"The fundamental principles of fluid flow, pressure losses, and heat transfer have been presented and analyzed for the case of a smooth tube with fully developed turbulent flow. These equations apply to tubes with large length-diameter ratios where the flow is at a high Reynolds Number. The error introduced by using these equations increases as the magnitude of the tube length and the air-flow Reynolds Number approaches the values encountered in modern radiator designs" (p. 1).

Tests have been conducted in the N.A.C.A. full-scale wind tunnel to investigate the partial recovery of the heat energy which is apparently wasted in the cooling of aircraft engines. The results indicate that if the radiator is located in an expanded duct, a part of the energy lost in cooling is recovered; however, the energy recovery is not of practical importance up to airplane speeds of 400 miles per hour. Throttling of the duct flow occurs with heated radiators and must be considered in designing the duct outlets from data obtained with cold radiators in the ducts.