[apk919]

Originally Posted by robains

if you spray water on the IC it converts to steam which is then pushed thru the IC which in turn does NOT cool the IC.

Misting is performed on the incoming air to cool the air which then cools the IC.

I agree with you is some ways but you are removing the air flow from the equation/context -- yes you convert the heat into steam and reduce IC temp, but the steam immediately then flows over IC increasing it's temp.

The Subaru sprayer is manual, not automatic, and it wouldn't be the first time a gimic device has been but on a car...happens all the time.

I do have an idea, the water went thru the IC onto the hot engine which then converted the water to steam which raises up towards the IC which in turn heats the IC, not cools it.

The key here is to mist the air flowing OVER the IC, not to spray water ON the IC. You want the air to be cooled and water free by the time it passes thru the IC.

Wait... what is turning the water to steam? If the IC is hot enough to turn water to steam, then spraying water on it is cooling it, whether the water turns to steam and goes through it or not. Turning water into steam requires adding the latent heat of vaporization to be supplied by the surface that it's in contact with (which I assume is the IC, correct?). If you mist the water, the latent heat of vaporization is supplied by the air it's misted into, cooling the air (which then has more potential to lower the temperature of the IC).

The question is, which has more potential to cool the IC: air that has been cooled by the water's latent heat of vaporization (during misting), or water sprayed directly on the IC. Both of them will cool the IC, but off the top of my head I couldn't say which is more efficient (but it probably would be the misting system).

BTW, real misting systems are high pressure (~1000 psi) so that the droplets can be made very small (<50 microns) and can then "flash evaporate", pulling all the latent heat of vaporization needed from the air and leaving no water residue. Larger droplets will not completely evaporate, and therefore not pull as much heat out of the air. They're also sensitive to humidity, and won't work as well in a humid environment.