that could be opened and shut in front of the radiator to maintain proper operating temperature. The Mack Cruise Liner model built in 1984, a 6X4 Primemover, used a coolpower engine.
Article summary
A coolpower setup in a truck engine can use an intercooler mounted on top of the engine with a tip turbine fan, or an air-to-air cooler in front of the radiator. In either case, the goal is to cool the hot, compressed air going from the turbocharger into the engine. With the tip turbine, a small quantity of compressed air is bled off to spin a small fan that draws air through the intercooler tubes. In some later models, a water cooler was also used, in addition to the tip turbine setup. Mack called the tip-turbine setup an intercooler and used a pyrometer to alert the operator if the exhaust gas exceeded a limit. The tip turbine setup was compact and the shorter plumbing runs allowed boost to build faster. Later models with the front mounted air-to-air cooler required a larger turbocharger to fill the tubes faster but with the benefit of additional power. Modern trucks use the air-to-air cooler in nearly all cases. Large Mack trucks from the 1970s such as the Mack R-600 used coolpower systems. Some coolpower systems used vertical bar shutters that could be opened and shut in front of the radiator to maintain proper operating temperature. The Mack Cruise Liner model built in 1984, a 6X4 Primemover, used a coolpower engine.
Key claims
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.