Grille

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BMW's distinctive kidney-shaped grille on an E34 M5

Audi's "single frame" grille, here on a second generation TT

Grille is also the name of a German self-propelled artillery vehicle. For the cooking equipment, see grill.

1 Automotive
2 HVAC
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Automotive

In automotive engineering, a grille is an opening in the bodywork of a vehicle to allow air to enter. Most vehicles feature a grille at the front of the vehicle to allow air to flow over the radiator and cool the engine compartment. Other common grille locations include below the front bumper, in front of the wheels (to cool the brakes), in the cowl for cabin ventilation, or on the rear deck lid (in rear engine vehicles).

Some cars have what appear to be tiny grilles which are not positioned to duct air through the radiator. These are horn grilles, which enable the sound of the horn to be clearly heard forward.

The grille is often a distinctive styling element, and many marques use it as their primary brand identifier. For example, Jeep has trademarked its seven-bar grille style. ^[1] Rolls-Royce is famous for arranging its grille bars by hand to ensure that they appear perfectly vertical. Other makers known for their grille styling include Bugatti's horse-collar, BMW's split kidney, Dodge's cross bar, Alfa Romeo's 6-bar shield, Volvo's slash bar, and Audi's relatively new, so-called single-frame grille. The unusual 1971 Plymouth Barracuda grille is known as a cheesegrater.

The contrary styling pattern also occurs. Staring from the late 1930s, Cadillac would alternate its pattern from horizontal bars to various patterns of crosshatching as a simple way of making the car look new from year to year, for this make did not have a standard grille form. Sometimes there is a sort of fashion trend in grille bars. For example, in the early years after WWII, many American car makers generally switched to fewer and thicker grille bars.

A billet grille is an aftermarket part that is used to enhance the style or function of the original OEM grille. They are generally made from billet, solid bar stock aircraft grade aluminum or stainless steel, although some are CNC Machined from one solid sheet of aluminum.

Customizers would alter the grille as a matter of course in personalizing their car, taking the grille bar from another make, for example. Even sheet metal with patterned holes for ventilation grating sold to homeowners for repair has been found filling the grille opening of custom cars.

[edit] HVAC

In HVAC Room air distribution, a grille, specifically spelled with the ending e, is a class of air terminals.^[2] Most HVAC grilles are used as return or exhaust air inlets to ducts, but some are used as supply air outlets. Diffusers and nozzles, are, for example, used as supply air outlets too. Registers are a type of HVAC grille that also incorporates an air damper.^[3]

[edit] References

^ Daimler Chrysler loses battle for injunction against GM H2 grille (2002-11-18). Retrieved on July 17, 2006.
^ Designer's Guide to Ceiling-Based Air Diffusion, ASHRAE, Inc., Atlanta, GA, USA, 2002
^ ASHRAE Handbook: Fundamentals (SI Edition), 1997