Food for thought: Would an intercooler help a B/AD?

This should answer your questions Will.
supercharging 1
supercharging 2

 

Will -
A properly designed air to liquid intercooler can easily knock 180-200 degrees out of the air temp. Keys are core design and water temperature and flow rate through the core.

In terms of losses, only the weight of the system (not a loss, but a hindrance, nonetheless) and the pressure drop are factors. Pressure drop through the core comes from two factors; we should only worry about mechanical pressure loss, which with a well designed core layout should be on the order of 1 to 2 psi.

The suitability of an intercooler on a BA/D would be directly related to boost pressure and air temp. I don't really have a clue what either of these numbers are, currently. However, this much can be said: there is a point where intercooling can actually hurt performance. There is another range where the benefit is a wash due to the additional weight of the system. And there is a point where intercooling could be a big advantage. If I knew the boost pressures and manifold air temps of current configurations, I would know for sure.

Travis Quillen

 

What Travis said... /\

Also, I believe that Scotty Cannon ran an Intercooler back in the day in Pro Mod. Scotty was VERY successful back then.

EDB

 

Here's a stupid question. Where would the intercooler sit on a B/AD

 

Where would it sit

The intercooler would need to sit between the Blower adn the Intake manifold where the blower plates sit.
The biggest issue with a PSI is the size of the opening and the force that the boost is exhuasted from that spot.
This is a much simpler task when turboing a vechile due to design of the system it is very easy to add a liquid intercooler into the middle of the system.

The other big ? is what would NHRA have to say about this since we would techinically be changing the temp. of the fuel. Where in a turbo you are simply Changing the temp. of the air. Which is not illegal in the rules.
I have had substanchle horsepower gains on sport compacts that I have built adding an intercooler, but the NHRA and the A/F guys im sure would put a a big stink if one of use Blown guys made it work.

 

intercooler/blown alcohol

In some analysis we did for a Bonneville project and our methanol fuel research & experience, it looks like on a cooler day with a lot of fuel split in the hat of a screw blower, an intercooler would probably reduce the manifold temperature to the point of reducing methanol vaporization too much. That could hurting power. It would reduce the manifold pressure and the power to drive the blower which would increase power, but only experimenting would determine which way would win. On a hotter day or if you run lower fuel split into the hat, the reduced manifold pressure would probably win because there would be enough heat to keep the methanol vaporized. I watched a 14-71 blown alcohol engine make only about 550 HP, primarily as a result of poor vaporization and excess cooling from over-enrichment. From that I was humbled at the significance of vaporization and engine temperature. Even though the blower was pumping over 3500 cfm, it was still a stone.
Bob Szabo, author of 5000 Horsepower on Methanol and Fuel Injection Racing Secrets
www.racecarbook.com

 

Hey Bob, glad to see your still pondering. Personally I think you would have to throw the conventional physical arrangement out the window. I think trying to work in a heat exchanger with the conventional configuration would not be fruitful. Possibly going back (many years) to the old Potvin crank driven blower front drive would allow some working room to get the physics right.
Personally what I would like NHRA to allow is centrifical blowers. A pair of F3's would get the job done. Each is rated at 4800 cfm @38 PSI. These could be much easier to work with heat exchangers and the point were you added fuel. I think this combination would give the injected nitro cars a run for there money. But you would need someone to be adventure$$ome and NHRA's blessing.

Blessings...........Ron Clevenger
Creekside Racing Ministry.....John 14:6

 

and only one centrif blower

ANd boy does your car screem with only one of those.
bob szabo, racing manuals author
www.racecarbook.com