How are main generators different from the APU generator?

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Multiple Choice

How are main generators different from the APU generator?

Main generators are liquid cooled because they deliver a high and continuous electrical load, which produces a lot of heat. To keep temperature under control, their heat is carried away through a liquid cooling loop connected to the engine’s cooling system, using a heat exchanger to remove heat efficiently. The APU generator, by contrast, is a smaller auxiliary unit and does not generate as much heat or run as long, so it is cooled by air (with a smaller oil cooler in some setups). That difference in cooling method—liquid cooling for the large, engine-driven generators versus air cooling for the smaller APU generator—explains why main generators are liquid cooled.

Main generators are liquid cooled because they deliver a high and continuous electrical load, which produces a lot of heat. To keep temperature under control, their heat is carried away through a liquid cooling loop connected to the engine’s cooling system, using a heat exchanger to remove heat efficiently. The APU generator, by contrast, is a smaller auxiliary unit and does not generate as much heat or run as long, so it is cooled by air (with a smaller oil cooler in some setups). That difference in cooling method—liquid cooling for the large, engine-driven generators versus air cooling for the smaller APU generator—explains why main generators are liquid cooled.

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