Quote:
Originally Posted by Piwoslaw
It's hard for me to believe that I'm the first one to think of this, but I couldn't find a relevant post. So has anyone already discussed this? Any comments?
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A good idea but not a new one as you rightly suggested.
The earliest example which worked was by Rolls - Royce about 1920 or so. They coupled a wax filled thermostat to a lever which opened and closed the slats on the radiator. Closed at low temps and fully open at higher temps.
Maintenance was a pain and many garages simply disconnected the lever and locked the slats permanently open. The slats were vertical so only a small amount of effort was needed to move them.
Some current trucks use a similar set up.
Mercedes Benz experimented with a single flush fitting door on the front of their cars.
At low temps the door was a flush fitting panel. At higher temps the panel (hinged at the leading edge) opened to allow air flow to the radiator.
Many aircraft also have had variable geometry cooling exhaust flaps.
Good luck with yours too.
Cheers , Pete.