Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
on
Guided by
Prof. Vinay V. Ankolekar
Assistant Professor, BSCOER Narhe, Pune
Maharashtra
______________________________________
A project report submitted to the
Bhivarabai Sawant College of Engineering and Research, Narhe,
University of Pune, Pune
Bachelor of Engineering
by
B80800822
B80800841
B80800845
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
ABSTRACT
ii
ABBREVIATIONS
iii
LIST OF FIGURES
LIST OF TABLES
vi
CHAPTER
PAGE
TITLE
NO.
NO.
1
1-23
INTRODUCTION
1.1
1.2
Working
1.3
10
10
11
11
12
13
1.4
13
1.5
Advantages
15
1.6
Limitations
16
1.7
Applications
18
24-31
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1
2.2
24
27
28
compression
and
adiabatic
29
29
expansion model
29
30
31
3.2
Important equations
32
32
33
33
34
34
35
38
38
41
COST ESTIMATION
4.1
32-44
45-47
46
Cost
CONCLUSION
FUTURE SCOPE
48-51
52
53-55
7.1
Further research
53
7.2
Future developments
54
REFERENCES
56-57
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
ABSTRACT
A vortex tube is a structurally simple device with no moving parts that is capable
of separating a high pressure flow into two low pressure flows with different energies,
usually manifested as a difference in temperatures. The vortex tube is relatively
inefficient as a standalone device because its COP is very low as compared to a VapourCompression refrigeration cycle.
The effects of cold fraction, number of nozzles, orifice diameter, inlet pressure,
hot end diameter and angle are experimentally investigated. The use of vortex tube for
small capacity applications is always justified if the compressed air is readily available,
because of lack of moving parts, non-requirement of external power like electricity. Main
application is spot cooling. In this way it is ideal for use in situations where safety is
critical or maintenance is difficult.
ii
ABBREVIATIONS
Symbol
Description
AC
AN
AT
CFD
COP
Coefficient of Performance
DC
DN
Diameter of nozzle
enthalpy
Thermal conductivity
MC
Mi
Direction of rotation
pressure
Heat energy
RHVT
iii
Entropy
TC
Cold temperature
Tin
Inlet temperature
Th
Internal energy
iv
LIST OF FIGURES
Chapter
No.
Figure
Title of Figure
No.
01
Page
No.
INTRODUCTION
1.1
1.2
Tube
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
1.7
10
1.8
11
1.9
12
1.10
12
1.11
Vortex Ejector
13
1.12
Conventional Nozzle
15
1.13
Nozzle of Archimedes
15
1.14
Recompression Chamber
18
1.15
20
1.16
20
1.17
21
1.18
22
03
35
3.2
37
3.3
44
05
49
LIST OF TABLES
Chapter Table
No.
Title of Table
Page
No.
02
No.
LITERATURE OVERVIEW
2.1
24
2.2
26
2.3
31
Researchers
03
43
3.2
43
04
COST ESTIMATION
4.1
05
45
vi
48
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
The vortex tube (also called Ranque Hilsch vortex tube) is a simple mechanical
device which splits a compressed gas stream into cold and hot streams without any
chemical reactions or external energy supply. This device separates an isothermal
compressed gas flow into two different flows with different temperatures. It has
advantages compared to other refrigerating or heating devices in point of being
simple, small and light, having low cost, using no electricity or chemicals and having
long operation time. Cold gas stream leaves the tube through a central orifice near the
entrance nozzle, while hot gas stream flows toward regulating valve and leaves the
tube.
The vortex tube was invented in 1933 by French physicist Georges J. Ranque.
and German physicist Rudolf Hilsch improved the design and published a widely read
paper in 1947 on the device, which he called a Wirbelrohr (literally, whirl pipe). The
vortex tube was used to separate gas mixtures, oxygen and nitrogen, carbon dioxide
and helium, carbon dioxide and air in 1967 by Linderstrom-Lang. Vortex tubes also
seem to work with liquids to some extent, as demonstrated by Hsueh and Swenson in
a laboratory experiment where free body rotation occurs from the core and a thick
boundary layer at the wall. Air is separated causing a cooler air stream coming out the
exhaust hoping to chill as a refrigerator. In 1988 R.T.Balmer applied liquid water as
the working medium. It was found that when the inlet pressure is high, for instance
20-50 bar, the heat energy separation process exists in incompressible (liquids) vortex
flow as well.
When high-pressure gas (6 bar) is tangentially injected into the vortex chamber via
the inlet nozzles, a swirling flow is created inside the vortex chamber. When the gas
swirls to the center of the chamber, it is expanded and cooled. In the vortex chamber,
part of the gas swirls to the hot end, and another part exist via the cold exhaust
directly. Part of the gas in the vortex tube reverses for axial component of the velocity
and move from the hot end to the cold end. At the hot exhaust, the gas escapes with a
higher temperature, while at the cold exhaust, the gas has a lower temperature
compared to the inlet temperature. [11]
A Vortex tube has the following advantages compared to the normal commercial
refrigeration device: simple, no moving parts, no electricity or chemicals, small and
lightweight, low cost, maintenance free, instant cold air, durable (because of the
stainless steel and clean working media), adjustable temperature. But, its low thermal
efficiency is a main limiting factor for its application. Also the noise and availability
of compressed gas may limit its application. Therefore, when compactness, reliability
and lower equipment cost are the main factors and the operating efficiency becomes
less important, the RHVT becomes a nice device for heating gas, cooling gas,
cleaning gas, drying gas, and separating gas mixtures, DNA application, liquefying
natural gas and other purposes [11
1.1 Principle and Theory
The theory of the Hilsch vortex tube, which is also known by the name RanqueHilsch vortex tube dates back to the 1930s where French physicist George Ranque
invented an early prototype. Around 1945 when the German army occupied most of
France, Rudolf Hilsch, a German physicist improved Ranques design to create a
better version of the tube.
The tube was named after the inventors, but most often it is attributed to Hilsch,
who paid a notable contribution to the improvement of vortex tube. In the middle
section of the tube is the inlet for the compressed air. Note that the inlet is much
closer to the cold outlet than the hot outlet. There is a very important aspect of the
tube related to this feature which will be discussed shortly. The middle part which
says spiral chamber in this part. This spiral chamber is the essential component of the
tube because it is the source of the hot and cold separation of the gas. How it works is
based primarily on the physics of rotational motion and on Maxwells law of random
distribution as shown in Fig 1.1
Following the introduction of the compressed working fluid into the vortex tube
tangentially, in the linear momentum of the working fluid is converted to the angular
momentum. Because of the centrifugal characteristics of the forced vortex flow, the
critical in showing that the tube does not violate any thermodynamic laws.
In the equations, U refers to internal energy of the system, Q refers to heat of the
system, and W refers to the work done on the system by its surroundings. Applying
equation [1] to the vortex tube, the thermodynamic law reduces to equation [3] below:
dU = dQ
Since no work is done on the system. This means that any change in internal energy is
related to a change in heat of the system.
The first law applies as the gas enters the tube because as it begins to spin and create
the vortex, since no work is done on the system, internal energy must be converted to
kinetic energy and hence a temperature drop occurs in all molecules as internal energy
also drops. Fig 1.2 shows an estimated schematic of how the air moves within the
tube.
Once the initial internal energy drop occurs and the gas begins diffusing in the
forced vortex pattern, kinetic energies of the molecules begin to change. As the
molecules diffuse towards the tube wall, their kinetic energy must be high because
they require more energy to rotate around in the direction where the radius of
rotation is maximum than molecules close to the center, where the radius is zero
There is also a pressure gradient from diffusion in the radial direction that helps
propel kinetic energy to the molecules at the tube walls. As a result of this pressure
gradient, the overall energy (kinetic and potential) of molecules at the tube walls will
be higher than the molecules at the tube axis as shown in Fig1.2
Looking back for a moment, one can now understand why the cold outlet valve
is much closer to the inlet than the hot outlet valve. As the molecules travel down the
tube, the molecules begin slowly in both the z- and directions. This slowing is a
reduction in the axial convection of the vortex as it moves down the tube. In other
words, the molecules diffusion rate slows down as the gas fills more space and
relieves pressure, causing a slower propagation of the molecules down the line. As
this happens, less kinetic energy is used and converted back to internal energy, which
in turn increases the temperature of the gas. Since the original radial pressure gradient
caused a flow of kinetic energy towards the outer molecules, they have more kinetic
energy to convert back to internal energy and hence have higher temperature. This
conversion of the kinetic energy separation into a thermal energy separation is known
as viscous dissipation of kinetic energy.
The reason the cold outlet is close to the inlet as a result of the desire to reduce
the effects of viscous dissipation of kinetic energy. The outlet must be close to the
inlet because the further away it gets, the more viscous dissipation will occur and
hence the higher the gas temperature will be. The reason the cold outlet is not directly
next to the inlet is to give the system space to utilize the radial pressure gradient and
to transfer kinetic energy to the molecules at the tube wall. The outlet then is logically
positioned to remove gas from the center of the tube. The hot outlet is positioned
further from the inlet than the cold outlet is for similar reasons. Instead of getting the
air out quickly to keep it cold, the scientist lets it travel farther down the tube,
warming up by prolonged viscous dissipation of kinetic energy. As the gas travels
down the tube, axial convection also decreases, reducing the gradient of temperature
and pressure down the tube to make a more unified stream. By the time the stream
reaches the outlet, nearly all of it is the same temperature and has a higher
temperature than the inlet due to the increase kinetic energy it had initially. The outlet
is drawn from the tube walls though to obtain the molecules with maximum high
temperature.
Other than the theory behind how the vortex tube works, there are two other
major theories that drive this experiment. The first and second laws of
thermodynamics will hopefully hold the key to explaining why the tube is not
miraculously producing something from nothing. The first and second laws give rise
to the Enthalpy and Entropy balances respectively.
These balances are two equations that show how the thermodynamic variables of
enthalpy (H) and entropy (S) are maintained and conserved in the system. Enthalpy
can be considered to be the amount of heat energy, in whatever form, a substance or
system contains. This includes internal energy, work done on the system, etc. Entropy
is a measure of randomness in a system, or in other words the amount of energy that is
not free to do work. The two balances will hopefully prove that the system is not
getting a Temperature change for free.
At a pressure drop ratio of 5 and ambient temperature, temperature differences of
30 K (or 10 % of ambient) are easily obtained, sufficient for simple refrigeration.
In a conventional refrigeration system, there is a compressor, so the work power
is the input power of the compressor. But in the RHVT system, usually a compressed
gas source is used, so it is not easy to define the work power.
1.2 Working
How can cold air and hot air be obtained from one compressed-air stream. Lots of
people have tried to explain it, including the French physicist who invented the
Vortex Tube in the 1930's, Georges Ranque. Many different theories have been put
forward.
Vortex Tubes behave in a very predictable and controllable way. When compressed
air is released into the tube through the vortex generator, you get hot air out of one
end of the tube
suggested that uniflow tubes perform less well than equivalently proportional counter
flow designs. So, most of the time, the counter flow geometry has been chosen.
10
11
separated directly in the triple stream vortex tube may be 4090% of the total
condensate in the gas. This indicates the high efficiency of the tube as a separator.
12
13
multiple rectangular nozzles entering a circular chamber. Reynolds suggested that the
inlet nozzle should be in the form of a slot. Reynolds suggested having more slots in
the RHVT. He noted that more slots do improve the performance as well. Metenin
used six tangential nozzles and in 1964 he designed one nozzle called as Archimedean
spiral, as shown in Fig. Parulekar suggested that the designs of the vortex chamber
and the inlet nozzle are very important, and he mentioned that the inlet nozzle should
have an Archimedean spiral shape and its cross section should be slotted. A single
rectangular nozzle was used by Leites et al. on their large industrial vortex tube. Saidi
and Valipour conducted experimental investigations using vortex tubes with three and
four nozzles. The results showed the nozzle with three intakes presents better
performance than four intakes nozzle from the point of view of refrigeration
efficiency. Promvonge and Eiamsa-ard experimentally studied the energy and
temperature separations in the vortex tube with a snail entrance. In their experimental
results, the use of snail entrance could help to increase the cold air temperature drop
and to improve the vortex tube efficiency in comparison with those of original
tangential inlet nozzles. In another investigation Promvonge and Eiamsa-ard
concluded that the increase of the number of inlet nozzles led to higher temperature
separation in the vortex tube. Behera et al. suggest that optimum nozzle profile and
number can be determined by using CFD analysis. They used five different nozzle
configurations in a vortex tube of 12 mm diameter: two numbers of convergent
nozzles, single helical circular nozzle, single helical rectangular nozzle, straight six
numbers of nozzles, and convergent six numbers of nozzles. The performance of the
nozzles has been characterized by the magnitude of swirl velocity and radial
symmetry of flow [9].
14
1.5 Advantages
Vortex tubes have advantages compared to other refrigerating or heating devices,
being simple, having no moving parts, using no electricity or chemicals and having
long operation time. They need only compressed gas to operate. Their critical
disadvantage is their low thermal efficiency.
15
Adjustable temperature
1.6 Limitations
- Low COP
- Limited capacity
- Only small portion of compressed air appearing as cold air
The use of vortex tube is convenient where a supply of compressed air is
available, to obtain rapidly and momentarily a fall in temperature. Its applications are
still relatively limited to laboratory trials, to control of temperature of small electronic
boxes, to aviation or to obtain a rapid fall in temperature of certain manufactures, such
as chocolate, waxes, cooling machining operations, deep mine air conditioning, etc.
The use of vortex cooling may often prove to be a better proposition than the more
efficient conventional vapour compression systems when any of the requirements
apply:
1. Light weight, portability
2. Low capacity or localized cooling or freezing
3. No moving parts high reliability
4. May be used where electricity is not available or prohibited on safety
grounds
5. Low initial cost
6. Instantaneous operation
7. No expert attendant required
16
17
Precautions :
1) The operator should work away from the compressor, as it can cause accidents
when a person comes in contact with it.
2) For this vortex tube the operating pressure should be less than 7 bars(100lpm), and
if it exceeds the given value it can be fatal to the equipments.
3) While transporting the test rig from places to places it should be done with care as
there are equipments on the test rig which are very delicate.
18
19
The above fig, 1.15, shows the application of the Vortex Tube to cool down the hot
moulded tank. As, these fuel tank contains hot fluids which makes there surface hot,
hence to cool down the fuel tank, the cold air from the Vortex Tube is used
20
Joule-Thompson Cycle.
21
4. Miscellaneous
Keeping Camera Lens Clear and Cool: An industry in Asia had multiple Boroscope
lenses that needed to be kept cool and clear while being inserted into an 1150
Fahrenheit boiler porthole.
Speeding up Cycle Time: A manufacturer in Mexico produces moulded plastic pedals
for bicycles and needed help in finding a solution to cool their moulded parts down so
they could increase cycle times. [14]
22
Cooling a garage door Seal: Before exterior garage door seals can be coated with a
colour that will match the garage door and its trim, the initial extrusion must be cool.
A vortex Tube can speed this cooling process up.
Chilling a Mandrel for Jewellery Crafting: A ring mandrel is easily one of the most
useful tools for sizing, crafting and re-shaping jewellery. Each of these mandrels is
designed for one or more special applications in jewellery crafting. By blowing
chilled air, with a vortex Tube onto the mandrel, thermal expansion of the mandrel
was eliminated even as temperatures rose throughout the day.
Cooling Copper Wire on Heat Set Tubing: There are many types of Heat Set Tubing
in the market today. All the different sizes, lengths, diameters, wall thickness, etc. can
cause trouble.
23
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
From 1934, almost 200-215 articles are published on Ranque Hilsch vortex tube. Not
all the articles are directly related to our work, especially, those articles which were
focused on computational work. Many articles addressed experimental findings and
remaining discussed various theories explaining energy separation phenomenon. In
this subsection, we are going to discuss only those articles (experimental and/or
theoretical work) which are directly related to current work.
[2]
Investigator
Dia.
Pi
mm
(bar)
Th - Ti
Tc - Ti
1933
Ranque
12
38
-32
1947
Hilsch
4.6
11
140
-53
0.23
1950
Webster
8.7
1951
Scheper
38.1
3.9
-11.7
0.26
1956
Hartnell and
76.2
2.4
3.5
-40
-65
Eckert
1956
Martynovski
4.4/28 12
and Alekseev
24
1957
Scheller and
25.4
6.1
15.6
-23
0.506
Brown
1958
Otten
20
08
40
-50
0.43
1959
Lay
50.8
1.68
9.4
-15.5
1960
Suzuki
16
54
-30
1962
Sibulkin
44.5
1962
Reynolds
76.2
1962
Blatt and
38.1
-99
Trusch
1965
Takahama
28/78
1966
Takahama and
28/78
Soga
1968
Vennos
41.3
5.76
-1
-13
0.35
1969
Brunn
94
-20
0.23
1973
Soni
6.4/32 1.5/3
1982
Sclenz
50.8
3.36
1983
Stefan et al.
17.6
78
-38
0.3
1983
Amitani et al.
800
3.06
15
-19
0.4
1988
Negm et al.
11/20
30
-42
0.38
1994
Ahlborn et al.
18
40
-30
1996
Ahlborn et al.
25.4
2,7
30
-27
0.4
2001
Guillaume and
9,5
-17.37
0.4
-43
0.6
16
3.5
33
0.33
16
3.5
25
-30
0.38
19
1.2
-11
0.1
Jolly III
2003
Saidi and
Valipour
2004
Promvongue
and Eiamsa
2005
Promvongue
and Eiamsa
2005
Aljuwayhel et
al.
25
Flow
Model
considered
Method or
Results
software used
compared with
measurements
Linderstrom-
Incompressible
Zero-equation
Stream-function
Lang
(1971)
Schlenz (1982)
2D
Zero-equation
Compressible
Galerkins
Poor but
technique
qualitative
Trend
Amitani et al.
2D
(1983)
Compressible
Neglected
Borissov et al.
Incompressible
-------
(1993)
Velocity field
Qualitative
induced by
agreement
helical vortex
Guston and
2D
Bakken
Compressible
k model
FLUENTTM
Fairly good
code
(1999)
Frohlingsdorf
2D
and
Compressible
k model
CFX code
Fairly good
Finite volume
Good
Star-CD code
Fairly good
Fairly good
Unger (1999)
Promvonge
2D
ASM and
(1999)
Compressible
k
model
Behera et al.
3D
k and RNG
(2005)
Compressible
k
models
Aljuwayhel et
2D
k and RNG
FLUENTTM
al.
Compressible
code
26
(2005)
models
Skye et al.
2D
k and RNG
FLUENTTM
(2006)
Compressible
code
Fairly good
models
Eiamsa-ard and
2D
ASM and
Promvonge
Compressible
(2006)
Finite volume
Good
model
[5]
when the inlet pressure is high, for instance 20 to 50 bars, then and then we get the
energy separation. So it proves that for the energy separation process, compressibility
27
[7]
found that generator with more flow intakes causes the cold
28
Finally, of importance to the work discussed here, several researchers have sought
to characterize the internal flow details including the existence of a secondary flow
circulation. Specifically, in 1997, Ahlborn and Groves [8] used a pitot tube to observe
a secondary flow within the vortex tube. From the measured velocity field they
determined that the return flow at the center of the tube is much larger than the cold
mass flow emerging out of the cold end. Therefore, the vortex tube must have a
secondary circulation imbedded into the primary vortex, which moves fluid from the
back flow core to the outer regions.
[9]
forced vortex flow generated inside the system. He stated that Fresh gas before it has
travelled far in the tube succeeds in forming an almost free vortex in which the
angular velocity or rpm is low at the periphery and very high toward the center. But
29
friction between the layers of gas undertakes to reduce all the gas to the same angular
velocity, as in a solid body. During the internal friction process between the
peripheral and central layers, the outer gas in turn gains more kinetic energy than it
loses internal energy and this leads to a higher gas temperature in the periphery; the
inner gas loses kinetic energy and so the gas temperature is lower.
Lay used the potential and forced vortex motion for the vortex tube analysis and
proposed via an elegant mathematical formalization that the internal friction effect
and turbulence are the main reason for the energy separation. Kreith , Alimov also
attributed the friction effect as reason for the energy separation. Reynolds, Deissler
also pointed out that the energy separation is due to friction and turbulence. Van
Deemter in 1951 performed numerical simulation work based on the extended
Bernoulli equation. He had similar ideas as Fulton
[9]
30
Table 2.3 Lengths and Diameters of Vortex Tube Used by Other Researchers [2]
Sr. No.
Author
Tatsuo Amitani
Year
1983
Dia.) ft.
ft.
2.62
21.65
Blast
furnace
exhaust gas
Tatsuo Amitani
1983
0.51
7.38
Blast
furnace
exhaust gas
and air
H. Takahama
1965
0.26
5.2
air
H. Takahama
1979
0.06
3.42
Air
M. Sibulkin
1961
0.13
3.0
Air
H.Takahama
1980
0.18
2.0
Air
H. Bruun
1969
0.31
1.73
Air
K. Stephan
1983
0.06
1.17
Air
M. Saidi
2003
0.06
0.93
Air
10
Exair Corp.
0.08
0.83
31
CHAPTER 3
DESIGN OF VORTEX TUBE
Literature review reveals that there is no theory so perfect, which gives the
satisfactory explanation of the vortex tube phenomenon as explained by various
researches. There it was thought to carry out experimental investigations to
understand the heat transfer characteristics in the vortex tube with respect to various
parameters like mass flow rates of cold and hot air, nozzle area of inlet compressed
air, cold orifice area, hot end area of the tube, and L/D T ratio. The experimental
investigations were carried out based upon two designing methods.
1. Maximum temperature drop tube design
2. Maximum cooling effect tube design
It is observed that the effect of nozzle design is more important than the cold orifice
design in getting higher temperature drops. Cold fractions as well as adiabatic
efficiency are more influenced by the size of the cold orifice rather than the size of the
nozzle. Higher temperature drops are obtained in vortex tube made of maximum
temperature drop tube design, whereas, more cold fraction and higher adiabatic
efficiency are obtained with maximum cooling effect tube design. Before explaining
the design of vortex tube, the important equations that are critical for design
consideration are discussed below:
32
c =
Where Mc represents the mass flow rate of the cold stream released, Mi in represents
the inlet or total mass flow rate of the pressurized inlet working fluid.
=
where
= h
33
where
.................................... (2)
Where
= isentropic efficiency
34
Where,
Qc = cooling rate per unit of air in the inlet vortex tube
w = mechanical energy used in cooling per unit of air inlet.
Effect of Cold Orifice Diameter On performance of Vortex Tube
The different orifice diameter used for experimentation shown in Fig.
35
Energy separation efficiency is plotted against the cold fraction for various cold end
orifice diameters [dr = (dc/D) = 0.18 to 0.66] at inlet mass flow rate of 0.45 kg/min in
Fig.
It was observed from the Fig. that for cold fraction 60%, the effect of cold end
orifice diameter is negligible and above 60% cold fraction it becomes prominent. The
results also show that the maximum value of performance factor was always
reachable at a 60% cold fraction irrespective of the orifice diameter and the inlet
pressure.
36
(a) 2 nozzle
(b) 4 nozzle
(c) 6 nozzle
The effect of 2, 4, and 6 nozzles on the performance of the vortex tube at various
operating pressure was shown in Fig 3.2. An increase in the pressure at the entrance
of the vortex tube results in an increase in the performance of the vortex tube with 2,
4, 6 nozzles. The best performance is obtained with the vortex tube which has 4
nozzles [18].
37
[13]
the ratio of cold orifice area to tube area should be 0.08+0.001 for achieving
maximum temperature drop and it will be 0.145+0.035 for attaining maximum
efficiency.
38
AT
102
= 78.5 mm2
= 0.11 0.01(i.e. 0.12 or 0.10)
DN2 = 9.42
DN2 = 12
DN = 3.464 mm
OR
DN2 = 7.85
DN2 = 10
DN = 3.16 mm
102
39
= 78.5 mm2
DC2 = 6.3585
DC2 = 8.095
DC = 2.8453 mm
OR
DC2 = 6.2015
DC2 = 7.8959
DC = 2.80 mm
Therefore L = 22 10
L = 220 mm
40
82
= 50.26 mm2
= 0.11 0.01(i.e. 0.12 or 0.10)
DN2 = 6.031
DN2 = 7.68
DN = 2.77 mm
OR
DN2 = 5.026
DN2 = 6.34
DN = 2.53 mm
41
82
= 50.26 mm2
= 0.08 0.001 (i.e. 0.081 or 0.079)
Therefore AC = 4.067 or 3.97
Therefore
DC2 = 4.067
DC2 = 5.18
DC = 2.27 mm
OR
DC2 = 3.97
DC2 = 5.05
DC = 2.25 mm
42
Parameter
Value
Value
Tube Diameter, D
10 mm
8 mm
Tube Length, L
220 mm
176 mm
3 mm
2.6 mm
Diameter of Nozzle
3.2 mm
2.25 mm
By Optimum design principle, the vortex tube with 8 mm diameter has been selected.
Air
Specific Heat
1006.43 J/kg-K
Thermal Conductivity
0.0242 W/m-K
2-6bar
43
SETUP
Proposed Work:
The experimental setup for present work is as shown in Fig. 3.3. Manly it consist
vortex tube,
compressor,
pressure
regulator,
rotameters,
thermocouples.
44
pressure
gauges,
CHAPTER 4
COST ESTIMATION
Table 4.1 Expenditure for the project
Sr.
Instrument
Cost
No.
1
Compressor
FRL Unit
0-10bar
1000/-
1000/-
Pressure Gauge
0-8bar (1/4)
150/-
150/-
Temperature
-550C to 1000C
250/-
750/-
-500C to 2000C
1500/-
1500/
200/-
600/-
1500/-
3000/-
Indicator(faulty)
5
Temperature
indicator
thermocouple
Rotameter
0-200 lpm
fabrication
2000/-
2000/-
Other
2000/-
2000/-
Total cost
11000/-
45
temperature indicator is Rs 250 per piece. We have purchased this product from Excel
Enterprises..
5) Temperature Indicator (1 piece) : We have purchased Digital 12 channel
Temperature Indicator (Range -50
located at Bhosari, Pune at the cost of Rs 1600. The cost of this item was Rs 1900 at
M.S. Sankrantpurwala.
6) Thermocouple (3 pieces) : We have purchased temperature sensors (K type
thermocouple) from Sensography Company Pvt. Ltd located at Bhosari, Pune at the
cost of Rs 200 per piece. The length of the wire is 1 meter. The diameter of the probe
is 3mm. The cost of this item was Rs 200 per piece at M.S. Sankrantpurwala, Pune.
7) Rotameter (2 pieces): We have ordered Rotameter (Range 0-200 lpm) from
Mehta Enterprises located at Mahim East, Mumbai. The cost of the rotameter is Rs
1500 per piece. The cost of rotameter in Pune was Rs 2400 per piece.
46
8) Fabrication : We have constructed a box (suitcase type) for our test rig so that it
provides a outer covering for the test rig and also can it be easy to carry from place to
place. The material which has been used to construct the is plywood. We had two
options to construct the box viz. Metal box and wooden box. The fabrication cost of
the metal was about Rs 5000 and the weight of the box would have been too high to
carry. Hence we decided to go with wooden box. The cost of the wooden box went to
Rs 2000 and also it was lighter as compared to the metal box.
9) Other: There are many other items which we have purchased for the projects.
These items are Distributer (1 piece) to distribute the inlet air to the vortex tube,
nozzles (4 pieces) for the vortex tube, Pneumatic pipes (6 meter), Male and Female
part of the compressor, clips for joining the pipes (8 piece), Aluminium rod (55 cm
and 3 cm diameter). The total cost of all these items went around Rs 2000. We have
purchased these items from T.K. Enterprises and M.S. Sankrantpurwala Pune.
Hence, after purchasing all these items mentioned above, the overall cost of the
project is Rs 11000. By using proper purchasing skills we saved approximately Rs
3500 to 4000. Because of the faulty temperature indicators we have to face a loss of
Rs 750 which is minimal.
47
CHAPTER 5
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Pressure
Inlet
Cold Air
Hot Air
Ti (0C)
Tc (0C)
Th(0C)
24
19
25
24
17
26
24
16
27.5
24
13
27
24
10
28
24
30
48
After taking various reading, a graph of Pressure vs. Temperature has been plotted.
Temperature for cold and hot air are plotted on y axis and inlet pressure is plotted on
x axis. It can be seen from Fig 5.1 that an increase in inlet pressure leads to decrease
in temperature of air obtained from cold end while an increase is observed in
temperature obtained from hot end.
30
Temperature (C)
25
20
Cold Air
15
Hot Air
10
0
1
Pressure ( Bar)
Fig. 5.1 Graph of Temperature Vs. Pressure for Cold air and Hot Air
49
The various parameters were observed while carrying out experiment on the test rig
which are as follows:
1). Compressor pressure: The compressor took approximately 10 minutes to build
the pressure as per the need. The working pressure of the compressor is 7 bar. There
were some leakage in the compressor which are been neglected. The pressurized air is
send to the F.R.L. unit of the test rig.
2). F.R.L. unit: The air coming from the compressed is passed through the Filter
Regulator & Lubricator (FRL) unit. Here, the moisture present in the compressed air
is been removed from this unit. The pressure of the compressed air can be regulated
using the pressure regulator present in the FRL unit.
3). Vortex Tube: The compressed air is then passed to the vortex tube. Firstly, the
air is been passed through the distributer so that air can be passed through multiple
nozzle present on the tube. The air is tangentially passed in the vortex tube. Hence,
the working of the vortex tube started.
5). Cold air: When the compressed air is passed through the nozzles which enters
tangentially in the vortex tube, the working of the vortex tube starts. We observed
cold air coming out from the front end of vortex tube where the orifice is been
located. As the pressure was increased of compressed air, there was a decrease in the
temperature of the air coming out of the tube. But for the pressure of 7 bars there was
a fluctuation in the reading on the temperature indicator because there was slow
decrease in the pressure of the of the compressed air and hence there was increase in
the temperature. But for the reading for the pressure up to 4 bars, there were no
fluctuation in the reading on the temperature indicator.
6).Hot air: After observing cold air from the front end, we also observed hot air
coming out from the rear end of the vortex. Hence, it shows that vortex tube can
create both cold and hot air simultaneously. The temperature of this hot air is been
recorded in the temperature indicator.
7). Temperature indicator: The temperature of both cold and hot air is been
recorded by using a k type thermocouple, temperature indicator. There were three
thermocouple which were been used. The temperature errors havent been considered
50
in this experiment. As the temperature indicator has been calibrated by the producer,
hence there wont be error of a very large margin.
8). Portable Test Rig: The test rig is been mounted in a suitcase, due to which it is
easy to carry the test rig from place to place. Less human efforts are required to carry
the suitcase as the weight of the test rig is suitable of a common man to carry it.
51
CHAPTER 6
CONCLUSION
Vortex tube is a device without moving mechanical parts, which converts a gas
flow initially homogeneous in temperature, into two separate flows of differing
temperatures. Since its discovery in 1930 by Ranque, the vortex tube has been the
subject of considerable interest both from the theoretical and practical application
standpoints. However, it is difficult to design a vortex tube with definite integral
characteristics for a concrete application because the available experimental data are
not clearly understood and there are no entirely correct generalizations. The purpose
of this article is to overview of the past investigations of the design criteria of vortex
tubes, to draw together the mass of literature, and to provide detailed information on
the design of vortex tubes. Thus it will be possible to access the results of available
experimental/theoretical investigations on vortex tubes. It will be possible also to
make generalization about design of vortex tubes. First the classification of vortex
tubes is presented and the types of vortex tubes are described. Then all criteria on the
design of vortex tubes are given in detail using experimental and theoretical results
from the past until now. Finally the criteria on the design of vortex tubes are
summarized. Important common findings deduced from the literature survey are
tabulated and summarized in tables.
The following parameters can be concluded after workings on the test rig of the
vortex tube are as follows:
1. It is clear that the inlet pressure is the necessary driving force for the energy
separation.
2. It is also shown that the cold fraction is an important parameter influencing the
performance of the energy separation in the vortex tube.
3. The temperature of the cold air decreases with increase in the pressure of the inlet
air to the vortex tube.
4. Vortex tube is capable to produce both cold and hot air.
52
CHAPTER 7
FUTURE SCOPE
53
54
as it can. This can be achieved by drilling the holes on the hot side of the outer tube
enhancing the natural circulation. Also water cooling may improve the heat transfer.
(D) THE COLD ORIFICE OR DIAPHRAGM:
When the temperature of air drops down below 00C, the moisture in it gets
converted into ice. This may obstruct the flow and can alter the performance. Hence a
deep study is needed to be carried out in these regards. Apart from above areas there
are more regions of developments one can concentrate on such as relatively high
power consumptions, low COP of the system.
Recommendations:
Based on the fact that the device had very poor cooling capacity as compared with
industry standard refrigeration devices, it would not be a good substitute for
commercial purposes. Significant redesign of the device may in the future better the
cooling capacity to a point where it may be usable in the refrigeration industry, but for
now, all these devices can be reasonably used for the spot cooling and perhaps
providing a quick and simple way to cool or heat a pressure stream.
Since the device has specific length and diameter restrictions, one cannot significantly
alter the design of the tube. The reason it has certain length restrictions is that too
short of the tube would not give the hot stream enough time to heat up and too long of
a length would cause the vortex within the tube to depressurize and collapse.
Likewise, too large a tube diameter will also collapse the vortex flow, so there are
tight restrictions on tube design. Increasing pressure will help to enlarge these
dimensions, but only slightly and pressurizing the air could get costly depending on
the scale up.
55
REFERENCES
[1] Vera, G.D. The Ranque-Hilsch Vortex Tube, May 10, 2010.
[2] Nimbalkar S.U., Quantitative observations on multiple flow structures inside
Ranque-Hilsch Vortex Tube. Graduate Program in Mechanical & Aerospace
Engineering, 2009
[3] N.V. Poshernev and I.L. Khodorkov. Natural-gas tests on a conical vortex tube
(CVT) with external cooling. Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, 40(3-4):212217,
March 2004.
[4] R.L. Collins and R.B. Lovelace. Experimental study of two-phase propane
expanded through the Ranque-Hilsch tube. Trans. ASME, J. Heat Transfer, 101:300
305, May 1979.
[5] R.T. Balmer. Pressure-driven Ranque-Hilsch temperature separation in liquids.
Trans. ASME, J. Fluids Engineering, 110:161164, June 1988.
[6] Smith Eiamsa-ard and P. Promvonge, Numerical simulation of flow field and
temperature separation in a vortex tube, International communications in Heat and
Mass Transfer, Vol 35, 2008, pp-937-947.
[7] M.H. Saidi, M.S. Valipour: Experimental modelling of vortex tube refrigerator,
App. Thermal Engg. April 2003.
[8] Ahlborn B, Groves S. Secondary flow in a vortex tube, Fluid Dynamics Research,
Volume 21, 1997, pp. 73-86
[9] C.D. Fulton. Comments on the vortex tube. J. ASRE Refrigerating Engng, 58:984,
1950.
56
[10] W.S. Lewellen. A solution for three-dimentional vortex flows with strong
circulation. J. Fluid Mech., 14:420432, 1962.
[11] C.M. GAO, K.J. Bosschaart, J.C.H. Zeegers, and A.T.A.M. de Waele.
Experimental study on a simple Ranque-Hilsch vortex tube. Cryogenics, 45(3):173,
2005
[12] Gao C (2005) Experimental study on the RanqueHilsch vortex tube. PhD
Thesis, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven.
[13] Soni Y, Thompson WJ (1975) Optimal design of the RanqueHilsch vortex tube.
Trans ASME J Heat Transfer 94(2):316317.
[14] Nellis G.F & Klein S.A. (2002) The Application Of Vortex Tubes to
Refrigeration Cycles. Purdue University
[15] M. sssYilmaz, M. Kaya, S. Karagoz & S. Erdogan (2009) A review on design
criteria for vortex tubes. Heat Mass Transfer 45:613632
[16] K. Dincer, S. Baskaya, B.Z. Uysal, I. Ucgul, Experimental investigation of the
performance of a RanqueHilsch vortex tube with regard to a plug located at the hot
outlet, International journal of refrigeration 32 (2009) 8794.
57
58