System and method for monitoring the condition of a heat exchange unit

A system for monitoring the condition of a heat exchange unit used in the operation of a vehicle, with the vehicle and the heat exchange unit selected from a population of like vehicles and heat exchange units having passage for flow of a first fluid through said unit from an inlet to an outlet thereof, and passage for the flow of a second fluid through said unit from an inlet to an outlet thereof for cooling said first fluid, said system comprising:

• (a) at least one sensor, positioned proximal to said heat exchange unit, for taking a plurality of temperature readings representative of a first temperature associated with either the first fluid or the second fluid toward a respective inlet of said unit and a second temperature associated with the respective fluid toward a respective outlet of said unit;
• (b) a processor, in communication with the sensor, to which data representative of the temperatures is transmitted;
• (c) at least one predetermined condemning limit associated with measures of effectiveness of the heat exchange units selected from a population of like heat exchange units;
• (d) said processor calculating a measure of effectiveness of the heat exchange unit based on said data representative of the first temperature and the second temperature;
• and,
• (e) said processor comparing said measure of effectiveness to said least one predetermined condemning limit associated with the measures of effectiveness of the population of like heat exchange units, and generating a signal indicative of the condition of the heat exchange unit relative to the condition of the population of like heat exchange units.

A method for monitoring the condition of a heat exchange unit for a vehicle, said heat exchange unit having a first fluid passing through said unit, and a second fluid passing through said unit for cooling said first fluid, the method comprising the steps of:

• (a) positioning at least one sensor proximal to the heat exchanger unit;
• (b) collecting data, using said sensor, that is indicative of a first temperature associated with either the first fluid or the second fluid toward a respective inlet of said unit and a second temperature associated with the respective fluid toward a respective outlet of said unit;
• (c) calculating a measure of effectiveness of the operation of the heat exchange unit based on said first temperature and said second temperature;
• (d) establishing at least one predetermined condemning limit for the measure effectiveness of the heat exchange unit determined from an analysis of measures of effectiveness of a population of like heat exchange units, and
• (e) generating a signal responsive to a comparison of the measure of effectiveness of the heat exchange unit with said predetermined condemning limit, with said signal being indicative of a condition of the heat exchange unit relative to a condition of the population of like heat exchange units.