A car radiator consists of three parts: an inlet chamber, an outlet chamber, and a radiator core. The coolant flows inside the radiator core and air passes through the outside of the radiator. Hot coolant cools down by dissipating heat from the air, while cold air heats up by absorbing the heat dissipated by the coolant.

According to the direction of coolant flow in the radiator, it can be divided into two types: longitudinal flow and transverse flow. According to the structural form of the radiator core, it can be divided into tube fin type heat dissipation core, tube strip type heat dissipation core, and plate type heat dissipation core.

There are two main types of car radiators: aluminum and copper, with the former used for general passenger cars and the latter for large commercial vehicles. With its obvious advantages in material lightweight, aluminum radiators have gradually replaced copper radiators in the field of cars and Kei car. At the same time, the manufacturing technology and process of copper radiators have made great progress. Copper brazed radiators have obvious advantages in engine radiators of passenger cars, construction machinery, heavy trucks, etc. The radiators used for foreign cars are mostly aluminum radiators, mainly from the perspective of environmental protection (especially in European and American countries). The average proportion of aluminum radiators in new European sedans is 64%. From the perspective of the development prospects of automobile radiator production, the number of aluminum radiators produced by brazing is gradually increasing. Brazed copper radiators are also used in buses, trucks, and other engineering equipment.